Installing programs on second hard drive

[sheryltoo]

I have an old Hp Envy x360-15-aq 100 cto that I want to restore back to the factory settings. This computer came with 2 hard drives. C was supposed to be for the operating system and D for my files and programs. The d drive has over 800gbs of storage and the c has less than 100. I just tried restoring it to factory settings and was having a hard time because apparently many files and programs were installed on the C drive so I kept getting a message saying there wasn't enough room to do the restore. I deleted a whole bunch of programs and files and was finally able to restore the computer but when I installed a program I'm going to be using, it installed it to the C drive. How do I tell the computer that anything from here on needs to be installed on the D drive?

[Deep_World · Accepted solution]

Hi @sheryltoo,
 
Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

Sorry for the inconvenience caused and don’t worry let me help you.

To better understand the issue, could you please provide a few more details?

• When you restored the system, did you choose the option to reset Windows while keeping files, or a full factory reset?
• Is your D drive currently recognized as a secondary internal drive in File Explorer, and does it show up with the expected free space?

Here are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Change Default Installation Location

• Press Windows + I to open Settings.
• Go to System > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Where new content is saved.
• Under New apps will save to, select your D drive.
  This will tell Windows to install new apps from the Microsoft Store to D.

2. Custom Install Paths for Programs

For traditional desktop programs (not Store apps), most installers let you choose the installation directory. When prompted, manually select a folder on your D drive (e.g., D:\Programs). Unfortunately, Windows doesn’t automatically redirect all installers you’ll need to set this during installation.

3. Freeing Space on C Drive

Since the operating system still needs space on C for updates and temporary files:

• Run Disk Cleanup (search for it in the Start menu).
• Move large personal files (photos, videos, documents) from C to D.
• Check if OneDrive or other sync folders are defaulting to C and redirect them to D.

4. Verify Drive Health

Because this is an older system, it’s worth checking that both drives are healthy. You can run chkdsk or use HP’s built-in diagnostics (press F2 at startup) to confirm

I hope this helps.

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" Your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 

Best regards,

Deep_World.  

[sheryltoo]

Sorry I didn't get back to you. By the time you answered, I had solved my issue. I first had to delete the volume on the D drive and then give it a drive letter again.  I'm only using this laptop to connect to a cutting machine wirelessly, so I decided it won't matter that the program loaded on the C drive since I won't be adding any more programs to it.