Windows 10 update/External Memory for HP Stream

[mrb2734]

Hi

My wife’s HP Stream is very low on memory. She keep receiving alerts/emails to say she needs to update her windows 10 however after deleting everything we possibly can, running disk clean up etc she still does not have enough memory to run the update.

She only uses the laptop for Microsoft office and the odd browser. If we’re unable to run this update will it affect her using Office? If it does, are there options to increase the memory externally as after spending a couple of hundred £ on it, we can’t afford to buy another

Many thanks
Mark

[mrb2734]

Must add, it also says we don’t have enough disk space either. Thanks

[Jeet_singh]

@mrb2734,

Thanks for engaging in HP support Forums! This is a wonderful location to converse with the community, get assistance and find tips! I understand you are having issues performing updates on your HP Stream Notebook. Don't worry I'll do my best to help you with this.

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! 

For a related link on HP Forums: Click here (Though the header/title may be different, the steps will help resolve your concern). 

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.

To simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care.

Cheers!