Windows 8: How in the world do you change app install location!?

Posted by HoganW. on October 26, 2012 10:59 pm 22

I can call myself an early adopter of Windows 8, having downloaded and installed the operating system right when it was released at midnight of October 26th.

Windows 8 looks great, functions great. The only thing I wish Microsoft did better: merge the taskbar and Modern Start Screen, so it doesn't look like the operating system is schizophrenic.

With my rig, I have two hard drives; a boot SSD (64GB) and a storage/program hard drive (1TB). I place most of my programs in the 1TB drive back in Windows 7. I was looking forward to doing the same with Windows 8 and its app store.

Here's the problem: I can't choose where to install Windows 8 Apps from the Windows Store. The programs automatically install into C:Drive. I have less than 3GB left.

After a desperate search on Google: a suggestion that changing the regedit would solve my problem gave me tons of errors, I decided to call Microsoft directly and confront them about this dire problem. The support guy understood what I wanted, that is to be prompted to choose an install location whenever I needed. However, he was as puzzled as I was, and for an hour, he tried all the solutions he could muster including merging the drives, going into regedit, etc. The effort was fruitless.

I am irritated by Microsoft Windows 8. Choosing where to download your apps to is the most basic function they should have included. I turn to this forum hoping for an unconventional solution, and if not, at least gather a bunch of similarly irritated Microsoft Windows 8 users to voice out their concern.

Thanks for reading and hope you can help me out here,

Hogan W.