How to Move AppData to Another Drive on Windows 11 - 2 Ways

Because the available space of the system drive is closely related to the performance of Windows. Therefore, when the system drive is almost full, users expect to move some unrelated folders to other drives to free up the system drive, such as the AppData folder.  In this article, we will introduce how to move or transfer AppData to another drive on your Windows 11 PC. Before we begin, please review the following FAQ:

🔍What is in the AppData folder?

AppData folder contains data not part of the original installation files. When you install a program, all the files needed to run it are stored in the Program Files or Program Files x86 folder, and data other than these files is stored in the AppData folder. These data include program cache, temporary files, configuration files, etc.

🔍Is it possible to move the AppData folder to another drive?

Yes, you can move AppData to another drive. But you cannot move the AppData folder by copy and paste. Copy and paste is minimal, and it can only operate on some simple folders. Copy and paste copies of the files on the surface, not the other data used to find and access those files. Even if some files are moved to the new location, they cannot be used because the drive letter has changed, and the system cannot find the path.

Windows 11 Move AppData to another drive successfully

Windows applications usually want AppData to remain in its default location. Using symbolic links effectively redirects file paths. This section gives detailed step-by-step instructions. Moving AppData may affect some applications if not done properly. Make sure you have backed up your system to avoid accidental data loss.

Step 1: Backup the AppData Folder

• Open File Explorer and navigate to C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData.
• Copy the entire folder to your target drive (e.g., D:\AppData).

Step 2: Create a Symbolic Link

A symbolic link redirects Windows to the new location of AppData without breaking application functionality.

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Run the following command: mklink /D "C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData" "D:\AppData", Replace [Your Username] with your actual Windows username.

Step 3: Verify the Changes

• Open applications to ensure they function as expected.
• Check that the symbolic link works by navigating to the original AppData folder path (C:\Users\[Your Username]\AppData).

Many users on the Microsoft community have mentioned some additional ways to get more storage space:

• Clear AppData on Windows 11 directly 
• Copy and paste the AppData folder to move it to another drive
• Use Windows Registry to change the location of AppData on Windows 10/11

However, we do not recommend using these methods. The copy-paste method will not successfully migrate Appdata, and clearing AppData or using Registry to change the default location of AppData may cause the application to crash.

Is it safe to move Appdata to another drive?

Moving the AppData folder to another drive can save space on your system disk, but you need to be careful because AppData is an important configuration folder for the Windows operating system and many applications. If not done correctly, it may cause some programs to fail to run properly or even affect the stability of your system. Some users are also questioning whether they can use copy and paste method:

"I have 3 drives, Boot(C:), Data(D:) and Restore(E:). My C: drive almost full, it contains my Appdata\Local (50GB), and my D: has 377GB free, I wonder if I can safely move the AppData folder to D:? I tried creating a User\username\AppData folder in D:, and I am going to manually move it to the new folder. I see it's copying everything right now, will this work?"     - Question from Superuser

It is unlikely that this will be a viable solution. The process of copy-paste only copies the files on the surface, not the additional data used to find and access those files. This means that some files may become inaccessible if they are moved to a new location, as the drive letter may have changed, and the system may no longer be able to find the path. To prevent possible errors, it is recommended that you use professional and trustworthy transfer software - AOMEI Partition Assistant, to transfer Apps to another drive or clone the whole disk.

Tip 1. Move App/Data to another drive via Transfer Tool

AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is a powerful program/folder transfer utility (Support to Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista/XP). Clone feature helps to move folders/data/programs from one drive to another safely and easily to free up more space on the original partition.

If you want to move installed programs to another drive then you can try the Clone feature. Please download the Demo version to see how to move data to another drive on Windows 11.

Step 1. In the main interface of AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro. Right-click the partition you want to clone and select “Clone Partition”.

Step 2. Select partition copy way in the following pop-up window, and click “Next”.

Step 3. Select the source partition that you want to copy and click “Next”.

Step 4. In the following Windows, you can resize and move partition by dragging and change drive letter. Then, click “Next”

Step 5. Click “Apply” to carry out the pending operation.

Tip 2: More tricks extend system drive space for Windows

In addition to moving programs/folders, you can also directly allocate the free space of another partition to the system drive, which is an easy, fast and convenient method to extend the system drive.

Free download AOMEI Partition assistant and enjoy the better performance it brings to your computer.

Step 1. On the main interface of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, right-click the partition with excess space (here, take D as an example), and select "Allocate Free Space".

Step 2. Here, choose how much space to allocate to the system drive. Then click "OK".

Step 3. Go back to the main interface and click "Apply" to perform the operation.

Tip: If the current disk space is insufficient, you can even clone the hard drive to a larger one.

Sum up

This is the whole process of how to move AppData to another drive on Windows 11. With the help of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can do it easily and safely.

Last but not least, if you want to move installed programs/folders on Windows Server, please switch to AOMEI Partition Assistant Server, which can help you manger Server PC timely and flexibly.