Announcements

Help Wizard

Step 1

NEXT STEP

FAQs

Please see below the most popular frequently asked questions.

Loading article...

Loading faqs...

VIEW ALL

Ongoing Issues

Please see below the current ongoing issues which are under investigation.

Loading issue...

Loading ongoing issues...

VIEW ALL

Installation location spotify

Solved!

Installation location spotify

Is it possible to install Spotify on a different location then in the profile. We are using roaming profiles and it's not really helpfull if a application like this uses about 50mb of profile space.

 

Best,

Delarian

Reply
64 Replies

I think you may be confusing the location for the spotify programme with the location used to store music (the cache). You can specify any valid location for the cache folder, including network drives, from spotify settings in the desktop client.

 

undefined

No, we are NOT stupid! I have a SSD as well for example and i just dont want it to be installed on this Device. For such programs i have a seperate partition of my 3 TB HDD. Please don´t think your customers are all stupid and dont know what they´re writing. I´m and many others may be allergic to that.

I was replying to @SLickz and I don't have any customers. Read my sig.

I've been trying to install Spotify on Mac OS X 10.9.1 (Mavericks). I found this frustrating enough to investigate a bit.

 

It seems that whenever Spotify is installed, whether manually or as an update, the installer has the following behavior:

 

  1. If the user has write priveliges for /Applications, install as /Applications/Spotify.
  2. Otherwise, if the user has write priveliges for ~/Applications (after creating ~/Applications, if necessary), install as ~/Applications/Spotify.
  3. Otherwise, ask the user to authenticate as an administrator, and install as /Applications/Spotify.

For me, then, the workaround is simple but bizarre: Create ~/Applications, and remove write access. This works at the cost of an errant directory.

Well you are very lucky.

On windows spotify just installs at AppData. No questions, nothing. And if multiple users are using spotify everyone has own install in own Application Data directory.

Can you create a file in place of the Spotify application (with the same name), one that cannot be overwritten? Perhaps that would force the installer to try another strategy, one that might prompt for authentication.

We can move whole spotify folder and fix all shortcuts after each installation/update. Everything else makes spotify abort installation/update with magical error 17.

Also, when you do not have rights to mess with appdata directory or launch app from there (like me) solutions are: to forget about spotify
 or do stuff that may harm your whole system: How to Fix Error 17 in Installer. There are multiple threads about error 17.
This tread is almost one year old, and we just want spotify installer to ask us where to install.

As @krelvinaz  said back in June, this method is inherently insecure and unacceptable. Due to Cryptblocker becoming an issue at my company, we're blocking executables from running in AppData.  This makes Spotify unusable for me at the place where I use it the most. I've been a premium subscriber for quite a while, but it looks like today may be the day that I (finally) switch to Rdio.

I am deploying Spotify in my organisation without any kind of problems. Just put the files in C:\Program Files (x86)\Spotify or wherever, give users full write permissions and there you go.

 

Spotify updates itself to the same folder, not to %appdata% or %localappdata%.

 

That is how it works for me anyway.

 

 

Well, almost two years since this thread was created and it still appears as if Spotify couldn't give a darn about the customer.

(In fact, reading all 3 pages of the thread, it seems they are so complacent that even bothering to answer our concerns here in the forums is beneath them!)

 

I just re-activated my Unlimited subscription after 3 months absence.

I entered my new details, the payment collected, and I thought I would download and install the latest client.

It wouldn't work.

 

In the months since I last used it, I have become much more proactive about security, having learned about the many and various techniques that trojans, viruses, assorted malware and PUPs use to infiltrate, operate and cling on for dear life to your system.

 

Having fallen prey to some seriously insidious software in the past, I now have EVERY location, outside of the system mandated installation path fully locked and monitored, using Group Policy settings, AppLocker rules, aggressive firewall settings, WinPatrol, SpyBot and Malwarebyte's Antimalware.  (Ain't nothing getting in again... fool me once, shame on you, etc...)

 

Well, it seems, having now found this thread, that Spotify really doesn't care about its customers so, regrettably (because it was a sweet interface and awesome music library...) I must suffer a weaker interface and less awesome collection of music, safe in the knowledge that I can fully TRUST whatever I decide to install.

 

You managed to get this month's payment out of me Spotify, but I assure you, fifteen minutes after entering my payment details with you, I have just cancelled future collections and cancelled my account. (One of many, i'm sure...)

 

Sayonara Spotify.


@Ak76 wrote:

I am deploying Spotify in my organisation without any kind of problems. Just put the files in C:\Program Files (x86)\Spotify or wherever, give users full write permissions and there you go. 


Giving users write permission to executables is already a bad thing to do but giving several users write permission to the same executable is monstrously insecure, as viruses will be enabled to propagate themselves to all concerned users.

I'll let you know if it ever becomes a problem.

How sad, I've been subscribed for for a year and a half and more and more complaints are popping up regarding Spotify. I once loved this program, but now it's getting worse and worse. No point in putting lipstick on a pig. New interface means very little to me when they take away features.

 

Since they clearly aren't acknowledging the problems, what do you guys recommend as an alternative music service?

moving it elsewhere - e.g. to 'program files'  does work, however the problem is, as soon as there is an update, for any users on the pc, if they click 'yes' to update to the latest version, it just gets tuck back in the user's APPDATA folder 😞

 

It's annoying to have multiple copies cluttering up a hard drive. Would be much better if the installation offered a 'per user' or 'per machine' option and remembered the setting.

Be sure to add your vote to this ideas topic:
http://community.spotify.com/t5/Spotify-Ideas/Allow-custom-installation-on-Windows/idi-p/634102

Peter
Spotify Community Mentor and Troubleshooter

Spotify Last.FM Twitter LinkedIn Meet Peter Rock Star Jam 2014


If this post was helpful, please add kudos below!

 


@jacanterbury wrote:

moving it elsewhere - e.g. to 'program files'  does work, however the problem is, as soon as there is an update, for any users on the pc, if they click 'yes' to update to the latest version, it just gets tuck back in the user's APPDATA folder 😞


Not for me, it upgrades into the same folder from where it is currently located.

 

You need to give everyone full permission to the folder.

 

It works just fine and I haven't had any problems whatsoever in years.

 

Sure, some security concerned people might find this to risky, but I haven't had any problems and I don't install Spotify on servers anyway, who does?

 


@jacanterbury wrote: 

It's annoying to have multiple copies cluttering up a hard drive. Would be much better if the installation offered a 'per user' or 'per machine' option and remembered the setting.


Yes, that would be preferable, but without an update-service you still would have to give users permission to the install-folder.

 

Marked as solution

Since nobody posted this solution:

 

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896768.aspx

 

You can create junctions to refer to different locations. Hence you can change the install location.

 

With friendly regards,

 

TCR

Yeah, great solution. Too bad it does not work if you don't have execute/write rights to AppData and you see magical Error 17 in "installer".

I ironically ran into the same problem: Spotify installed on SSD without asking, and I can't even uninstall it because "The uninstaller failed to start".

This is 2014, is it much to ask to have software on par with 90s era software?

I got the solution to the problem. And how to move it from the AppData in windows without it move it self to AppDAta again.  I downloaded a App. mover program, and it works great.

 

you can read more about it here.

 

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/56506-63-moving-program-files

 

This one cost 7$, but I found a free one on google.

Suggested posts

Staff
Let's introduce ourselves!

Hey there you,   Yeah, you! 😁   Welcome - we're glad you joined the Spotify Community!   While you here, let's have a fun game and get…

Staff
ModeratorStaff / Moderator/ 3 years ago  in Social & Random

Did you find this article helpful?