Apps Move App to another Drive in Windows 11


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This tutorial will show you how to move an installed app from the Microsoft Store to another drive for your account in Windows 11.

In Windows 11, you can move an installed app from the Microsoft Store to another drive. This can be handy if you do not have much free space on the Windows drive, or just prefer to move apps to a different drive location.

The default location for installed apps from the Microsoft Store is on the Windows "Local Disk (C)" drive in the %ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps (apps) and %LocalAppData%\Packages (user app data) folders.

You can select to move an app to any internal or external NTFS drive, including SD cards and USB drives.

If you disconnect the drive you selected to move apps to, then any app moved to that drive will no longer work until the drive is connected again.

When an installed app from the Microsoft Store is moved to another drive location, Windows 11 will create a WindowsApps and WpSystem folder for the app's package in the root of the drive like below.

Move_app_to_another_drive.png




Here's How:

1 Open Settings (Win+I). (see screenshot below)

2 Click/tap on Apps on the left side, and click/tap on Apps & features or Installed apps on the right side. (see screenshot below)

Starting with Windows 11 build 25967 (Canary), build 22621.2500 (RP), and build 22635.2552 (Beta), and build 23595 (Dev), System Components currently listed in Settings > Apps > Installed Apps page, have moved to its own page under Settings > System > System Components.



Move_app-1.png

3 Click/tap on the 3 dots button for the app (ex: "Scan") you want to move, and click/tap on Move. (see screenshot below)

Not all apps will support being moved to another drive.


Move_app-2.png

4 Select an available drive in the drop menu you want to move the app to, and click/tap on Move. (see screenshot below)

Move_app-3.png

5 If prompted to Delete other apps?, click/tap on Yes or No for what you want to do. (see screenshot below)

If you click/tap on No, this drive will not be moved.


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Move_app-4.png

6 The app will now get moved to the selected drive. (see screenshot below)

Move_app-5.png

7 When finished, you can close Settings if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Some applications can be extracted (7-zip) and used as "portable" applications.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI MS-7D98
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-13490F
    Motherboard
    MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    2 x 16 Patriot Memory (PDP Systems) PSD516G560081
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 WINDFORCE OC 12G (GV-N4070WF3OC-12GD)
    Sound Card
    Bluetooth Аудио
    Monitor(s) Displays
    INNOCN 15K1F
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD_BLACK SN770 250GB
    KINGSTON SNV2S1000G (ELFK0S.6)
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W
    Case
    CG560 - DeepCool
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING SE-224-XTS / 2 x 140Mm Fan - rear and top; 3 x 120Mm - front
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 RGB TKL
    Mouse
    Corsair KATAR PRO XT
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Other Info
    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/66553205

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Microsoft Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI MS-7D98
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-13490F
    Motherboard
    MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    2 x 16 Patriot Memory (PDP Systems) PSD516G560081
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 WINDFORCE OC 12G (GV-N4070WF3OC-12GD)
    Sound Card
    Bluetooth Аудио
    Monitor(s) Displays
    INNOCN 15K1F
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD_BLACK SN770 250GB
    KINGSTON SNV2S1000G (ELFK0S.6)
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W
    Case
    CG560 - DeepCool
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING SE-224-XTS / 2 x 140Mm Fan - rear and top; 3 x 120Mm - front
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 RGB TKL
    Mouse
    Corsair KATAR PRO XT
    Internet Speed
    100 Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender Antivirus
    Other Info
    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/66553205
This folder has a hidden attribute and cannot be seen.

Yeah, you would have to change the owner to administrators, and change permissions to allow administrators full access to be able to open that folder.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium

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