How will this help?
If BlueStacks 5 is already installed on your desktop/laptop, you can still change the location where its files are stored to manage disk space better. For example, if your C: drive is running low on space, you can choose a different drive for storing BlueStacks files. To do this you will have to:
- Take a backup of your BlueStacks 5 files
- Uninstall and reinstall BlueStacks 5 at a location of your choice
- Restore the backup of your BlueStacks files
NOTE: If BlueStacks 5 is not installed on your computer, please read this article to learn how to install BlueStacks 5 at a custom location.
How can I take a backup of my files on BlueStacks 5?
On BlueStacks 5.10 and above
1. To take a backup of your data, launch BlueStacks 5 and do the following:
- Open the "Settings" menu and head over to the "User data" tab
- Click on "Create a backup" and then, click on "Start"
2. Select the folder where you want to take the backup and click on "OK". The backup process will begin and may take a few minutes to complete.
Once it is complete, you will get a confirmation message with the details of the location where the backup has been saved.
On older versions of BlueStacks 5
Important:
- Ensure you take a backup on the same version of BlueStacks you will later use to restore your files. For example, a backup of BlueStacks version 5.6 cannot be restored on BlueStacks 5.7.
- If you don't wish to take a backup of your current files or if your game data is stored on Cloud, you can skip Step 1 and directly uninstall BlueStacks 5 from your desktop/laptop.
1. Go to the following path: "C:\ProgramData\BlueStacks_nxt", copy the "Engine" folder and the "bluestacks.conf" file and paste them at a location of your choice on your desktop/laptop.
How can I uninstall and reinstall BlueStacks 5 on my desktop/laptop?
Uninstall BlueStacks 5
1. Open the "Run" command box by pressing Windows + R and type "%temp%" in the dialog box. Then, click on "OK" and delete all the available files and folders, as shown below.
2. Download the BlueStacks cleaner tool by clicking here and run the tool to uninstall BlueStacks 5. After it uninstalls, you will see a message saying "Process has been finished". Click on "OK" to proceed.
NOTE: If you're asked for permissions, click on "Yes".
Reinstall BlueStacks 5
1. Visit our official website, click on "Download BlueStacks 5" and once the file is downloaded, launch it to proceed. If you already have the installer file of a specific version with you, launch it to proceed.
NOTE: If you wish to restore your backed-up files, please ensure that you install the same version of BlueStacks 5 from which the backup was taken.
2. After the BlueStacks 5 installer launches, click on "Customize installation".
3. Click on "Change folder" or enter a location of your choice by typing the path in the address bar.
4. Select the location where you wish to install BlueStacks 5 and then, click on "OK".
5. Once you select the custom location, it will appear in the installation address bar. Click on "Install now" to start the installation.
How can I restore backed-up data on BlueStacks 5?
On BlueStacks 5.10 and above
1. After the installation, launch BlueStacks 5 and do the following:
- Open the "Settings" menu and head over to the "User data" tab
- Click on "Restore backup" and click on "Restore anyway"
2. Select the location where the backup is saved and click on "OK". The process of restoring data will now begin and may take a few minutes to complete.
NOTE: 1. A backup taken on a new version of BlueStacks 5 cannot be restored on an older version.
2. If you wish to restore a backup from an older version to a new version of BlueStacks 5, it may
not be successful.
Once the process is complete, you will get a pop-up confirming that your data was restored successfully. Click on "Launch BlueStacks" to pick up right where you left off without missing out on a thing!
On older versions of 5
1. Go to the folder where you had saved the files in Step 1 and:
- Copy the "Engine" folder and the "bluestacks.conf" file
- Paste them where you have installed BlueStacks 5
- Select "Replace the files in the destination" when you see a message, as shown below
2. Once the files have successfully been copied to the new folder, do the following:
- Go to the "Engine" folder
- Click on the "Manager" folder
- Open the "BstkGlobal file" in Notepad
3. Change the path mentioned in the entry <MachineEntry uuid="{87bb8c18-a755-46c6-ba82-2a0deb17bac3}" src="C:\ProgramData\BlueStacks_nxt\Engine\Nougat32\Nougat32.bstk"/> to the new path, as shown below.
For example, if the new folder where BlueStacks 5 is installed is D:\ drive, the new path will be: "D:\BlueStacks_nxt\Engine\Nougat32\Nougat32.bstk"
Save the file after making the change.
4. Once you have saved the change, do the following:
- Go back to the "Engine" folder
- Navigate to the "Nougat 32" folder
- Open the "Nougat32.bstk file" in Notepad
5. Here, replace the old path with the new one in the following entries.
- <SharedFolder name="InputMapper" hostPath="C:\ProgramData\BlueStacks_nxt\Engine\UserData\InputMapper" writable="true" autoMount="false"/>
For example, if the new folder where BlueStacks 5 is installed is D:\ drive, the new path will be: "D:\BlueStacks_nxt\Engine\UserData\InputMapper".
- <SharedFolder name="BstSharedFolder" hostPath="C:\ProgramData\BlueStacks_nxt\Engine\UserData\SharedFolder" writable="true" autoMount="false"/>
For example, if the new folder where BlueStacks 5 is installed is D:\ drive, the new path will be: "D:\BlueStacks_nxt\Engine\UserData\SharedFolder".
6. Finally, go back to the "Nougat 32" folder and delete the "Nougat32.bstk-prev" file.
NOTE: If you have BlueStacks 5 Nougat 64-bit and Pie 64-bit installed on your desktop/laptop as well, you will have to repeat steps 4–6 for each of the instances.
You have now successfully changed the location of BlueStacks 5 on your desktop/laptop and will be able to utilize your disk storage wisely!
Thank you for choosing BlueStacks 5. We hope you enjoy using it. Happy Gaming!