Xbox App Can’t Choose Drive in Windows 11 [8 Ways]

After purchasing any game you can install that in any of your system drives. But, some users have recently reported that they can’t choose the installation directory at all. All the games they are trying to download, are getting installed in a default drive. This is extremely problematic as the big AAA title comes in bigger sizes and you may not have enough storage left in that default drive! So, you have to resolve the problem in order to install the game on the preferred drive.

Workarounds

1. The first and foremost thing that Xbox support confirms is to restart the system. Usually, restarting the system clears any temporary glitches. Check that.

2. If you are facing this problem with EA Play games (like FIFA, Star Wars, etc.), restart the Xbox and EA Play app. Then, try to install the games.

Check if that helps.

Fix 1 – Alter the default directory

You should change the default directory in the Xbox app. This is a workaround and should be helpful in case of an emergency.

1. Search “xbox” using the search box.

2. Then, click on the “Xbox” to open it.

 

xbox open min

 

3. When Xbox opens up, you can see your account icon on the top bar. Click that and tap “Settings“.

 

settings min 2

 

4. Now, click on the “General” section.

5. Next, scroll down through the right-hand pane until you reach the Game install options.

6. Here, you will see an option “Change where the app installs games by default:“. Here, you can see a drop-down menu and select the drive where you want to put the game.

This way, the game will be installed into that drive.

 

change drive min

 

Now, close the Xbox app and reboot the PC/laptop. When the system restarts install the game.



As we have mentioned before this doesn’t completely fix the problem as you still can’t set the installation directory while installing the game. But, this can work as a quick fix for the issue.

 

Fix 2 – Using the Registry Editor

Using the Registry Editor you can address this problem.

1. At first, press the Win key and the R keys together.

2. Then, write this and click “OK“.

regedit

 

Regedit Ok Min

 

3. Now, before you proceed, you have to take a mandatory registry backup. Even a small wrong change in the registry can compromise the overall system stability. It’s an easy, two-step process. Just follow these steps –

a. Go to “File“, and then, tap “Export“.

 

export min

 

b. Now, name the backup anything you prefer and save it somewhere accessible.

4. Now, as you have created this backup, you can get to this point following the left pane –

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\GamingServices

 

5. Here, you have to delete the GamingServices key.

6. So, right-click the “GamingServices” key and tap “Delete“.

 

delete gaming services min

 

7. It will throw up a warning message. So, tap “Yes“.

 

yes to delete key one min

 

8. After deleting the key, go ahead and reach this point –

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\GamingServicesNet

 

9. Here, right-tap the “GamingServicesNet” key and click “Delete“.

 

gaming services net delete again min

 

10. Another warning message will appear. So, tap “Yes” to delete it.

 

yes to again min

 

After this, exit the Registry Editor page and restart the system.

After the system restarts, the next time you open Xbox, it will automatically create these two deleted keys again. After this, try to install any of your purchased games.

Check if this works.

 

Fix 3 – Update the app

If you have ignored the app update banner in the Xbox app, you shouldn’t anymore.

1. Open the Xbox app.

2. If there is an important update pending, it will show up a banner “Time for an update. Get the latest version of the app“. Click on that.

 

update the app min

 

It will take you straight to the Store page.

3. There, you have to click the download icon to update the app.

 

download update min

 

If the app doesn’t prompt you about a missing update, you can go to the Store and check it out yourself.

1. Open Store.

2. Head on to the “Library” on the left pane.

3. Then, click “Get updates” to update the app.

 

get updates min

 

3. There you will find all the apps that you own/installed on your system. Find “Xbox” there.

4. Then, click on the update sign to download and install the update.

 

downloading min

 



After you have updated Xbox, you can open it and try to install the game again.

NOTE

Apart from the Xbox app, make sure the Gaming Services app is also of the latest version.

Check if this works.

 

Fix 4 – Check the system storage settings

There are default settings in Windows that take care of the default storage settings for apps, documents, and other things.

1. Open Windows Settings.

2. Then, go to the “System“.

3. After that, click on “Storage” on the opposite side of the screen.

 

storage min

 

4. Here, you will find an option called “Advanced storage settings“.  Expand that.

5. Then, click “Where new content is saved” to open that.

 

where new content is saved min

 

6. On the next page, set the “New apps will save to:” to a drive of your choice.

7. Then, click “Apply” to save the change.

 

apply content change min

 

After this, launch Xbox and try to install a new game.

This time, it will be installed in the preset folder.

Check if this works.

 

Fix 5 – Change the WindowsApps permissions

WindowsApps folder needs to have sufficient permission/ownership for Xbox to perform properly.

1. Open File Explorer.

2. Then, head on to the driver where you want to install the apps.

Check whether you can find the WindowsApps there. Otherwise, you have to create a folder and name it WindowsApps.

3. Just right-click and tap “New>” and click “Folder” to create a folder.

 

folder min

 

4. Next, right-click on the “WindowsApps” folder and click “Properties” on the context menu.

 

props windowsapps min

 

4. Thereafter head on to the “Security” tab.

5. Next, tap “Advanced” to access the Advanced settings.

 

advanced settings min

 

6. Now, you have to change the ownership settings. So, just click “Change” to alter the ownership setting.

 

change min

 

7. Further, click on “Advanced“.

 

advanced it min

 

8. Now, to get the full list of groups, tap “Find Now“.

9. Next, scroll down slowly until you see your account in the list. Select the account.

10. Then, click “OK” to finalize your selection.

 

sambit save min

 

11. Finally, click on “OK” to change the ownership settings.

Now, you have changed the ownership of the folder.

12. Next, check the box beside “Replace owner on subcontainers and object“.

13. Then, tick the “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries for this object” box.

14. Click on “Apply” to save the changes up to this point.

 

apply ok save min

 

15. As soon as you click the Apply icon, a warning message will appear. Tap “Yes” to continue.

 

yes min

 

After this, tap “OK” to save the changes

Restart the system after this. When the system gets restarted, try to install the game again from Xbox.

This time, the directory selection panel should appear normally.

 

Fix 6 – Restart the Xbox services

Try restarting the Xbox services on your computer. This should help you resolve the issue.

1. You have to open Services. So, write “services“.

2. Then, click “Services” to open it.

 

Services Open Min

 

3. Once the Services page opens up, look for the “Xbox Accessory Management” service.

4. Then, right-click on that service and click “Restart” to restart the properties. 

 

Xbox Restarst Min
xbox restarst min

 

5. If you look carefully, you can find several other Xbox services (like – Xbox Live Game Save, Xbox Live Auth Manager, etc.).

6. Restart all those services one by one. If a certain service is not yet started, right-click such service and click “Start” to start it up.

 

Xbox Check All Min
xbox check all min

 

After restarting those services, close Services.

Then, open Xbox and try to install any of the games again. You will see the prompt of the installation directory has appeared.



 

Fix 7 – Repair the Xbox app

If the Xbox app has got corrupted, you have to repair the Xbox app and check.

1. Open Settings.

2. Then, click “Apps” on the left-hand pane. On the opposite side of the screen, click “Installed Apps“.

 

installed apps again min

 

3. Now, on the right-hand pane, go down to find “Xbox“.

4. Then, click on the three-dot menu and click “Advanced options“.

 

Advannced Options Min
advannced options min

 

5. Next, scroll down to find the Reset options.

6. There, click “Repair” to repair the Xbox app.

 

Repair Min 2
repair min 2

 

Wait till Windows repairs Xbox. Once the app is repaired, feel free to launch Xbox and try installing a random game. Test whether the prompt of the installation drive is opening or not.

 

Fix 8 – Update Windows

Install all the updates on your Windows devices.

1. You can find Windows Update in Settings. So, hit the Win key+I keys together.

2. Then, choose “Windows Update” from the left-hand pane. Then, you can tap “Check for updates” to check for the latest Windows updates.

 

Check For Update Min
check for update min

 

If Windows can find any such updates, it will download and install them automatically.

4. When the updates are installed, click “Restart now” to restart the system and complete the process.

 

Restart Now Min

 

After restarting the system, check whether the problem is solved with Xbox.

 

Fix 9 – Format the installation drive

If you are trying to install the games in a FAT32 drive or a new one, you have to format it to NTFS to store games into it.

NOTE – Formatting the drive cleans all the files, folders, and data you have on that drive. You shouldn’t format the drive until you have backup all the necessary folders on it.

1. Launch File Explorer and there, head on to “This PC“.

2. There you can see all the drives in one place. So, right-click the appropriate drive and click “Format“.

 

Format The Drive Min
format the drive min

 

3. Now this step is important. Make sure to set the File system to “NTFS“.

4. Leave everything else as it is and click “Start” to start formatting the drive.

 

Start Ntfs Min
start ntfs min

 

Depending upon the size and type of the drive, it may take a few minutes to complete the formatting process.

Once the drive is formatted, open the Xbox app. Go to your Libary section to find all of your owned games. There install a game.

This time, you will definitely notice the installation pane has appeared.

Hope this helps!