MS Store or xBox app on Windows 11 can't change installation path from drive С to drive D

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Microsoft Community Moderator

Hello UltraMaxOld,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.



We understand that you are trying to add your game on other drive. Let us check on this together and sort this out in timely manner for you to get back to gaming. If your drive is already formatted as NTFS you can skip the steps below.

There is a possibility that the format of your drive is to be different from NTFS. In that case, we recommend you check or follow the steps below to format your drive.

1. Plug the USB drive or external storage device into your Windows 10/11 PC.
   
2. Open File Explorer.
   
3. Right-click your USB drive or external storage device.
   
4. From the pop-up menu, select Format.
   
5. In the File system dropdown menu, select NTFS.
   
6. Select Start to begin formatting.
   

Source: How to format a USB flash drive or external storage device to NTFS on Windows | Xbox Support

We have details we would like to ask:

Can you provide us the error message you are getting on PC Settings? Please conceal your personal information like email and full name.

Have you tried changing the Xbox app games installation location? Please follow the steps below:

1. Go to PC Settings and select System.
   
2. At the left side, please select Storage and scroll down on the options on the right side.
   
3. Look for Change where new content is saved. This will take you to a selection of drive and on the Change the New apps will save to - please select Drive B.
   
4. Launch Xbox app and go to settings.
   
5. Look for general and under Game Install Option, please select Drive B.
   
6. Then, no need to change folder, as this will default to B:\XboxGames. Should you wish to rename XboxGames, you may select Change Folder.
   

Overall, the steps in storing your Xbox games on different location or hard drive is to format your drive to NTFS. Next, change your PC Settings storage into Drive B and lastly, update your Xbox app game installation option to the same drive. In any case you encounter any issues with Xbox app, we recommend you perform these troubleshooting:

1. Restart device -
   
   • This will clear your computer’s memory/RAM.
     
2. Keep your Windows updated -
   
   • Install PC updates including Optional Update. Guide - Update Windows
     
     • Settings > Update & Security (Windows 10) or Windows Update (Windows 11) > Check for updates > download updates and install > restart device and wait for the update to be done.
       
   • If you have issues with update, please check the troubleshooting steps available here - Troubleshoot problems updating Windows.
     
3. Update Xbox app and Gaming Services from Microsoft Store
   
   • Launch Microsoft Store app on Windows by searching it on Windows search bar.
     
   • Select Library > Updates & downloads > check if an update is available for the Xbox app or Gaming Services app.
     
   • If an update is available, select Update.
     
4. Make sure you are signed in to Microsoft Store and Xbox app with the same credentials.
   
5. Uninstalling and reinstalling Gaming Services.
   
   • Right-click the Start button and select Windows PowerShell (Admin).
     
   • Type this command one at a time, press enter and wait:
     get-appxpackage Microsoft.GamingServices | remove-AppxPackage -allusers
     start ms-windows-store://pdp/?productid=9MWPM2CQNLHN
     
   • Install the app on that page and select Yes when you receive the User Account Control (UAC) prompt.
     
   • Restart your device and try to install the game again
     

Source: Troubleshoot issues with the Xbox App for Windows



We look forward to your response. Kindly let us know, if there is any misunderstanding or clarifications of our description by sending us a reply.



Sincerely,



Microsoft Community Moderator

Thank you for contact us! I'm Anderson, an Independent Consultant and a Microsoft user like you.

good evening

You can try the following steps to install Sea of Thieves on a different drive:

Create a symbolic link (also known as a "junctions") between the folder where Windows Store installs apps on the C drive, and a folder on the D drive. This tricks the Windows Store into thinking the app is installed on the C drive, when it's actually on the D drive.

Uninstall Sea of Thieves from the Windows Store, if it's already installed.

Open an elevated Command Prompt window (right-click the Start button and select "Command Prompt (Admin)").

Run the following command to create a symbolic link:

mklink /J "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.SeaOfThieves_1.0.29.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe" "D:\SeaOfThieves"

Close the Command Prompt window and open the Windows Store app.

Reinstall Sea of Thieves and it should install to the D drive, using the symbolic link created in step 4.

This should resolve your issue and allow you to install Sea of Thieves on the D drive.

Found the problem. Had to change the default save location for apps from the windows store from my main drive (C to my game drive (D. There appears to be a problem with the drop-down menu save location. Now it is installing without issue

In this example, the external drive is D:\

Nearly all Windows Apps and games are installed to a protected and encrypted folder called WindowsApps.

If you've taken your D:\ drive from either another PC or you have installed Windows 10 again from scratch, your previous WindowsApps folder will no longer be accessible and Windows 10 will not be able to access or install Windows Store Apps and games to this drive. To use this drive for Windows Store games and apps, it will need to be deleted.



Please follow this guide to help you delete your current WindowsApps folder. Once done you will also need to the delete two additional folders called 'WpSystem' and 'WUDownloadCache'. These folders are not protected so should easily be removed.



Once your old folder is deleted you should be able to change the drive Apps are installed to in Windows 10 to the D: drive. Doing this will create a new WindowsApps folder on your drive.



Please let us know how you get on.