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I'm attempting to move my AppData\Local folder to a different drive, and then create a junction in the original location on C. I've already copied everything EXCEPT a handful of files in C:\Users<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps, including the execution aliases for my Microsoft Store apps and Ubuntu.

I've logged in as a different admin user, and used the following commands to take control of the folder:

takeown /F "%ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps"
takeown /F "%ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps" /r /d y
icacls "%ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps" /grant Administrators:F
icacls "%ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps" /grant Administrators:F /t

I then tried to use xcopy like so:

xcopy "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\*" "D:\<path_to_AppData\AppData\Local\Microsoft\WindowsApps\" /h /e /r

I'm still getting the error "File creation error - The file cannot be accessed by the system."

How can I either copy these files, or somehow get around having to copy them?

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AppData\Local contains numerous secured folders and folders that cannot be safely moved to another location. WindowsApps is very highly secured and this folder should not be tampered with

Unless you know exactly what can be moved (most of us do not know all these details, do not move any of it.

Stick to documents, pictures and like to move to another location/drive.

People have wrecked their OS moving improper items from AppData

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  • I moved everything else a while ago, and the bulk of my C drive clutter, which now has my drive at capacity, is appdata; my user has about 12 GB. As far as knowing what can be moved, that's why I'm creating the junction, which, from the research I've done, is a common and safe way to get around that problem.
    – Dave
    Dec 1, 2022 at 16:57
  • You may need a larger drive so as not to have to move what can be moved and to allow space for things that cannot be moved (Windows Apps)
    – John
    Dec 1, 2022 at 18:10

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