I move apps from C: to D: drive, and they move back to C: .

[rmr]

My C drive, SSD was almost full, Windows, 10. I tried using a thumb drive , 500 GB to move some stuff to. I got to 38 GB free space on the C:, the next morning when I checked most of it had moved back to C: and it was almost full again. Is this because it is a thumb drive,,not a internal drive ? I formatted the thumb drive to NTFS . I never removed the thumb drive since I started transfering files. Thanks

[rmr]

I'll answer my own question,, sort of. I uninstalled a few apps and reinstalled them on D: and they seem to be staying there. A good solution ( I think ) , since so many apps can not be moved , which I think is BS .

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Moved what exactly? Most of what gets housed on C Drive can't be moved.

If you Documents and other User related folders are growing in size, you can change the true location for where their files will be housed at, via Properties on folders you see under your User folder; such as Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos for example.

A USB Pen/Thumb Drive or SD Card doesn't really help, that should be used for loose file storage, like personal documents for example.

If you need more space, you need to:

> replace OS Drive with a larger one. Where you connect new drive via SATA, M2 or USB and then clone the OS Drive over to the new larger drive, then remove the old drive, connect the new drive and boot to it. Then wipe the old drive completely clean and put it to use for other needs.

> Add another drive; SATA, M2, or USB. You can even purchase common SATA or M2 (NVME) Drives and use them via USB by purchasing either an adapter or caddy.

Installed Apps/Games should always be housed on Internal Drives that are always connected.

You can't just move apps to another drive, then need to be installed there.

If you wish and can move stuff to another drive, do not use a Move option, use a Copy option. Just in case something happens while it's in the middle of file transfer. If you do a move and something bad happens, you might actually lose data in the process. When you do Copy it's much safer. However after the copy is complete, the files will still reside in the original location, to then you can go and delete. If you use the tradition delete option however, then they just go to the recycle bin, which will need to be emptied before actual disk space can be gained and freed up.

[rmr]

Excellent explanation. Thank you for taking the time to do that. I go to SETTINGS-SYSTEM then APPS. I have been trying to move what I consider optional apps, like Blue Mail, Clip Champ, DuckDuckGo. I will have to get a SATA drive and install it internally, as a second drive , I've been leery of doing this because it's a little over my head. I need a drive, a sata cable and a power cable ( I guess) I can not use a M2, my mobo will only work with one. Thanks !

[Bad 💀 Motha]

The OS and Apps shouldn't take up but maybe 40-50GB or so.
How big is your OS SSD?

Load up Disk Cleanup (Run As Admin) dump everything listed.

Dump all system restore points. Then make a new one.

Go to Settings > System > Storage > C Temp Files. Tick all boxes and remove all that junk. If Downloads is listed as having stuff, then do not remove from here. Instead go to the actual User's Downloads folder and move those files out of there to another drive if it's hogging space.

If your OS SSD is rather small, then you should have at least 1x secondary SSD so you have a place to install and house your Games.

[rmr]

I did the deletes and created a new restore point, plus I did uninstall on some apps I never use .Now I have 170 GB of free space on C: !! I'm very happy with that. I need to figure out a SATA internal for a second drive. Thank You for the help.