Safely Move Installed Programs to Another Drive in Windows 10 & 11
About Downloads folder
The Downloads folder is the default storage location that is used to store the files or programs you download from a website or platform. That's why when you download programs, those you downloaded will be automatically saved on the C drive. Therefore the free space on your C drive will decrease little by little, which may cause slow performance of your PC and your games may often get stuck.
Some users will change the default store path while downloading. But what about those programs that have already been installed? Unloading and reinstalling? You can choose this time-consuming way, however, we also have other convenient ways to transfer installed programs to another drive quickly.
How to move installed programs to another drive in Windows 10 & 11
Many users may have encountered a difficult position where the installed program was moved but it couldn’t run successfully. And some methods are complex for laymen.
Therefore, in this part, we’ll introduce 3 pragmatic methods to quickly transfer your installed programs from one drive to another one or from one disk to another disk. Please read the following details carefully.
Method 1. Move installed programs to another drive via Settings
You can use Setting to transfer your programs to Windows. Many users may try this one at first. Please follow the steps to move your programs.
Step 1. Press “Win” and “I” at the same time to open Settings.
Step 2. Click “Apps”, you can see all installed programs in the “Apps & features” list.
Step 3. Choose the program you wish to move, click “Move”, select another drive to place that program, and click “Move” to confirm.
Warning: This method is not suitable for all programs; if the "Move" button under the selected programs is grayed out, you may need to try the third method directly.
Method 2. Transfer installed programs to another drive via modifying Registry
This method is offered by a user from Microsoft Community, we sort out it for you. The registry includes information that’s used by programs and Windows itself, thus it assists the OS to manage your computer. You can move your installed programs by editing the registry.
Step 1. Create a new folder named "Program Files (86)" in the C drive or another drive.
Step 2. Copy "Program Files" and "Program Files (x86)" directories to the new folder.
Step 3. Insert “CMD” in the search bar, right-click it, select “Run as administrator”.
Step 4. Insert the following commands and press “Enter”.
• Robocopy" C:\ Program Files" " X:\ Program Files" / mir
• Robocopy" C:\ Program Files(x86)" " X:\ Program Files(x86)" / mir
Tip: “X” is the drive letter of the created file.
Step 5. Press “Win + R”, then type “Regedit.exe”.
Step 6. Find the folder path and change the C to another drive.
▶ For Windows 10: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Wow6432Node \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion
▶ For Windows 7/8/8.1: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion
Warning: If you misapply the registry, your system may crash.
Method 3. Move programs to another drive with a handy tool
As the two methods we mentioned above, both have the risk of failure or even damage. How can we transfer installed programs to another hard drive or partition safely and easily? The answer is YES! Qiling Disk Master Professional is the best answer to meet your needs. This powerful and convenient software has various functions to solve many kinds of problems of hard drives and partitions.
One of those efficient features is “App Mover”. With this function, you can move your installed programs without any fear of unfamiliar operations. After the move, you can also use "Delete Large Files" to release more available space.
Now, let’s see how to transfer installed programs to another drive via this application.
Step 1. Install and launch Partition assistant, click “Free up”, then select the “App Mover” feature.
Step 2. In the new window, click “App Mover”. If you want to move folders, you can choose "Move Folders".
Step 3. In the new window, you will see all partitions, and the number and size of installed programs on every partition will also be displayed. Select one partition that you want to move applications from and click "Next".
Step 4. Choose the applications you want to move and select the target location, then click "Move".
Step 5. In the pop-up window, you need to confirm forcibly closing running applications when moving starts. Click "OK" to begin the process.
Warning: To ensure the apps run properly during the moving, please don't move or delete files by yourself in the source and target directories. Just leave it all to the software.
If you also want to know how to move installed programs to another drive in Windows 7/8/10/11 or an external hard drive, now you know the answer.
Final lines
In this article, all three approaches are available. However, the operation of Qiling Disk Master is simple for you to safely and quickly move your installed programs, and all programs you see in the list are moveable, so you don’t need to worry about boot failure.
Qiling Disk Master also has other helpful functions such as disk clone, OS migration, allocating free space to extend partition, converting disk to GPT/MBR, etc, and if you need, you can go to the Server Edition to manage your Server computer efficiently.
FAQs
♦ Q1: Can I move installed programs to another drive without reinstalling them?
Yes, it is possible to move installed programs to another drive without having to reinstall them. However, not all programs support this feature, and it primarily depends on the software itself. Some applications offer built-in options to change the installation directory, while others may require additional steps or third-party tools.
♦ Q2: How do I check if a program can be moved to another drive?
To determine if a program can be moved to another drive, you can start by checking the program's settings or options within the application itself. And you can refer to the program's documentation or contact the software developer for guidance on moving the program.
♦Q3: Are there any risks involved in moving installed programs to another drive?
Moving installed programs to another drive involves some risks, especially if not done correctly. It's crucial to follow the proper steps and ensure the program is compatible with the new location.
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