Default save locations for Game Pass on PC

Papaboy76 · Jul 16, 2019

So I've run into a very frustrating issue, when attempting to install a game from your XBOX GAME PASS windows desktop application. I currently have multiple hard drives and I have my data separated to specific drives in my case C drive (512GB) as normal
OS and core software (but all user profiles and data pointing to the D drive location), and a D drive (2TB) for all my games, add-ons, and data.

My issue is when ever I try to install a game to the D drive its trying to force me to set
ALL applications to the D drive not just the game I'm trying to install, so in essence I cannot install any Microsoft games anywhere but the C drive, without it tell me to set ALL APP's to the
D drive which is ridiculous!

Why can't I set a specific location??

BTW I did attempt to set the D drive as the default location to test if I could install the Game, but it just told me it (D) was not an acceptable location and defaulted back to C drive again.

So I'm at a lose, in the default install locations settings page you have almost everything separated like APPs, Music, Pictures, BUT NOT GAMES?!?! You really need to allow me to set a specific installation location for each game like we have been doing
for 20+ years, not sure what your logic was for removing our ability to do this...

I'm hoping someone has a work around or a fix for this. because at this point I can install a single game.

:)

Obsessive Power

I really appreciate all the effort you put into this, but if you read my post again, you will see that I already tried this method and windows will not allow me to set D as a default location.

Sorry about that. It could be that your D:\ drive is not configured correctly for Windows 10.

Is this D:\ drive an external hard drive or Internal drive?

Also, have you tried posting this question on the
Microsoft Windows Support forums?

Obsessive Power

Hi

You can have the Xbox beta games on whatever drive you like. You can also install games on different drives. on my PC I've got some installed on C:\ some on D:\ and some on E:\ which is an external hard drive.

Before you can utilise a drive with PC game pass, you must make it a location you can install games to. Once it's done, you change it back. If you don't do this, the Xbox PC app won't let you install to that location.

Try this:

Click on the Windows START button and go to the settings settings screen. Click on
System.

Click on Storage.

Scroll down and select 'Change where new content is saved'.

Select the drive you want to use and click Apply.

Note: this needs to be done to instruct the Xbox PC beta App that it can use that drive to store games.

Go to your PC Beta App and select Settings.

Change to the drive you want to use to install your game\s. You can have the games on any drive you like. Just choose this setting before you download your game.

Echo4Ent

Windows Central has an informative article on how to set default install, and even how to move individual apps once installed.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-install-apps-separate-drive-windows-10

While you are correct, they treat apps and games as the same thing, you CAN move the install locations on an individual basis, once they are downloaded. It is kind of a pain, but you could download a game onto C:, and then move it to D: after the fact.

There are many windows support threads begging Microsoft to make this whole thing easier. Hopefully it gets addressed in a future Windows Update.

Papaboy76

I really appreciate all the effort you put into this, but if you read my post again, you will see that I already tried this method and windows will not allow me to set D as a default location.

T3chnlgydude

Hi Papaboy76

I have read many articles in an effort to find a method to install only games to a different directory and from what I understand, by changing the directory, all apps will also be moved as you said.

I hope they change this as I also like to save my games to a different drive. My C: drive is for Windows and apps only. I'm busy downloading the Gamepass app for my PC and I'll fiddle around to see if I can figure something out.

If there is no option we should perhaps suggest this in feedback?

Default save locations for Game Pass on PC