Tutorial: Move Apps to USB/Thumb Drive/SD Card in Windows OS

This page makes it possible to install or move installed Apps from Windows PC to USB, thumb drive or SD card with the help of powerful PC Transfer software provided by EaseUS. If you want to transfer an App or a program to a USB/SD card, follow provided method on this page, and you’ll be able to resolve this tricky task on your own.

EaseUS Todo PCTrans

  Free Download

Support Windows 11/10/8/7

Page Contents
 

Page Table of Contents

  1. Question 1: Can you install an App or a program on a USB flash drive or an SD card?
  2. Answer: YES!
  3.  
  4. Question 2: How do I move applications to my SD card or USB?
  5. Answer: Let best PC Transfer software for help.

Can’t move Apps to USB or SD card in Windows OS? It’s Possible Now!

Usually, Windows systems don’t allow users to install Apps and programs to an external storage device such as external hard drive, USB, thumb drive or SD card.
That is why when you choose a USB or an SD card as the target location for installing a new App, the Windows system will warn you the selected device is not available. 
And if you directly copy an installed App or a program, even with its installation files, to another location or an external storage device, the copied programs or Apps won’t be able to run either.
So do we still have a third choice? Sure!

RECOMMENDED: Transfer and move Apps to USB/SD with the best PC transfer software

EaseUS software allows all Windows users to transfer and move useful Apps and relevant installation files to external storage devices without any problem. It worths a try!

If you want to transfer one or two programs to an SD card or USB device, EaseUS free PC transfer software - Todo PCTrans Free can help.

If you want to transfer several Windows installed Apps and programs to release the drive space on your System disk and optimize the computer performance, the Pro version - EaseUS Todo PCTrans is the best choice for you.

And you can directly access this amazing software now:

  Free Download

Support Windows 11/10/8/7

Important
1. EaseUS Todo PCTrans fully supports all Windows Operating System:
Windows 10
Windows 8/8.1 32-bit and 64-bit
Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit
Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit
Windows XP 32-bit
2. And you can even apply it to transfer installed programs to another new computer with its PC to PC and Image Transfer features.

Steps to Move Apps to USB/Thumb Drive/SD Card in Windows OS

Before you start:

To ensure you transfer all wanted applications and programs to the target USB or SD card, please double-check whether you’ve adequately prepared for accomplishing this task:
1.Enough space on the target USB, thumb drive or SD card for saving and installing applications.
2. Install EaseUS Todo PCTrans on your PC.
3. Activate it into a full version - the Pro edition (to transfer universal apps, programs, software, and files).
If you haven’t activated it yet, activate it by clicking the page to get more details:

We'll send the activation key to your email right away once you complete the purchase. And you can ask for online assistance whenever you need as a paid user. 

Step-by-step guide:

Step 1. Connect an empty USB drive to your PC and run EaeUS Todo PCTrans

Click "App Migration" on the main screen, and click "Start" to continue.

choose transfer mode

Step 2. Select applications, programs, and software to transfer

First, select the source partition where you installed apps and tick the programs marked as "Yes" that you'd like to move to your USB drive.

Next, click the triangle icon to choose the USB as your target location to move the selected programs without reinstallation.

select programs and target USB to transfer

Step 3. Transfer and move selected apps, programs, and software to USB

Click "Transfer" to start the transferring process and wait for the process to finish.

rinish the transferring

Note: 1. After the transferring, restart the PC if necessary. Then you can run the transferred programs on your USB drive without reinstallation. 

2. You can only run and launch transferred programs from the USB on your source PC. It won't work on other computers.

  Free Download

Support Windows 11/10/8/7

For More Information:

1. The transferred Apps or programs can only work smoothly with the external storage device connected to your source computer.

2. Since there’s no shortcut of the transferred App in the USB or SD card, all you need is to select the right app file (like .exe) to run it on your PC.

3. Most transferred programs won’t ask for verification again after the transferring. But if your transferred program prompts you with a verification window, please do as required and log in with your account.

About the Author

Updated by Tracy King

Tracy became a member of the EaseUS content team in 2013. Being a technical writer for over 10 years, she is enthusiastic about sharing tips to assist readers in resolving complex issues in disk management, file transfer, PC & Mac performance optimization, etc., like an expert.

Read full bio

Reviews and Awards

Product Reviews

TrustScore 4.7 | 34 reviews
  • EaseUS Todo PCTrans Free is a useful and and reliable software solution created to serve in computer migration operations, be it from one machine to another or from an earlier version of your OS to a newer one.

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  • EaseUS Todo PCTrans is by the folks at EaseUS who make incredible tools that let you manage your backups and recover your dead hard disks. While it is not an official tool, EaseUS has a reputation for being very good with their software and code.

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  • It offers the ability to move your entire user account from your old computer, meaning everything is quickly migrated. You still get to keep your Windows installation (and the relevant drivers for your new PC), but you also get all your apps, settings, preferences, images, documents and other important data.

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Tutorial: Move Apps to USB/Thumb Drive/SD Card in Windows OS

Try smart Windows 11 data transfer tool to move all data in 1 click.

EaseUS Todo PCTrans

  Free Download

Support Windows 11/10/8/7