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6 Practical Ways to Fix Insufficient Space for Windows 10 Update
How to fix insufficient space for Windows 10 updates? When your PC fails to install the latest Windows 10 update due to lack of space, you can refer to the following solutions for troubleshooting.
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If you receive an error message that says "Windows needs more space" while updating to Windows 10, it means your C drive doesn't have enough space to install the latest version of Windows 10.
Typically, you should have about 16 GB (for 32-bit systems) or 20 GB (for 64-bit systems) of free space on your C drive to upgrade to or install a new version of Windows 10. Additionally, since Microsoft allows users to roll back to the previous version of Windows 10, a folder called Windows.old is created on your C drive, which can take up several more GB of space. Therefore, you need more space for a Windows 10 update.
The "Windows 10 update needs more space" issue mainly occurs due to insufficient disk space on the C drive. To resolve this problem, we've gathered several useful methods, listed from simple to complex. You can choose any of them to tackle this issue.
Solution 1: Expand the C drive space
If your PC doesn't have enough space to install the latest Windows 10 update, you can use a disk partition tool Partition Master to expand C drive without formatting. Its partition management feature can effectively move enough free space to the C drive for Windows updates or Windows installations.
Step 1: Click "Optimize" to extend the C drive.
When there's not enough space on drive C, you'll see a “Low disk space” warning when you hover over it in the Partition Master tool. Click “Resize/Move” to expand it.
Click “OK” to automatically expand the C drive.
Click “OK” and Partition Master will automatically allocate space from other drives to solve low disk space problem on C drive.
Optional: You can also click "Customize" to manually expand C:.
Choose “Resize Manually,” then select Drive C and drag the allocation point to the right to increase its space. Click “OK” to confirm.
Step 3: Confirm that the low disk space issue on drive C is resolved
Click the “Run Tasks” button in the upper-right corner, and then click “Apply” to begin all pending operations.
Other Reliable Windows Partition Managers
- Convert file system from FAT32 to NTFS, convert MBR to GPT, and convert dynamic disk to basic disk
- Migrate disk space directly from one drive to another
- Migrate operating system to SSD without reinstallation for faster Windows performance
Solution 2: Remove unnecessary files and programs
When short of space for a Windows 10 update, most users choose to free up the C drive by deleting files and apps. To avoid accidentally removing important data, it's recommended to back up the C drive to an external hard drive beforehand. Then, you can clear all unnecessary files to make more room for the Windows update.
Solution 3: Free up space on the C drive by cleaning it up
To fix the “Windows Update needs more space” issue, you can use Disk Cleanup to delete some files from your Download folder, Recycle Bin, and temporary files.
Click the "Start" button, type disk cleanup in the search box, and run the program as an administrator. Choose the C: drive to clean up, select the files you want to get rid of, then click "OK".
Solution 4: Update Windows 10 using an External Drive
Step 1: Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update > Check for updates.
Step 2: You'll see a window that says "Windows needs more space."
Step 3. Try tapping Free Up Space first to see if that helps.
This will show you what is taking up the most space on your C drive, and allow you to delete unnecessary files.
After that, go back and click the Refresh icon next to Free up space, a green checkmark will appear if there's enough space on the C drive. You can now click Continue to install the updates.
Step 4: If that doesn't work, connect an empty external hard drive to your computer and repeat step one. When the “Windows needs more space” window appears, click “I have a USB drive.”
Note: It's recommended that you format the external storage device, such as an external hard drive, to prevent future Windows Update failures.
Step 5: If your external drive isn't showing up, click the "Fresh" icon – a green checkmark will appear next to the Storage Drive icon.
Step 6. Click “Next” to install the latest Windows 10 update on your computer. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the Windows 10 update process.
Solution 5: Migrate the operating system to a larger HDD/SSD
If you don't have an external hard drive to help with the Windows upgrade, or you don't have extra space on your internal drive to expand C:, you may consider upgrading your system disk to an SSD, or even a larger HDD, to solve the lack of space for Windows 10 updates.
A professional partition manager that offers "Migrate OS" and "Clone" features to move the Windows system to SSD or HDD without reinstallation.
< strong > Steps to migrate the operating system to an HDD/SSD:
- Launch Partition Master and select "Clone" from the left menu.
Check "Migrate OS" and click "Next".
Choose the SSD or HDD as the target disk, then click "Next".
Warning: All data and partitions on the target disk will be erased. Make sure you have backed up your important data beforehand. If not, please do it now.
Then click "Yes".
Preview the layout of the target disk, and click "Start" to begin migrating the operating system to the new disk.
- Then click “Restart Now” or “Finish,” depending on whether you want to restart the computer from the new drive right away.
"Reboot Now" means to save the changes immediately, while "Done" means you will need to restart your computer manually later.
Note: If there is not enough unallocated space on the target disk, migrating the operating system to SSD or HDD will delete and remove existing partitions and data from the target disk. Back up any important data to an external hard drive beforehand if you have any.
Solution 6: Update Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool
This is the last method to help you upgrade from Windows 7/8 to Windows 10, or update Windows 10 to the latest version. Use the Media Creation Tool by following these steps:
Step 1. Download the Windows 10 ISO from the Download Windows 10 page on Microsoft's website using a web browser on your Windows 10 computer.
Step 2: Under Create Windows 10 installation media, click the Download tool now link and run the downloaded media file.
Click the Download tool now button. 
Step 3: Choose “Upgrade this PC now.”
Step 4: Follow the on-screen instructions to set up Windows 10.
Make sure to choose “Keep personal files and apps” during the process.
Step 5: Wait for the process to complete, and then you can restart your computer and start using Windows 10
Other issues related to Windows 10 updates
If you receive the warning "This PC can't run Windows 10... We couldn't update the reserved system partition" while installing a Windows 10 update, it's most likely due to insufficient space on the System Reserved Partition. To fix this issue, please refer to this tutorial: How to fix low System Reserved Partition on MBR/GPT disk in Windows 7/8/10.
Conclusions
You have learned about the errors that may occur when upgrading to Windows 10 on a device with limited storage and how to use an external storage device for the upgrade, free up space for the upgrade, etc. In this process, partition management software tools can help you free up space, expand C drive, and migrate the OS, which is quite practical and helpful.
People ask these questions too.
If you still have questions, read on to find the answers.
How much space does a Windows 10 update need?
Microsoft now says that its latest version of Windows 10 (version 1903) requires 32 gigabytes (GB) or more, twice what its 32-bit version of Windows 10 (version 1809) required a year earlier.
Not enough space for Windows Update?
If you're unable to free up space, try the following:
Step 1: Click the "Start" button.
Step 2: Type "Disk Cleanup" in the search box, and run the program as an administrator.
Step 3: Select the C drive for cleaning, choose the files you want to delete, and then click OK.
How can I update Windows 10 when disk space is low?
Free up device storage:
Step 1: Open the Recycling Bin and delete the file.
Step Two: Open the Downloads folder and delete anything you don't need.
If you need more space, delete files that you don't need.