How to configure the installation of Microsoft Store apps to a separate drive

When it comes to Windows, we have a lot of independence, when it comes to where exactly we need to install our favourite applications and programs. In the case of normal desktop apps, we can install the programs in any location on our hard drive or SSD, despite the fact the installer tries to install the same within the program files of the root partition, or the C drive. But if you are having low space on the root partition, or the C drive, you can always install the same in a different location as per your requirements. But the things are not the same when it comes to Microsoft Store apps.

When it comes to downloading apps from the Microsoft Store, the user apparently has no choice other than leaving it to Windows to install it in the default folder in the root partition. But you can simply change some settings and configure Windows to download Microsoft Store apps to a specific drive and save space on the root partition or the C drive for most users. If you have a specific drive for games or programs, you can even change the location of the installed app from the Microsoft Store, after the download and the download and installation is complete.

So without any further delay, let’s get started with, how you can change the drive or location to install Microsoft Store apps.

Changing the installation location for new Microsoft Store apps

1. Open ‘Settings’ from the Start menu.

   

2. In the ‘Settings’ menu, click on ‘System’.

   

3. In the system settings menu, click on ‘Storage’, and then click on ‘Change where new content is saved’, by scrolling down in the main window.

   

4. Click on the drop-down menu corresponding to ‘New apps will save to:’, and choose the drive that is suitable for you. After you are done choosing, click on ‘Apply’.

   

5. As you can see above, you can even change the location of the documents, music files, photos, videos and TV shows, and finally the offline maps. That way, you can keep the C drive or the root partition, which can also be an expensive SSD, only for apps and games that need to deliver the best performance.
6. However, if you already have some apps installed on your computer, the location of those apps are not going to change anyway. So, you can either reinstall those apps, or move the apps to a different location, or in a specific drive, which seems to be a better option.

Changing the location of already downloaded Microsoft Store apps

1. To change the installation location of the existing apps, simply go to storage the same way as I discussed above, and click on ‘Apps & features’.

   

2. Here, you can find a list of all the apps installed on your computer, including those which are not from the Microsoft store. Simply click on an app, which you have downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and click on ‘Move’.

   

3. Now, simply choose the drive where you want to keep the app and click on ‘Move’ once again, to move the app to the drive where you want it to be.

   

4. Simply use the following trick for all the apps installed from the Microsoft Store, and you can get a lot of space on your C drive or the root partition that way. However, you cannot move the apps that come pre-installed with Windows, like ‘Calculator’, the ‘Music’ and ‘Video’ app, etc. Despite that, you can actually save a lot of space on your root partition, if you can move the movable apps to a separate drive.

So, that was all about how you can set a default drive to install Microsoft Store apps or move the existing Microsoft Store apps to another location. Do you have any questions? Feel free to comment on the same below.