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Archived This topic has been archived. Information and links in this thread may no longer be available or relevant. If you have a question create a new topic by clicking here and select the appropriate board.
HP Recommended
10-N107NA
Microsoft Windows 10 (32-bit)
  • What is the exact model for your computer? Pavillion X2 (HP Pavilion x2 10-n107na-United Kingdom)
  • What is the operating system you are using? Windows 10
  • What is the exact issue you are facing? Windows will not update due to lack of space.
  • Have you made any software or hardware changes on the computer? Defaulted back to manufacturer settings (as new)
  • Have you performed any troubleshooting steps before posting? All options tried from below link. (Deleted install files, setup files, return to manufacturer default, then apply new patches).

Refer to locked conversation: https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Windows/Re-pavilion-x2-out-of-hard-drive-memory-again-after-windows/m-...

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
HP Recommended

@Oneloosenut,

 

It is great to have you back and your patience is greatly appreciated.

 

I recommend you follow the below steps and check if it helps.

 

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.

 

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

 

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

 

Cheers!

The_Fossette
I am an HP Employee

View solution in original post

8 REPLIES 8
HP Recommended

Hi! @Oneloosenut, Thank you for visiting the HP Forums! A great place where you can find solutions for your issues with help from the community!

 

I understand you are getting low disk space error on your PC.

 

Don't worry I'll try to help you out.

 

Did you make any software or hardware changes on your PC?

 

Excellent description and a great diagnosis done. It is greatly appreciated.

 

Please try the steps recommended below and check if it helps.

 

Deleting temporary files and directories increases hard disk space and reduces the time Windows takes to access the hard drive. Windows uses a TEMP directory to temporarily store files intended only for short-term use. Over time, these files might not be removed and can build up and cause problems.
To delete these files, follow these steps:
Close all open software programs.
If you are using Windows 10, do the following:
In Windows search, type disk cleanup.
Select Disk Cleanup from the results.
The Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection window opens.
Select the drive you want to clean up from the drop-down menu and click OK.
A message opens stating that Disk Cleanup is calculating how much space can be freed.
Place a checkmark next to the types of files you want the Disk Cleanup utility to delete. Temporary files are safe to delete.
   CAUTION:
Selecting some options can have a negative effect. If you are unsure about what to delete, do not delete files until you know which ones are important.
Click OK.
Click Delete Files.

 

Also, try the steps recommended below.

 

Cleaning up the Component Store can be done as follows:
Open an elevated command instance.
Type the following command:
The Disk Cleanup dialog will appear. Tick the item called "Windows Update Cleanup":
That's it. This will remove files which are not critical to the functioning of the operating system and which are used only as a reserve copy of the upgraded system components. Your WinSxS folder in Windows 10 will be reduced in size.
You have to remember however that after performing this cleanup, you will not be able to uninstall any of the updates currently installed.
 

Also, try the steps recommended below.

 

Using Storage sense frees up space on your computer. When configured properly, Storage sense can automatically delete unwanted files, such as temporary files, old items in the recycle bin, and files in the Downloads folder that have not been recently accessed or used.

Storage sense does not remove all the unneeded files. In addition to the files that are automatically deleted, you might need to delete other files, such as update logs.

To enable Storage sense in Windows 10 version 1709 and later:

  1. Open Windows Settings.

  2. Click System.

  3. Click Storage.

  4. Turn the Storage sense toggle switch to On.

    Storage sense toggled to On

  5. Click Change how we free up space automatically.

    Storage sense settings with Change how we free up space automatically selected

    The Change how we free up space automatically window displays.

       NOTE:

    Depending on your version of Windows, the available options in the Change how we free up space automatically window might vary slightly.

  6. Under Storage sense use the drop-down menu to select when you want to run Storage sense. Choose Every day, Every week, Every month, or When windows decides.

    Storage sense settings for when to run Storage sense

  7. Under Temporary files, select the check box to delete temporary files that your apps aren't using.

    • Recycle bin: Use the drop-down menu to delete files that have been in the Recycle bin for 1, 14, 30, 60 days, or select Never.

    • Downloads folder: Use the drop-down menu to delete files that have been in the Downloads folder for 1, 14, 30, or 60 days, or select Never.

    Storage sense temporary files settings

  8. Under Free up space now you can select the check box to delete previous versions of Windows if you have installed a newer version of Windows.

    Free up space now with delete previous versions of Windows selected

 

 

Refer this article to further troubleshoot low disk space issues on your PC. Click Here

 

 

Let me know if this works!

Have a great day! 🙂

 

Please click “Accept as Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.

Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

A4Apollo
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Hello MrRobot.

 

I spent the whole day following the instructions. At first I was hopeful: it took an age to delete the Windows elements that were no longer required. But once done the updates started to load. Late last night it errored saying that it had insufficient space to perform the Windows update. I made the assumption that the updates that it had performed throughout the day may have taken up more space again (i.e. installation files) and repeated the steps you recommended to make more space. Once done, started what appears to be the last update. This I left at 41% and installing at 3am today. When I returned to the unit this morning it has failed saying that "updates are available , but we temporarily need more space...". This is referring to the update - "Feature update Windows 10 version 1803" had "failed.

 

The unit has no additional software or personal files. Annoyingly it has a 1tb drive that is empty, but the OS needs to install on the 32Gb internal drive space.

 

Unless there is a method of installing a new sofware image that is already updated to the latest version, or something that will allow the space on the 1tb drive to be utilised, I cannot see how this will work without having a smaller cut-down version of Windows, or making the unit a Chromebook or similar.

 

I am more than happy to try any other options that you may know of, but can't beleive that I am the only one with this issue (or that if a solution is found, it won't be long before Microsoft applies more software and recreates the same problem).

 

I do have a colleague that has one of these units (who was the one that recommended the unit). I asked whether he had any issues - and he did. His solution? He scrapped the unit. For a two-year old laptop I don't see this as an option.

 

Any help you can give would be appreciated.

 

IMG_20190102_085443.jpg

HP Recommended

Additional information:

With reference to the question "Did you make any software or hardware changes on your PC?" - no. The unit has been returned to manufacturer's default. No hardware added. All software removed.

HP Recommended

@Oneloosenut,

 

It is great to have you back and your patience is greatly appreciated.

 

I recommend you follow the below steps and check if it helps.

 

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.

 

Let me know how it goes and you have a great day!

 

If you wish to show appreciation for my efforts, mark my post as Accept as Solution. Your feedback counts!

 

Cheers!

The_Fossette
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Thanks for the additional suggestions. The unit has 1 USB, 1 USB-c for charging, and a micro-SD slot. Before reading your reply I ordered a 16Gb SD card that I can attach to the USB slot. Unfortunately not in time for me to order the additional memory and cables to complete your proposed procedure.

 

It's a shame that the 1 Tb drive that is inside the unit empty can't be used to perform this (unless you know otherwise).

 

It may take a little while for me to try this option... but I will reply.

HP Recommended

@Oneloosenut,

 

Thank you for keeping me posted.

 

I completely agree with you, however, the hard drive can be utilized only for storage.

 

Please try the suggested steps and check if it helps.

 

Please post your results, as I will be looking forward to hearing from you.

 

Good day!

 

 

The_Fossette
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

The unit has one USB port, and one micro SD slot. After buying a 16Gb micro SD and a 32Gb USB drive I was able to complete the update. It did take time... eventually leaving it to run overnight. I also still struggled with space - but there are apps/games such as "Minecraft" that seem to be loaded as a Windows default (honestly, this PC has never been used for games beyond solitaire). I removed this app and a few others which gave enough space for the install to complete.

 

Post installation (and with no additional software) the OS takes up just over 16Gb. As the instructions state, the micro SD card now has to be retained as the recovery OS, but that's fine. Micro SDs are cheap.

 

I assume that as future Windows OS updates occur I may need to refer to these instructions again, but for now the unit is fully updated and running!

 

Thanks for your help.

HP Recommended

@Oneloosenut,

 

Perfect, I am really glad to hear that! 

 

If any other questions arise, please feel free to write back to me.

 

Good day! Take care 🙂

 

Cheers!

 

The_Fossette
I am an HP Employee

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