Years ago I started changing my installation paths. I had some intricate structure in mind. I got tired of changing the default installation path every time I installed something, or I tried to work with it. It's just plain easier and faster to use the default installation path for most of your software. If you have lots of software, then it becomes more important. One reason I was changing the default installation path was to make room in certain partitions. One thing I found out was that some programs will put files into the partition that has Windows, no matter where you install the program. In the past I had several partitions on one smaller drive. I ran out of room too easily that way. Now one 20GB drive is one partition, and the 30GB is another partition. There is less chance of running out of room.