With Windows 10, the most used operating system in the world has evolved, improving and not a little. It has eliminated many of the limitations of the previous version, but in the evolution, some features have been reversed.
Windows 8 was the first real operating system installed on a laptop, without losing anything of the functionality that can be had on a desktop. Mobile devices are getting thinner and more powerful, but with compromises on storage space.
This limit can be solved with a little trick, by installing programs on the external PC memory. It is not an immediate procedure, but in this article, we can see how through the procedure that follows, it is possible to install apps on SD, hard disk or other external PC memory.
However, for some reason Windows has completely removed this option since upgrading to version 8.1. Fortunately, this feature was later integrated into the latest and most successful version of Windows 10. Despite being an internal operating system option, install apps on SD or other external storage, requires some steps to follow. Unfortunately, this feature was buried in the Settings application options, hard to find. Let’s see how you can install app on SD or other external memory, using a pendrive, an SD card or a hard drive to store programs on them to run on Windows 10.
Install apps on SD or other external PC memory with Windows 10
If you want to know the procedure to install programs on an external memory, first get an SD card or an external storage device, suitable to be connected to a computer with Windows 10. If you already have it, connect the memory external to the PC and delete all the possible useless files that are stored in it. I advise you to format the unit for best results (Read this guide on the different formats of formatting).
The next step is to go to the computer’s Start menu and quickly launch the Settings application.
Now go to System, then click on the tab named Storage. From here you can view all the drives or SD cards that are connected to your computer with Windows 10. If not, make sure that the storage unit you want to install the programs on is connected to the computer.
In the right panel, scroll down until you find the tab named “The new apps will be saved to …: ” and then select the drive or SD card as the main drive on which to save the apps.
After selecting the drive, click Apply and the new external storage drive will be set up as the drive on which the programs will be stored from now on.
Clearly, this procedure on how to install apps on SD or other external storage works only for the programs that will be installed from now on. If you need to move some programs already pre-installed on your computer, just move the installation files to the external drive. From now on, all the programs you install will be saved on the SD card or external hard drive.
The procedure is completed and you have successfully selected the preferred drive on which to save the programs, but you must be very careful and follow some precautions. You must be very careful not to eject the drive unit while a program installed on it is running, as this may seriously affect the file you are working on.