Updating Windows 10 OS on an HP Stream with 32 GB eMMC memory

[Huffer]

Question

My HP Stream with 32 gig eMMC storage is full and I can't update it. What can I do?

Answer

I had earlier posted a journal of my experiences with a Lenovo laptop having a 32 gig eMMC and attempts to update it from Windows 10 Build 1709 to 1803, where so many users were running into limited storage issues. Here is that post reproduced with some minor edits:

We have had a lot of posts on here for months now from Users who purchased HP Stream and similar laptops with 32 gig eMMC storage disks and Windows 10.  They are sometimes called Cloudbooks. I just had a user tell me he had contacted HP Support, Microsoft support and multiple local computer technicians all of whom told him the computer is useless and cannot be made to work. I cannot accept that. I decided to go out and see if I could locate one of these things for cheap and try it myself and see what happens. I went to our local Best Buy. They had no Stream or any other HP laptop with a 32 gig eMMC. They did have a Lenovo 10 inch laptop very similar to a Stream that had been discounted down to $130. When I asked the sales person about it she first tried to talk me out of buying it but when she heard what I intended to do with it she confided in me that Best Buy has told its floor people to talk customers out of these machines as they are also getting a lot of heat from them. She flat told me "you will not be able to upgrade it and it will very quickly become unuseable".

Out of the box the hard drive had 10 gigs of data on it. I then proceeded to do all the Windows updates and when I got to

updating to Build 1803 got this:

No roomNo roomNo room

So I backed up the desktop background and the original drivers to a thumb drive and went to the Microsoft Media Creation tool site and downloaded an .iso of Build 1803. Using an usb DVD drive I installed fresh Windows 10 wiping all the preexisting partitions and letting the installer make all new ones. 

Immediately after install the drive held about 15 gigs of data. I then used the "Compact OS' command to compress the drive. You open an elevated command prompt and type:

Compact.exe /CompactOS:always

Takes a few minutes, reboot and you are down to 10 gigs used out of 28 or so. 

I then turned off hibernation and set the swap file to be a constant 1 gig rather than the default 2 gigs the system was using and turned off system restore services. 

setting swap file to constant 1 gigsetting swap file to constant 1 gigsetting swap file to constant 1 gig

Because of the weak processor and 2 gigs memory on this model I also set visual effects to "best performance". This model had a free one year Office 365 license so I had saved off the Key Code and installed fresh from the Office 365 website using the Key Code. Lastly I installed CCleaner, Malwarebytes and Avast Free. 

When all is said and done I had the latest Windows 10 version plus Office 365 plus security apps running in about 12.9 gigs of space. 

available spaceavailable spaceavailable space

I then turned off automatic Windows 10 and Office 365 updates. The laptop is actually fairly useable and now there is enough available space to store some documents and pictures. I plan to add a 16 gig micro SD card and move the Music, Downloads, Documents, etc. folder to it to make sure future use does not fill up the hard drive. 

For those users who are threatening to abandon HP because their sub-$200 laptop is not working as they say they were told it would I offer this option. I actually have seen people saying they bought one of these to run a business or use for college. 

So much for the Lenovo Cloudbook. I donated it to charity and flash forward about a year I wanted to revisit and see how the situation has evolved. These Cloudbooks continue to be offered and we continue to get reports of mass dissasatisfaction with the product. So this time I did find an HP Stream 14 inch model in shocking neon purple color:

The boxThe box

And a couple more pictures of the machine and identification decal on the bottom:

Purple with white keysPurple with white keys

IdentificationIdentification

This laptop came with Windows 10 64 bit in S mode Build 1803. So it was already at the level we struggled to get to on the Lenovo. 

initial setupinitial setup

15.2 gigs free out of the box15.2 gigs free out of the box

initial updatesinitial updates

Now 14.2 gigs freeNow 14.2 gigs free

Add some utility appsAdd some utility apps

As with the Lenovo, this model came with a year subscription to Office 365 for free (a very good deal for a $200 +/- laptop) which I installed and activated in addition to Avast Free, CCleaner, and Malwarebytes as well as Adobe Reader. Windows 10 gave me the option to turn off "S" mode and allow installation of apps from sources other than the Microsoft Store, and I gladly accepted so no longer in S mode. 

Then I simply went to the Microsoft Media Creation Tool site (google it that way and you will find it) and downloaded Build 1809 aka October 2018 Update, selecting upgrade now:

Updated to 1809Updated to 1809

The Update went through but left the purple Cloudbook with very little storage: it would be basically useless at this point:

No room leftNo room left

I checked whether it would be possible at this point to compress the OS as I did above with the Lenovo but HP ships these with the OS already compressed:

Using the "Query" command shows OS already compressedUsing the "Query" command shows OS already compressed

So I simply used the Disk Cleanup with the Clean Up System files option to remove the old Windows files:

Cleaning up system filesCleaning up system files

Make sure to select the options to clean up files from the prior version of the OS. 

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-delete-the-windows-old-folder-from-windows-10/

You can also manually check to see if the update storage file is empty:

Windows 10 stores its upgrade files in C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\Download

Thanks to @erico for that tip.

You can also set the paging file at a static amount. By default the paging files was set to use up to 2 gigs. I chose 768 megs (freeing up 1.2 gigs permanently) as this laptop has 4 gigs of RAM (most Cloudbooks have 2) and does not need quite as much paging:

Setting page file to static amountSetting page file to static amount

And as I did on the Lenovo I set the Windows effects to best performance as these units tend to have budget processors and struggle to handle any kind of multitasking so do not need to be bogged down with Windows visual effects:

Set Performance Options to "best performance"Set Performance Options to "best performance"

When all is said and done there are 11+ gigs of free space after updating to 1809, installing Office 365 and some common utility apps:

11.1 gigs free11.1 gigs free

11.1 gigs free is enough to make the computer useable. I would also suggest installing an SD card and moving the documents, photos, downloads, etc. over to it.

https://www.dummies.com/computers/operating-systems/windows-10/how-to-change-the-location-of-user-fo...

So with the above we have two different ways of approaching the issue. You can wipe and reload to the Build you want to have or use Windows 10 built in management tools to free up disk space. Its also going to take some file organization and moving of Library files to a separate storage partition on an SD card. Overall, the purple Cloudbook is not fast, but the word I keep coming back to is "useable". It can stream a youtube, it can create a business report on Excel and Word, and it can do email and internet, albeit a little slow. 

Some may want to go to somewhat radical lengths to turn off Windows Update's automatic features to keep from losing several gigs of space overnight:

https://www.easeus.com/todo-backup-resource/how-to-stop-windows-10-from-automatically-update.html

We would like to encourage you to post a new topic in the community so our member will be able to help you as well, here is the link to post.

[AllanHy]

Also, than you HUFFER for your excellent and detailed comments.

I thought there was something wrong with my skills as to not getting the Windows 10 update to install.

[bobk_100]

Just got one of these in April 2020 for review. It now comes with 64GB eMMC and 4 gigs of DDR3 ram, same cpu I believe. It states on the box that up to 35GB of storage space are reserved for recovery files, so right back where we started with 32GB drive. At least it’s listed at only $219 at Walmart. 

[MRSFAYSHELPER]

Thank-you for your advice.  Almost beyond my comfort level but I will give it a shot on wife's HP Stream.  It's just too bad that HP put something like this on the market and then walked away to let "The Community" solve the problem.  Obviously, someone with your skills isn't going to buy a device like this on purpose.  Thanks again!

[Huffer]

Yes these "Cloudbooks" were pushed out by Microsoft to compete with Chromebooks. Laptop OEMs were enticed to offer these by subsidies and virtually free OS license. In retrospect these things were the Edsel of the laptop industry. 

[Lindsaydavid]

I saw your awesome thread about updating an HP Stream. I wish I were smart enough to understand and implement. I purchased a Stream used from a friend of a friend for my son's virtual schooling.  Wow, what a mistake. He doesn't need much but mainly do virtual class online. The computer hasn't updated since 2018 and I don't even have enough space to download the cleaner you suggested.  I have deleted everything that I can see but still only less than 2MB left on C drive. I cant even get the previous owners name off as owner.  HP said I have to factory reset to do that...?  Is there anything you can do to help?? I would be forever in your debt! I honestly am at a loss.  I don't need to save any apps or music or apps.  Just want my son to be able to go online.  Thank you!!

[MRSFAYSHELPER]

Hi

My son suggested making it into a "Chromebook" :you might want load the "Chromium/Neverware" OS on a USB stick and run it from USB on the HP machine to see if it suits you.  I whined enough that he gave me an old PC with enough guts to do what I needed.

Might research this on google or perhaps the original author will weigh in on the practicality of this and some REAL SIMPLE How TO if it doable.  There outa be a law, right?

[fritobandito]

Good info even with tech background it takes time to maintain!  

The case I would submit is:

Instead of frustrating consumers whom their responsibility is to look for value and may not be technically savvy to perform all these listed procedures. The time wasted to support these devices? Additionally driving consumers away from brands like HP, microsoft? Thanks

[Imberx17]

Thanks so much for this man your awesome!

[BarryMo67]

 You could just Upgrade to 8GB RAM and an NVME SSD, stepping around the BIOS requirement of booting from the slow eMMC with a software Utility Duet with rEFInd. It's easy enough and leaves you with a faster Stream.

[Huffer]

That is just the point. On a lot of the Streams the memory and storage are soldered to the Board with no upgrade slots. Like the one this article is about. If it were as easy as just upgrading components there would be no need for this. 

[BarryMo67]

 If it has a WIFI/BT module that is M.2 ( which is all of them), it can accept an NVME SSD 64GB - 2TB in size. With the use of a Key change Adapter the eMMC can be turned into just extra storage. Yes if like the Stream 11 and 13 they have soldered RAM, however they can also have added storage and gain a speed up from the SSD as eMMC is a very slow storage system.

 Honestly $60 CDN (less in US $) gets you the M.2 Key change adapter, an NVME SSD, and a Low Profile USB WIFI/BT Dongle. Duet with rEFInd is a free download that adds NVME drivers and a Boot Manager.

 My 2017 HP Stream was the first ever Laptop I ever opened, and it was  Upgraded in 45 min. Dead simple!!!!!!!

 The eMMC drive, soldered to the board ( Crystal Disk Mark)

 NVME SSD (via M.2 WIFI/BT slot on Adapter, even having only 1 lane PCIe available to you with adapter)

 The boost you get is noticeable, you do not spend much time waiting for apps to open. eMMC just can not fill the RAM fast enough no matter if it is 2, 4, or 8GB.

[Huffer]

That is interesting and an option I was not aware existed. Not sure there is going to be much broad public appetite for a solution that involves a bootloader, but I still have the purple Stream mentioned above and I may look into what you describe so it can be put to use. I agree the eMMC is laughably slow. 

[BarryMo67]

Will many normal users attempt something like this, I would say no. As up to70% become overwhelmed with finding a driver. I myself have not done much in the way of computer work and upgrades. Mainly for family and mostly a reinstall of Windows. YouTube can be used as a teaching tool I have found. So mainly I would hope to help keep a few HP Streams from hitting E-Waste bins, or saving a Student some money. I really liked my 2017 Stream when I bought it as fit my needs for a few years until the battery died and it got tucked away in a drawer.  I was going to E-waste bin it but gave a battery swap a go (Thanks to YouTube), It was then I found others who Upgraded their Stream who hit the not enough room for Update issues with 32GB eMMC.

 You can save even more by staying Off Brand with the hardware you buy, or just shop smart and only buy when things go on sale,  I went over board with my Upgrade mainly for shock value with a 480GB NVME SSD, but honestly 128GB should be the sweet spot.

 Your very well done Guide for the many who would never be able or willing to attempt such a thing as adding hardware, I see is well thought out and easy to follow and going by views has been followed very well !!! 

 Just added info if you do the SSD addition;

The Adapter: Search for "M.2 (NGFF) NVME SSD to M2 A/E Key WiFi Port with 20cm Cable" where you buy your electronics.

 Duet with rEFInd: Is used to make a Bootable USB Thumb Drive/Boot Manager, you have to manually copy/paste the drivers over to Thumb Drive once you have created it. 

Once you have Windows installed on SSD you can then fully wipe the eMMC and make 2 partitions fat32, 1 a tiny 100 MB, and the rest just storage. On the 100MB drive you copy/paste the EFI folder from Thumb Drive. In Disk Management remove the drive letter of the 100 MB partition so it becomes like a system partition as the Stream will boot from that keeping the BIOS happy it's booting from the eMMC to the NVME. The Thumb Drive will no longer be required to boot, You may have to adjust Boot order in BIOS but once all is set you never need adjust it again.

 It sounds complex, but even  my dumb self did it 🙂