diff --git a/Guides/MoveToExtDrive.md b/Guides/MoveToExtDrive.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..58f4e56 --- /dev/null +++ b/Guides/MoveToExtDrive.md @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ +# WSABuilds       + + +## Guide: Moving/Installing Windows Subsystem For Android™ (WSA) to another partition or disk + +### Preface: +##### WSA can take up a lot of storage space, hence you want to move it to another partition or disk with more space.
This guide goes through a method by which you can install WSA from another disk and to store the data in that drive (instead of "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe"). + +### Prerequisites: +- The partition/ disk that you want to move/install Windows Subsystem For Android™ to, ****MUST**** be **NTFS** +- Recommended that both disks, C:/ and the disk/partition that you want to install (move) WSA on (to), are SSDs + - HDDs may work, but performance issues may arise +- Basic knowledge on Command Prompt (CMD) usage +- There must be enough space on the disk/partiton that you are installing/moving WSA to (recommended 20GB, as the VHDX can become very large in size) + +> **Note** +> +> If you want to preseve your data, make a backup of the `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\userdata.vhdx` file. After uninstalling, copy the VHDX file back to the `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache` folder. + + +## Process: + + +- ### Step 1: Remove all previous installations from WSABuilds or official WSA Releases + - To remove WSA installed through WSABuild: + + - **1.)** Make sure that Windows Subsystem For Android™ is not running + - **2.)** Search for ``Windows Subsystem For Android™ Settings`` using the built-in Windows Search, or through Add and Remove Programs and press uninstall + - **3.)** Delete the WSA folder that extracted and Run.bat was run from (MagiskOnWSA folder) + - **4.)** Go to ``%LOCALAPPDATA%/Packages/`` and delete the folder named ``MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe`` + + - If you get an error that states that the file(s) could not be deleted, make sure that WSA is turned off + + - To remove WSA installed from the Microsoft Store: + + - **1.)** Search for ``Windows Subsystem For Android™ Settings`` using the built-in Windows Search, or through Add and Remove Programs and press uninstall + + +- ### Step 2: Install WSA from the desired partition + - **1.)** Download the latest WSA Build according to Windows Version and CPU Archtecture from [Downloads](https://github.com/MustardChef/WSABuilds#downloads) + - **2.)** Extract to the desired partition or drive + - Using the same process as detailed in [Installation](https://github.com/MustardChef/WSABuilds/edit/master/README.md#--installation) + - **3.)** Open the extracted folder and run ``Run.bat`` + + +- ### Step 3: Moving the AppData (VHDX + data) from your Windows drive (C:\) to the desired partition/drive + - **1.)** Go to ``%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\`` and copy the folder named ``MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe`` to the desired drive/partition, making sure to delete the folder from ``%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\`` after copying + + - **2.)** Open Command Prompt (Admin) through Windows Terminal (Admin) or directly and run the command: +```shell +mklink /J "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe" "Location_Of_Folder_In_Other_Drive" +``` +Replacing Location_Of_Folder_In_Other_Drive with the location of the folder named ``MicrosoftCorporationII.WindowsSubsystemForAndroid_8wekyb3d8bbwe``, copied to the desired to the drive/partition in 1st point of Step 3 + +- ### Step 4: Testing if everything is working + - Run Windows Subsystem For Android™ Settings + - If it crashes, you have made a mistake whilst following the guide. Try following it again. + + +### If you find yourself stuck, or do not understand any steps in the guide, Join the Discord and ask here: +[](https://discord.gg/2thee7zzHZ) + diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 9e91ff0..ecf89a7 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -245,6 +245,9 @@ ### Sideload Guide: [](https://github.com/MustardChef/WSABuilds/blob/master/Guides/Sideloading.md) +### Moving WSA to another drive or partition: +[](https://github.com/MustardChef/WSABuilds/blob/master/Guides/MoveToExtDrive.md) +