How to Safely Move Programs from C Drive to D Drive in Windows 10?

Can I move programs from C drive to D drive?

“My system hard drive has been originally allocated with 2 partitions: C and D. Now, C drive is almost full and my Windows 10 PC runs slowly while there is plenty of space on D drive. How to move programs from C to D drive to free up space on it? Will my apps run properly after moving? Thanks!”

How to move programs from C drive to D drive in Windows 10

The possible results of C drive full, such as low disk space warning, slow response, etc., make you want to solve the problem as soon as possible. To transfer programs from C drive to D drive or another drive is a nice choice. You will view two easy ways to complete the task.

Way 1. Move apps from C to D drive from Control Panel [Limited]

It’s available to change the location of certain apps from Control. Keep reading to realize detailed steps.

Step 1. Click "Start" and choose "Settings". 

Step 2. In the pop-up window, click “Apps” and click “App & feature”. Then, you can see a list of installed programs on your computer.

Step 3. In this window, you can see the installed programs. Right-click the program that you want to move and choose “Move”.

2. Transfer apps from C drive to D drive via a safe app mover

If the app that you want to transfer to another drive has no Move Option, you can resort to a reliable & powerful application mover for Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 – AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. It can move apps not only from C drive to D drive on the same disk but also to another disk without reinstalling.

What’s more, it can clone all content on C drive, including apps and operating system to another hard drive without reinstallation and boot failure. To make better use of it, check out the following tutorial on how to move programs from C drive to D drive in Windows 11/10/8/7, XP, and Vista.

PS.: You can download the demo version of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional to have a try!

Step 1. Install and run AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Right-click the drive you need to move the applications and choose "APP Mover".

Step 2. In the pop-up window, choose the partition that you want to free up via moving apps (here is partition C)and click “Next”.

Step 3. In the window, all movable apps on C drive will be listed. You can choose one or multiple apps that you need to move and the destination partition ( here I choose D drive). Then click “Move” to execute the operation. 

Step 4. Confirm that you have closed the apps that you will move from C drive to D drive. Then, click "OK". 

Step 5. Wait for the move process to complete. Then, click "Finish". 

Notes:✎...

You can click “Select a path manually” to go to Windows Explorer and select a specified folder as the destination path of moved apps. 

If the target drive doesn’t have enough space to hold the moved apps, you’ll be prompted by the message: D:\ has insufficient space，can't move applications. Please free space or extend the partition, then try again. 

You are allowed to choose an external drive or USB flash drive as the target path. But what you should know is that the drive letter may be changed automatically when it is re-connected. In this case, the moved apps are unable to run.

 To transfer programs from C drive to D drive in Windows Server 2019, 2016, 2016, 2012, or 2008, please use AOMEI Partition Assistant Server. 

Further reading: Other tricks to free up space on C drive

Surely, you have realized how to move programs from C drive to D drive in Windows 10, 8, 7, XP, and Vista. Actually, there are other useful methods to reclaim free space on C drive. Now, have a look at the two methods.

Method 1. Run Disk Cleanup on C drive

Step 1. Right-click on C drive and choose “Properties” and select “Disk Cleanup”.

Step 2. After a while, you can see the files that can be deleted. Choose unnecessary files and click “OK”.

Method 2. Delete hibernate file

Step 1. Press “WIN” + “R”, input “cmd”, and press Enter to open Command Prompt.

Step 2. Input “powercfg.exe -h off” and press Enter.

To sum up

These are how to move apps from C to D drive in Windows 10. AOMEI Partition Assistant is a versatile tool for Windows PC users. With this tool, you can also convert to GPT/MBR, switch file systems between FAT32 and NTFS without data damage, delete large files, and so on.