| Managing reserved storage to make Windows 10 updates easier
By Ed Bott
When you run short of free storage space on a Windows 10 PC, the first symptom is usually a slowdown in performance. But the side effects become more critical when storage space gets so low that updates are no longer able to install.
To avoid that problem, Microsoft has incorporated a new feature into Windows 10, starting with version 1903. As part of a clean installation, the Setup program sets aside a block of disk space as "reserved storage" and can use that space when needed for a future update.
By default, the reserved space allotment is 7 GB, although that amount can and does differ depending on your system configuration, and Microsoft says it might adjust the default size in future feature updates. To see how much space is reserved on your system, go to Settings > System > Storage. Under the bar graph for your system drive, click Show More Categories, and then click System & Reserved.
If that category isn't available, the most likely reason is that your initial Windows 10 installation was a version before 1903; despite online sources that promise otherwise, I haven't found any way to enable this feature except a clean install or a system reset.
And if you're tempted to follow some other online advice to disable this feature by editing the registry, I recommend against it. The reserved storage space isn't squandered. Windows fills it with temporary files that would normally occupy your system drive anyway; putting them here makes it easier to purge those files quickly when you need the space for an update. | When a new employee joins your organization, that means more work for you setting the user set up and making sure everything's configured properly. On the server side, that means making sure user accounts are created and licenses are accounted for.... |
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