[Fixed] Apps and Features Move Greyed Out on Windows 10

When apps/programs/software are fixedly installed on the drive by Windows 10/11 and you can't use Apps and Features to move programs or apps on Windows 10, sometimes you will notice that the Move option is grayed out. 

"Since my C drive space is not enough, I tried to move some of the programs that came with Windows 10 from the C drive to another drive to free up space. But when I go to “Settings > Apps > Apps and Features” and select a Windows application, I can see the “Move” option, but it is grayed out. I want to know why the “Move” button is grayed out. Is there any other way to solve this problem? Thanks in advance!" - from Microsoft Community

The built-in Windows Move feature has some limitations, such as it can only move programs downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and it can only move one application at a time. When these limitations are not met, the apps and features  Move are grayed out. This article will provide a quick solution to solve this problem.

How to solve "Apps and features move greyed out"

AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is a powerful disk management software that can move any files installed on Windows, including programs and games. And the moved files can be run directly in the new path without worrying about data loss. App Mover feature of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional can help you solve the problem of can’t move Windows apps.

In addition to App Mover, Allocate Free Space from one partition to another, and Merge Partition can also solve the problem of insufficient C drive. Please download the demo version to see how to move a game or program to another drive without reinstalling.

Now, I will show you how to use AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional to transfer files between drives with NTFS, exFAT, and FAT32 file systems. You can follow the steps below.

 Step 1. Install and launch PA Professional, and select the “App Mover” under "Free Up".

Step 2. In this window, select the disk and partition where the program to be moved is located, and then click Next.

Step 3. In this step, you can start to select the program you want to move, please check the box in front of the program name, you can select single or multiple selections. Then you should select a new target path. Please note that you must select a drive with enough space to store the transferred files.

Step 4. Read the prompts, decide whether you want to transfer the program, and then click OK.

Step 5. After the “Move” is completed, click “Finish” to return to the PA main interface.

If you want to restore the moved programs to the original path, the operation is also very easy.

Step 1. In the main interface, click “All Tools” and “App Mover”.

Step 2. Click “Manage/Restore Apps”, the applications you have moved before will be listed, choose one or multiple apps you want to restore and click “Restore”.

Step 3. You will see a pop-up message to confirm forcibly closing running applications when restoring starts. Click “OK” to begin the process.

Step 4. You have restored the moved applications to their original location.

Why “Move” greyed out in Apps and Features 

When the C drive is not enough and wants to release the space of the C drive, move apps and files to another drive is a good option. However, users may find the "Move" option greyed out or there is no"Move" option. Why are my app icons greyed out?

If you see a gray Move button, you have selected non-Microsoft-provided apps in Windows 10. You cannot move these apps. You can only move apps installed from the App Store, such as games.

Some applications on Windows 10 are fixedly installed on the C drive and cannot be moved. Apps and features can only move programs downloaded from the Microsoft Store, and cannot move programs downloaded from other addresses. To overcome these restrictions on using the built-in functions of Windows,  you can use a third-party utility to move files and Apps easily and quickly - AOMEI Partition Assistant.

Final words

From what has been discussed above, this article explains in detail why Apps and features move greyed out, and the specific steps to use AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional to solve this problem. You can see that AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is not only versatile but also very easy to operate. If you are troubled by move programs, then AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional is worth a try. By the way, to use these advanced features in Windows Server, please upgrade to AOMEI Partition Assistant Server.