The Windows 11 drive, or the drive where Windows 11 is installed, includes all installation files, apps, drivers, and other files required for the smooth operation of the Windows 11 operating system.
With default installation settings, apps installed from the Microsoft Store are automatically saved in a system folder present in the Windows 11 drive, which is generally the “C” drive.
If the drive where Windows 11 is installed is running out of free space, you can consider adding more space to it by extending the volume. However, if, for some reason, you cannot extend the Windows 11 drive, you can configure Windows 11 to save new apps in a different drive where you have enough free space.
The best thing is that you do not need third-party software or edit the complicated Windows Registry to change the default install path for apps. The Settings app can help you change where new apps are saved in Windows 11.
NOTE 1: Once successfully done, only new apps installed from the Microsoft Store will be saved in the new drive/location. Existing apps are not automatically moved to the new location/drive. However, you can manually move the existing apps from one drive to another.
NOTE 2: Apps installed outside the Microsoft Store will not use the new drive/location.
NOTE 3: Windows 11 supports external drives as installation locations. So, you can select an external drive as the new location to save apps.
Change the install location for apps in Windows 11
Step 1: Open the Settings app using search or Windows logo + I hotkey.
Step 2: In the left pane of Settings, click System. On the right side, click Storage.
Step 3: Now, in the Storage management section, click Advanced storage settings to see available storage settings.
Step 4: Here, click the Where new content is saved option.
Step 5: Finally, in the drop-down menu next to the New apps will save to option, select the drive where you would like to install apps that you install from the Microsoft Store app. Click the Apply button.
That’s it! From now onwards, whenever you install a new app from the Microsoft Store, it will be automatically installed in the newly selected drive.
Windows 11 will create a new folder called WindowsApps at the root of the drive to save new apps.
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