Can we move SQL Server installed bit from default location to other drive

Question

My client gave me command line installer for SQL Server. Since it is command line there is no option to select the installation path! So installer automatically chooses the default location C:\Program Files (x86) drive for installation.

I would like to move all the installed bit from C:\Program Files (x86) drive to to other drive. Can I cut and paste the SQL folders from drive and map the new location in Management Studio?

The below link says that SQL Server is dependent on C: drive. Installing SQL Server on not the default path

Requirement: I am using Azure VMs and attached extra drives. I want to make sure my SQL Server to be stable in case OS drive get corrupted.

Answer 1

The easiest method is (probably) to uninstall and this time run the command line installer again with a different set of flags and it will install to a different location unless you are talking about components not listed below.

From: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144259.aspx

Proper Use of Setup Parameters

Use the following guidelines to develop installation commands that have correct syntax:

   /PARAMETER
   /PARAMETER=true/false
   /PARAMETER=1/0 for Boolean types
   /PARAMETER="value" for all single-value parameters. Using double quotation marks is recommended, but required if the value contains a space
   /PARAMETER="value1" "value2" "value3" for all multiple-value parameters. Using double quotation marks is recommended, but required if the value contains a space

SQL Server Setup Control

/INSTALLSHAREDDIR

Specifies a nondefault installation directory for 64-bit shared components. Default is %Program Files%\Microsoft SQL Server Cannot be set to %Program Files(x86)%\Microsoft SQL Server

/INSTALLSHAREDWOWDIR

Specifies a nondefault installation directory for 32-bit shared components. Supported only on a 64-bit system.

/INSTANCEDIR

Specifies a nondefault installation directory for instance-specific components.