Move Program Files (x86) to Another Drive Safely and Easily
- Can you move Program Files (x86) to another drive?
- About move Program Files (x86) to another drive - You should know
- ▶ What is Program Files (x86)?
- ▶ Why move Program Files (x86) to another drive?
- ▶ Is it safe to move Program Files (x86) to another drive?
- How to move Program Files (x86) to another drive on Window 10 safely
- Further tips: Move installed programs to another drive
- Conclusion
Can you move Program Files (x86) to another drive?
I'm on Windows 10, my system drive is nearly full, and I need to move Program Files x86 to my D drive. I have been told that copying and pasting it won't work, and I will need to delete and redownload it. This is a problem because the file is over 36 GB. Is there any other way to do this?"
About move Program Files (x86) to another drive - You should know
Before changing Program Files (x86) location, you should know this information.
▶ What is Program Files (x86)?
"x86" now refers to the pre-64-bit architecture—whether that's 16-bit or 32-bit. The newer 64-bit architecture is referred to as "x64" instead. That's what "Program Files (x86)" means. It's the Program Files folder for programs using the older x86 CPU architecture.
▶ Why move Program Files (x86) to another drive?
Since the default download path of Windows is the system drive (mostly the C drive), when the user download a program or file, if the save path is not changed, it will be automatically stored in the Program Files (x86) of the C drive. Over time, the system drive will become smaller and smaller. This will cause a lot of problems, including Windows slowdowns, system crashes, and low disk space warning.
▶ Is it safe to move Program Files (x86) to another drive?
Much depends on what the data is in the Program Files (x86) folder. If it's a system-related file, then please don't do that as moving it may break Windows. But if some application is installed in Program Files (x86), it is safe to move it.
How to move Program Files (x86) to another drive on Window 10 safely
If you plan to copy applications or folders in Program Files (x86) from C drive to D drive one by one, this may cause the applications or folders not to run normally. Actually, there is a better choice.
Qiling Disk Master Professional is a powerful applications/folders transfer tool which allow users to move installed programs or folders from one drive to another without losing data. Even after moving, you can restore them to their original path.
Warning: For system security, Qiling Disk Master Professional does not support moving the entire Program Files (x86) folder, but can move installed programs or subfolders in it. Please choose to move applications or folders that are not related to the system according to your own needs.
Further tips: Move installed programs to another drive
As we mentioned above, "App Mover" also allows users to move installed programs to another drive without boot issue. The following will show you the whole process.
Conclusion
As you can see, this is the full guide of moving program files (x86) to another drive. With the help of the powerful Qiling Disk Master Professional, move installed programs or folders becomes easy.
In addition to that, there are more advanced features are waiting for you to unlock, such as allocating free space from one drive to another, merging partitions, cloning hard drive to a bigger one, deleting large files by type to save more space on the PC, and more. If you are a Windows Server user, please turn to Server Version.
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