Disk Space Issue

[SNorton82]

Hi! 

Recently, my laptop has given messages that the disk space is low. I have tried everything from disk cleanup, emptying the recycling bin, and deleting programs that take up lots of space. It seems as if I gain more space for a minute or two, and then the disk space diminishes even more (sometimes even indicating zero space). 

Is there a trick to opening up disk space? We don't hardly store any pictures, videos, or music so there should be plenty of space. Thank you in advance for any tips!

[Jeet_singh]

@SNorton82,

Thank you for posting your query on HP Support Community,

Let's try these steps here: 

Follow the below steps to resolve Low Disk Space issues: 

• Run the Disk Cleanup tool, and then at the bottom of the window that pops up, click on "Clean up system files". Check everything, hit OK, and let it run. You will free up several GB for sure. 

• Another thing to do is disable hibernate file. Run CMD as Administrator, and type the following: 

• powercfg hibernate off 

• Enjoy your extra space! 

Resolving Low Disk Space Errors: Click here  

Alternatively, you can try the below steps to install the Windows updates or the Windows on the computer.

Hardware you'll need

Before you can install Windows 10 on a device with low free storage space, you'll need a few things:

• A second PC to create a bootable drive.
• Two empty USB flash drives, each with at least 16GB in size.

• Two free USB ports on your device.

  • If your device has a Micro-USB port, then you'll need a USB On-The-Go (OTG) cable to adapt the Micro-USB port to a standard USB port.
  • If you only have one free USB port, you'll also need a basic USB hub with a least two ports .

How to create an installation drive for Windows 10 updates

For this process, you'll need a USB flash drive with the latest installation files of Windows 10, which you can create using the Media Creation Tool.

To create a bootable media, do the following:

1. Connect one of your USB flash drives to a PC other than the one you're trying to upgrade.
2. Head over to the Microsoft support website to download the Media Creation Tool.
3. Click the Download tool now button.
4. Double-click the MediaCreationTool.exe file to launch the utility.
5. Select the Create installation media for another PC option.

6. Click Next to continue.

   

7. Select your language, edition, and architecture.

   Quick Tip: If you're trying to update a small tablet with low storage, it's likely to be using a 32-bit architecture. You can quickly check the device architecture by going to Settings > Devices > About and double-checking the System type information.

8. Select the USB flash drive option.

9. Click Next.

   

10. Select your USB flash drive from the list.

11. Click Next.

    

12. Click Finish to complete the task.

How to install a Windows 10 update from a flash drive

To install feature updates of Windows 10, do the following:

1. If necessary for your device, connect the USB OTG cable and/or the USB hub.
2. Connect both the USB flash drive with the Windows 10 installation files and the other empty USB flash drive.
3. Double-click the Setup.exe file to launch the Windows 10 installation from the USB flash drive.

4. Select the Keep personal files and apps option to only update your system.

   

5. If you get the "Windows needs more space" option, click the Choose another drive or attach an external drive with 10GB available link.
6. Select your empty USB flash drive to serve as temporary storage.

7. Click Refresh.

   

8. Click Install.

   

9. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process as necessary.

   Note: Some devices may only have a single Micro-USB port that is used for both charging and data transfer, which can make the battery-draining update process somewhat tricky when you also need that port to connect your USB drives. Your device will reboot during the installation process, after the first reboot you will no longer need either flash drive or the USB hub to finish, so you can unplug those and connect your power cable. Of course, if your PC has a dedicated power port, you can just leave everything (power included) plugged in throughout the whole process.

After the installation completes and after a few black screens and reboots, you'll be back to your desktop once again. Because this is technically an upgrade, you won't need to go through the out-of-box experience to finish setting up Windows 10.

Please let me know if this resolves the issue, or if you require further assistance!

If the information I've provided was helpful, give us some reinforcement by clicking the Accepted Solution and Kudos buttons, that'll help us and others see that we've got the answers!

Have a great day!