Expanding Storage with a MicroSD Card

Question

Expanding Storage with a MicroSD Card

Kevin Upton 50

I recently installed a MicroSD card (XDXC) on my Go-3 as a way of expanding storage. I've already moved all of the apps that have a Move functionality in the Installed Apps list. Wondering if I can uninstall and reinstall other apps that don't have the built-in Move function, especially OneDrive and Outlook, without screwing things up.

Thanks, in advance for any comments or advice.

--Kevin

2 answers

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Answer 1

Jeric 9,190 Independent Advisor

Hi Kevin,

For apps like OneDrive and Outlook that don’t offer that option, uninstalling and reinstalling them won’t necessarily allow you to relocate them to the SD card unless you first change the default install location in Windows settings. However, even with that change, core apps like OneDrive may not function properly when installed on external storage, and performance could be affected. A safer alternative is to keep the apps on the internal drive and move their data folders instead, for example, relocating OneDrive’s sync folder or Outlook’s data files (.pst/.ost) to the SD card. This approach helps free up space while maintaining app stability. Let me know if you’d like help with those steps. Hope this clarifies things.

Best,
Jeric.

Kevin Upton 50 Reputation points

2025-08-17T21:07:12.69+00:00

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense and I'm glad I decided to check with people smarter than me before acting. I did change the Installed Apps settings to install new programs to the SD card (D:). So, if OneDrive, Outlook, and others, were uninstalled, wouldn't they be recognized as new programs and installed on D:?

If that's a no-go, then yes, I'd like to pursue the approach you outlined. BTW, the Surface Go is a "convenience" computer. The main is a Surface laptop that I wouldn't want to mess up because of changes made on the Surface Go 3. Especially OneDrive and Outlook.

Appreciate the effort.

Kevin
Jeric 9,190 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-08-17T21:56:09.77+00:00
Hi Kevin,

You can follow these steps:

Relocate OneDrive Sync Folder to SD Card

Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray.

Go to Settings > Account > Unlink this PC.

Sign in again and choose a new folder location on your SD card (D:).

OneDrive will now sync files to the SD card.

Move Outlook Data Files (.pst/.ost) to SD Card

Close Outlook.

Move data files from
C:\Users\<YourName>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
to a folder on the SD card (e.g., D:\OutlookData).

Open Outlook → File > Account Settings > Data Files.

Add the new location and set it as default.

Restart Outlook.

Feel free to reach back if you have any related questions.

Best,
Jeric
Kevin Upton 50 Reputation points

2025-08-18T14:15:51.7166667+00:00
Thanks again. Very much appreciate your interest and effort. So far, no joy on moving the indicated files to the SD card. Some details--

WRT OneDrive sync folder: After signing back into OneDrive after unlinking the Surface Go, the only option I get is to reconnect to OneDrive. Once I do that, I'm not seeing any option that allows me to locate the sync folder.

WRT Outlook, I'm not seeing File>Account Settings>Data Files. BTW, I'm using M-365 New Outlook.

Related question: How about relocating the smaller MS apps (Bing Wallpaper, Calculator, Camera, etc.), that don't have a Move functionality?

Sorry to be a pain but really need to free up as much space as I can on the Surface Go C:\ drive.

--Kevin
Jeric 9,190 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-08-19T13:45:22.43+00:00

Hi Kevin,

It looks like this is a limitation of the current setup, and unfortunately, we can’t proceed with moving those files as intended. System apps and the new Outlook version have restrictions that prevent relocating their data or installation paths. However, there are still a few workarounds we can explore to help free up space—such as compressing system files or switching to Classic Outlook, which offers more control over data storage.

While these apps (calculator, camera and bing wallpaper) can’t be moved to another drive, you can uninstall any unused ones and enable Storage Sense to automatically clean up temporary files.

Answer 2

Kevin Upton 50

OK thanks so much again.

I can easily toggle back to classic Outlook. Can I assume the instructions you previously provided for moving the .pst/.ost files apply to the classic version?

Any more insights on finding the OneDrive sync folder?

Very much appreciate your patience and assistance.

Jeric 9,190 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2025-08-19T15:04:01.3466667+00:00

Hi Kevin,

Once you're back on Classic Outlook, you can move .PST or .OST files by going to File > Account Settings > Data Files, selecting the file, closing Outlook, moving it to your SD card, and then updating the path when you reopen Outlook.

For OneDrive, you can check the current sync folder by opening OneDrive settings from the system tray, going to Settings > Account, and clicking Manage backup or Choose folders. The default location is usually C:\Users\[YourUsername]\OneDrive, but you can confirm by searching for “OneDrive” in File Explorer. To change the sync folder, you’ll need to unlink OneDrive and, during re-setup, click Change location before completing sign-in. From there, you can select a folder on your SD card (e.g., D:\OneDrive). This is the only way to relocate the sync folder, as OneDrive doesn’t allow changing it after setup without unlinking. Let me know if these works for onedrive.

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Expanding Storage with a MicroSD Card

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