How to Safely Move Programs from C Drive to D Drive in Windows 10?  

How to Safely Move Programs from C Drive to D Drive in Windows 10?


Can I move programs from C drive to D drive?

To free up space on your C drive, you can move some programs from C to D drive. This process is called "moving" rather than "copying" as you want to relocate the programs, not create duplicates. Ensure that the program's installation folder is moved to the D drive, not just the shortcuts. This should help free up space on your C drive. Most programs should run properly after moving, but some might require additional setup or configuration. It's recommended to move programs one by one to test and ensure they function correctly. You may also want to consider deleting unnecessary files and programs on your C drive to further optimize your system.

C Drive Full

How to move programs from C drive to D drive in Windows 10

To resolve the issue of a full C drive, you can transfer programs from the C drive to the D drive or another available drive. This can be done in two easy ways, which will help resolve the problem quickly and efficiently.

Warning: Some programs only work properly when installed on the C drive of the hard drive, so it's best not to move them to another drive.

Way 1. Move apps from C to D drive from Control Panel [Limited]

The location of certain apps can be changed from the Control panel. To do this, go to the Control panel, click on the "Personalization" option, and then click on the "Locations" tab. From there, you can select the apps you want to change the location for and choose a new location.

Step 1. Click "Start" and choose "Settings".

Windows Settings

Step 2. To view a list of installed programs on your computer, click on the "Apps" option in the pop-up window, and then select "App & feature" from the list of options. This will display a list of all the programs that are currently installed on your computer.

Settings Apps

Step 3. In this window, you can see the installed programs. Right-click the program that you want to move and choose "Move".

Move

Note: If there's no "Move" button, you might be unable to move an app, and it's possible that the only option available when right-clicking a certain program is "Uninstall".

2. Transfer apps from C drive to D drive via a safe app mover

If the app you want to transfer to another drive doesn't have a move option, you can use a powerful application mover like Qiling Disk Master Professional to move it, which can move apps not only from C drive to D drive on the same disk but also to another disk without reinstalling.

The software can clone all content on the C drive, including apps and operating system, to another hard drive without reinstallation and boot failure, allowing for a seamless transfer of programs from the C drive to the D drive in Windows operating systems.

PS.: The demo version of Qiling Disk Master Professional can be downloaded to try out its features.

Step 1. Install and run Qiling Disk Master Professional.Click the drive you need to move the applications and choose "File Sync".

App Mover

Step 2. In the pop-up window, choose the partition that you want to free up via moving apps.

Choose Partition

Step 3. In the window, you can list and select movable apps on C drive to move to the desired destination partition, such as D drive, and then click "Move" to execute the operation.

Choose Programs

Step 4. Confirm that you have closed all apps that will be moved from the C drive to the D drive, then click "Proceed".

OK

Step 5. Wait for the move process to complete. Then, click "Finish".

Notes:✎...
To manually select a destination path for moved apps, click "Select a path manually" to open Windows Explorer, then choose a specific folder to serve as the destination path for the moved apps.
If the target drive doesn't have enough space, you'll be notified that D:\ has insufficient space, can't move applications. To resolve this, please free up space or extend the partition on the target drive, then try moving the apps again.
You can choose an external drive or USB flash drive as the target path, but be aware that the drive letter may change when re-connected, potentially causing issues with apps that were moved.
To transfer programs from C drive to D drive in Windows Server, use Qiling Disk Master Server to relocate programs to the D drive.

Further reading: Other tricks to free up space on C drive

You've likely figured out how to move programs from the C drive to the D drive in Windows 10, 8, 7, XP, and Vista. However, there are other ways to free up space on your C drive beyond just moving programs. Let's take a look at two additional methods to help you reclaim some space.

Method 1. Run Disk Cleanup on C drive

Step 1. Right-click on C drive and choose "Properties" and select "Disk Cleanup".

Step 2. After a while, you can see the files that can be deleted. Choose unnecessary files and click "OK".

Disk Cleanup

Method 2. Delete hibernate file

Step 1. Press "WIN" + "R", input "cmd", and press Enter to open Command Prompt.

Step 2. Input "powercfg.exe -h off" and press Enter.

Delete Hibernation File

To sum up

These are how to move apps from C to D drive in Windows 10. Qiling Disk Master is a versatile tool for Windows PC users. With this tool, you can also convert to GPT/MBR, switch file systems between FAT32 and NTFS without data damage, elete large files, and so on.delete large files, and so on.

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