Backing up or restoring windows 10 apps

jailhousews · 09 Jul 2020

I installed the game The Outer Worlds through Windows Store/Xbox app because it is on game pass otherwise I would have gone another route. So when I wanted to do a clean install of Windows, I tried changing ownership and granted full permissions for the folder where it was installed in order to back it up and avoid re-downloading it for 15 hours again. It would not work.

So I went to settings, apps, and moved it to my secondary drive before doing the re-install of Windows. Now I have it still, but with now way to get my fresh installation to recognize/re-register it. I don't think it's possible but maybe someone knows of a way. I tried seeing if I changed the location where apps are installed to the secondary drive whether it would recognize it and allow me to move it back but no dice, it asks to delete any already installed apps present before changing storage location for installed apps.

dalchina · 09 Jul 2020

I don't think there's a way to recover those directly. You can reinstall them of course.

(FWIW here's the correct way to move UWP apps to another drive, which perhaps you have used:

Move Apps to another Drive in Windows 10
and related:
Change Save Location for New Apps in Windows 10

from the extensive tutorial list:
Windows 10 Tutorial Index
and see Tutorials above)

Steve C · 10 Jul 2020

You could create a partition for those store apps then use Macrium Reflect to create backup images of that partition.