Changing default install location in Windows 10

I’ve been trying to change the default install location to my D: drive, this was my initial idea when building my PC so obviously the D: drive has a lot more capacity than the main drive, which I was planning on using just for Windows software. However, everything is getting installed automatically to the C: drive which is now maxed out. For some reason, at moment of installation I’m never asked in what folder I’d like for the program to be in.

I tried going to Settings > System > Apps & Features, but the Move feature is grayed out.

I also tried changing the Regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > ProgramFilesDir path, but programs are still installing in the C: drive

So, what do I need to do to select in what folder I want programs to be installed in? I searched online and it appears a lot of people are having this problem too, but no solution for Windows 10.

I would greatly appreciate a solution, thank you!

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I’ve been trying to change the default install location to my D: drive, this was my initial idea when building my PC so obviously the D: drive has a lot more capacity than the main drive, which I was planning on using just for Windows software. However, everything is getting installed automatically to the C: drive which is now maxed out. For some reason, at moment of installation I’m never asked in what folder I’d like for the program to be in.

I tried going to Settings > System > Apps & Features, but the Move feature is grayed out.

I also tried changing the Regedit > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > ProgramFilesDir path, but programs are still installing in the C: drive

So, what do I need to do to select in what folder I want programs to be installed in? I searched online and it appears a lot of people are having this problem too, but no solution for Windows 10.

I would greatly appreciate a solution, thank you!

Microsoft Store apps install location

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Hi oğuzhangenç and thanks for reaching out. My name is Joseph. I am an independent adviser. I’ll be happy to help you out today.

Type «file explorer» press enter
Go to «view» tab and click «Option» button.
Go to View tab again
Check «Show hidden files, folders and drives» and hit okay.

and go here..
C:\Users\Username of your PC\AppData\Local\Packages

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let me know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it’s resolved.

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You may try following these steps. Check this video tutorial for detailed instructions.

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let me know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it’s resolved.

Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

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Where are Windows Store Apps installed & how to access the folder

UWP apps can be accessed from and started by clicking on the Tiles on the Windows Start. But where are they installed or located? The Universal or Windows Store Applications in Windows 10/8 are installed in the WindowsApps folder located in the C:\Program Files folder. It is a Hidden folder, so in order to see it, you will have to first open Folder Options and check the Show hidden files, folders and drives option.

Now you will be able to see the WindowsApps folder in the C:\Program Files folder.

Access or open the Windows Apps folder

Before you read further, we suggest you create a system restore point first.

Now, if you try to click on it to open it, you will not be allowed to, but you will instead see the following road-block.

Clicking on Continue will open the following warning box, saying that you have been denied permission to access this folder.

To gain access to the WindowsApps folder, click on the Security tab link. The following Properties box will open.

To be able to view the contents of the folder you must have at least Read permissions. Click on the Advanced button to open the Advanced Security Settings for the protected folder.

Clicking on Continue will open a box that will list down the permission entries for the folder. You will now have to give yourself permission, and you can do so by changing the Owner from TrustedInstaller to your name. Do note that, as an example, I have given myself complete blanket permissions, but you may give yourself limited permission as are required, by editing the permissions entries from its settings.

You may click on the desired entry and click View to see the individual permission entries and make changes there too. You will have to change the Principal / Owner first, however.

To do so, click on Change in the earlier step and enter the object name and click on Check Names too, as this will check if you have entered the name correctly, and correct it, if you haven’t.

I repeat, as an example, I have given myself complete blanket permissions, but you may give yourself limited permission as are required, by editing the permissions entries from its settings, as shown in the Permissions Entries box above.

The permission will be changed and will see a dialog box.

You will have to close the explorer window and re-open it.

You will now be able to click open on the WindowsApps folder and see its contents.

Any hacker or malware that gains access to this folder, could potentially modify the apps source code maliciously. So it might be a good idea to change the permissions back to their defaults, after you have completed your work. To do this, you have to simply reverse or undo the changes you made in the Advanced Security Settings.

If you wish to only see the list of all the apps along with their shortcuts, you can copy-paste the following in explorer address bar and hit Enter to open the following Applications folder:

Using this way you can change the permissions of any folder in Windows.

To reverse the changes, you need to retrace your steps and undo the changes made – or else you could go back to the created system restore point.

Date: September 8, 2018 Tags: Folder, Windows Apps

Windows Setup cannot find a location to store temporary installation files

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Do you have 931 megabytes of free space on that partition?

Hope this helps.

-Tamara
Independent Advisor

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If setup is not offering you the option to select a partition to store temporary files, you need to use an external drive.

Here are steps how to do that:

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Hi Lukito, I am Dexter, an Independent Advisor, here to help you.

Refer to the System requirements for installing Windows 10, you need at least 16 GB for 32-bit OS 32 GB for 64-bit OS.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows.

You’ve mentioned you’re using Linux, I wonder are you tried to install Windows 10 in a virtual machine?

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask back any questions and let me know how it goes. I will keep working with you until it’s resolved.

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Okay. I’m sorry I haven’t used Wine in a long time. I don’t have much input.

I found this post from the MS Community, that may help.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/for.

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Refer to the System requirements for installing Windows 10, you need at least 16 GB for 32-bit OS 32 GB for 64-bit OS.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows.

You’ve mentioned you’re using Linux, I wonder are you tried to install Windows 10 in a virtual machine?

Even though I’ve resized it to be 17gb, it still shows me the same problem

Never tried, but my PC is probably gonna die trying, it is a really crappy PC

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Well, I assume you’re installing windows 10 within Linux by Wine, am I right?

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Bingo! The result is that you can’t install such a Windows by using Wine in Linux, that’s impossible because Wine is used to run some of the programs coded for Windows( not for everyone ). If you intend to install Windows 10 and run it within Linux, I suggest you use VirtualBox and create a VM to perform this.

Here is the official website of VirtualBox, you should have a look at.

https://www.virtualbox.org/
_______________________________________________
Standard Disclaimer: There are links to non-Microsoft websites. The pages appear to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the sites that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the sites before you decide to download and install it.

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How does Windows find the installed location when uninstalling software

When I run an installer that allows a custom install location/path, the files will be correctly placed at the location that I select.

When I run the same MSI and select remove (or uninstall from add/remove programs), how does it know the install location so the correct files are removed?

I thought it would be stored at ‘Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall‘, but when I look at that location for my installed software, the ‘InstallLocation’ key is empty.

However, no matter how I uninstall it, it knows which folder to go remove, no matter where I put it. Is that information stored elsewhere in the registry, or in the MSI file itself?

2 Answers 2

This is a very complicated question as MSI can be configured to drop its uninstall files anywhere you tell it. Usually by default though it will create an uninstall .msi file with a specific name in C:\Windows\Installer.

But don’t depend on the uninstall .msi being placed in this directory and don’t rely on there being an uninstall path in the Uninstall registry key. This key is as much about convenience for the end-user as anything else.

The uninstall information is usually contained within the MSI file, but it need not be and during installation it can create keys to aid upgrading and uninstallation. The information that an installation will leave in the registry is entirely down to how you configure the .msi database.

Adding a few more things. many installers like Nullsoft, InstallAware and InstallShield like to do their own stuff and put their uninstall information in other places. So InstallShield likes to create an InstallShield Installation Information folder and Nullsoft likes to create .dat files and an uninstall.exe. But beyond all this, these installers are still invoking MSI and creating installation tables and database. So where the uninstall information is actually located it not an exact science!

Implementation Details: How MSI stores these things are implementation details that should not be meddled with, attempted modified or used directly for any purpose — just so that is clear. You should go through the MSI API which is implemented as Win32 functions with complementary COM wrappers for access via scripting languages.

Registry: The MSI database is stored mostly in the registry, but there also components on disk — some of which you refer to — for example %SystemDrive%\Windows\Installer (a super-hidden folder that should not be modified in any way). The MSI database is stored in numerous locations throughout the registry:

• HKCR\Installer
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Installer
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer
• Etc.

Some of these are real, some are aliases, some are merges. It is all a bit fuzzy. Again: implementation details — a well-known euphemism for all of us to: «give up right now, will you«? :-). Just apply the MSI API to acquire the information you need.

MSI API: A lot of stuff to read above to get to the point, go via the MSI API to get your information on directory resolution. What we have to do is a bit exotic, we have to spin up a session object for the installed product and run two standard actions (built-in MSI actions from Microsoft) in order to resolve the directory table and installation directories of the MSI in question (about «costing»). Below is a practical sample:

Throwing in a link to an old answer on how to list tables inside an MSI file.

Resolve All: Got a bit carried away and made one more update to resolve ALL directories for any installed package. Here is a script (not tested much):