How to Change Apps Installation Location in Windows 10

This brief tutorial shows students and new users how to change the default apps installation location in Windows 10.

By default, all Windows applications are installed on the Local Disk C: (This PC) drive. This has been the default location since from the beginning of the modern Windows OS.

Advanced users may choose to install new applications at a different location, but that process isn’t automatic. You must manually select the location to install a program during the program installation.

With the introduction of Windows 10, now you can configure your systems to always install new programs and applications at a location specified by default.

Now a days, some PCs are sold with two hard drives. One hard drive might be SSD with smaller storage size the other a regular SATA drive but much bigger in storage size.

In this scenario, you can install Windows OS on the SSD drive to speed up your computer, and configure the larger drive to be the default installation location for apps, music, music and other data.

Windows 10 makes this easy.

To change the default location for apps, click Start and select Settings as shown in the image below

windows 10 default apps installation location

When Windows Settings page opens, click Systems as shown below.

windows 10 systems setting page

On the next page, choose Storage on the left, then choose the drive with the bigger storage to install all new apps or save new music, videos and photos.

Widnows 10 default installation location

Remember to click Apply to make it the default location.

These are the things to remember about selecting where apps, document, music, pictures and videos are saved by default.

  • You can only select a single location at a time for each of the item.
  • You cannot not install apps or programs on network location
  • Only new apps will be installed after the change. Existing programs do not get moved to the new location
  • You can install apps on an external or thumb drives. These portable drives must be attached to the computer always for your programs installed on them to function.
  • When the drives are removed, your programs will not function

That’s it! Thanks and we hope you return soon.

Enjoy!