How to Back up Microsoft Store Games

Practically from the beginning of Windows 10 back in the summer of 2015, the firm based in Redmond opted for its operating system to reach the whole world. Here we find all kinds of functions and features that are very helpful to us, as is the case of the Microsoft Store on which we will focus now.

It is worth mentioning that, as many of you have seen in other proposals, currently a self-respecting operating system must have its own store. This is something that we have more than seen in mobile proposals such as Android or iOS, and the same is extrapolated to Windows 10. Here we find the Microsoft Store , an official store that has not reached the acceptance that the firm expected at first .

Back up Microsoft Store Games

Advantages and disadvantages of the Microsoft Store

Keep in mind that the Windows 10 operating system comes with a good number of pre-installed applications. Although these intend that we start working from the first moment, at the same time they are not liked by many users, who reject them. However, for many others these are useful, allowing them to avoid downloading programs from the web and start working as soon as they install Windows.

This is where software elements come into play that I’m sure most of you are familiar with, such as Mail, Weather, OneDrive, Calculator , etc. At the same time we also find the aforementioned official Windows store, the Microsoft Store. Of course, it also allows us to download all kinds of software from a large catalog of applications and games for Windows 10. At the same time, many reject these UWP apps and prefer to install their favorite programs from other sources.

Everything will depend on the tastes and needs of each one when using their PC on a day-to-day basis. As we mentioned, here we find software proposals belonging to all kinds of sectors, as well as games.

Interfaz Store

In this way, in addition to the games to which we refer, in the Windows store itself we see another section on Productivity , or Entertainment. Well, in these lines we are going to show you how to make backup copies of your game downloads. Obviously we refer to those that we have initially downloaded from the Microsoft Store and that you can save on other disk drives to safeguard them.

Create a backup of Microsoft Store games

As you can imagine, for all this that we tell you, the first thing we will do is access the store as such. This, for example, is found in the Start menu of the operating system, so we open it and go to the Games section. Here we will have the opportunity to choose the title that interests us the most. Therefore, if it is free or is part of the Game Pass subscription, we just have to click on the Install button.

Instalar juego Store

Once we start downloading it, by default the Microsoft Store itself saves the game on the same drive where we have the operating system installed, something that may take a while. But of course, when it comes to making backup copies, for one reason or another, this is not the best place to store it. This is because if a disaster happens with Windows 10 , it is that same drive that is affected, so it is better to choose another.

Save Windows 10 Store games to another drive

As we mentioned, by default the Redmond system installs and saves both the applications and the games that we download from the store, in the local unit. As a general rule, this will be C :, so to make a backup copy, we will have to move the game in question to another disk drive. As with the usual data we back up, it is appropriate here to do it on an external storage unit. Here we refer, for example, to a USB memory , or an external hard drive .

Of course, as in this case we are talking about games, which usually take up a lot of space, it is best that we get a large external unit, of several gigs. And we must bear in mind that there are games in the Store that exceed 100 gigs, which is a considerable space. This is something that is especially evident if here we are going to save more than one game from the Microsoft Store as a backup. Now we just have to connect it to its corresponding USB port, and then we go to the Settings application. This is something that for example we achieve through the Win + I key combination.

Abrir configuración

In the window that appears, we click on the Applications option to locate ourselves in the section that interests us in these lines.

Move a game to an external USB drive

At that moment, a list will appear with all the programs and games that we have installed in the Redmond operating system. Therefore, within it, we have to look for the title in question that we downloaded previously. Once we have it on the screen, two new buttons appear, so we click on the one called Move. Now all the available disk drives will appear, except the one in which we have stored the game, which as we said by default will be C :.

Listado unidades disco juego

Therefore, once we have marked the removable USB disk , again we click on Move. Keep in mind that here we are going to find, if there are any, with units from the PC itself, in the event that we have more than one. But since in this case what really interests us is the backup, it is advisable to use removable drives that we can disconnect when we need it.

Depending on the size of the game itself, this may take a few minutes. Also from that moment on, we can run the game itself from that same unit, or disconnect it and save it in a safe place in case we have a problem in Windows.