Safely Transfer Programs from C Drive to D Drive in Windows 10/11
When your C drive gets a low disk space problem in Windows 10/11, it's a good idea to transfer installed programs from C drive to another drive. It can help you separate the installed application from the OS so as to free up and speed up the computer.
Follow this page, you'll learn how to effectively move programs from C drive to another drive such as from C to D without reinstallation.
How do I move programs from C drive to D drive in Windows 10/11
"I am running Windows 10, and I find that my hard drive works slower and slower. Sometimes it couldn't even work normally. Then I checked the hard disk and found that my C drive was full.
Some friends recommend me to merge C and D drive in Windows 10 to fix this problem. But I don't want to do it. I prefer to transfer programs from C drive to D drive. Is there any safe way to do the job? Please help!"
Many Windows users may have the same issue on their computers. So how can you do that? According to Microsoft and professional administrators, there are basically two methods that can do the job - moving programs from C to another drive:
1. Use PC transfer tool or software
2. Use Windows settings - Apps & Features or Apps & games
Instead of manually uninstalling and reinstalling applications to a new drive, any smart Windows user would prefer to apply these two solutions for application migration. Follow on, we'll show you how to move installed applications, programs, software, and even games from C: to D: without reinstallation using PC transfer software or manual method with Windows settings.
Method 1. Transfer Programs from C: to D: Drive with PC Transfer Software
Applies to: Transfer installed applications, programs, software, and even games from C drive to another local drive in Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP.
Professional Windows PC transfer software or tool can make things easy for users to dragging and dropping programs with files from C drive to D drive safely and quickly.
Qiling Disk Master is such a tool that enables you to execute app migration on a local drive, and transfer applications, data, and settings between computers in only a few simple clicks..
It can save you a lot of time and effort to transfer programs from C drive to D drive in Windows 10. Install the 100% secure tool on your computer, and learn how to execute this task on your own with simple steps.
Step 1. Run Qiling Disk Master on your PC
Go to "Backup and recovery" page and click "File sync" to continue.
Step 2. Select programs to move from C drive to another drive
1. Tick the C drive and select programs (marked as "Yes") that you want to transfer.
2. Click the browse icon to select another drive on your computer as the destination, and click "Proceed" to start the process.
When it has done, you can restart PC if necessary. This will keep all changes on your PC and then you can run and programs from another hard drive without reinstallation.
Method 2. Move Programs from C Drive to D Drive with Windows Settings
Applies to: Move partial C drive installed applications and programs to D drive on Windows 10/11. It's not available to all installed programs.
According to the Microsoft support team and professional geeks online, Apps & Features and Apps & games in Windows Settings can help you transfer some installed programs from C drive to D drive.
Let's see the detailed steps:
Move Programs in Apps & Features
Step 1. Right-click Windows icon and select "Apps and Features". Or Go to Settings > Click "Apps" to open Apps & features.
Step 2. Select the program and click "Move" to continue, then select another hard drive such as D: drive to move the selected app to and click "Move" to confirm.
All you need is to wait for the process to finish.
Move Programs in Apps & games
Step 1. Open Storage settings by typing storageat the search bar and select "Storage" to open it.
Step 2. Click "This PC (C:) " to open the Storage usage of C: drive. And click "Apps & games" to continue.
Step 3. On Apps & games, scroll down to Apps & features, selected desired application or program and click the "Move" button.
Then select D: or another drive as the target location and click "Move" to transfer the selected program.
Step 4. Wait for the migration to finish.
After this, you can restart the moved program on your D drive and continue using it again.
Note: If there is only a Modify option next to the selected program, or the "Move", "Modify" options are greyed out next to the selected application, it means that the publisher doesn't allow you to move it to another location.
In a word, when there is no "Move" option next to the selected program, you can't move it to another drive in Windows settings.
Don't feel upset when the selected applications or programs are not available for transferring in Windows Settings. You still have an alternative solution, using reliable PC Transfer software - Qiling Disk Master for help..
Bonus Tip: How to move a program to another drive with Registry
Applies to: Move programs from C drive to d drive in Windows by changing the storage path. Misuse Registry can cause a system crash.
In the following case, we will show you how to move programs to a different drive with another method. This method is mentioned by Microsoft. However, if you misuse the registry, the system breakdown will happen.
Step 1.Create a folder named "Program Files (86)" in the C drive or another external drive.
Step 2. For copying and pasting the Programs folder to the new location, Type CMDon the search box. Run CMD as administrator.
Type the following command line and press Enter:
- Robocopy" C:\Program Files" " D:\Program Files" / mir
- Robocopy" C:\Program Files(x86)" " D:\Program Files(x86)" / mir
Step 3.Run Regedit.exe by press "Windows + R".
Step 4. Find the folder path and change the C to another drive.
For Windows 7/8/8.1: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion"
For Windows 10: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Wow6432Node \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion"
Bottom Line
When you find the Windows Settings can't help you move the selected program to another non-system drive, let Qiling PC transfer software - Qiling Disk Master help..
It supports to transfer more C drive installed programs, applications, and software to a non-system partition. To migrate the C drive installed programs to D: or other drives, revet to Method 1 for a detailed guide.
Even if your selected program is currently not supported by Qiling Disk Master, you can submit a request. Qiling Disk Master engineers will collect your feedback and add it to the supporting list, helping more people to move desired applications, freeing up C drive space...
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