Is it advisable to leave some of the hard disk space unallocated?


  1. Posts : 448
    Windows 10
       #1

    Is it advisable to leave some of the hard disk space unallocated?


    Is it advisable to leave some of the hard disk space, say 1 GB or 2GB or ...... unallocated. Is there any benefit or harm.
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  2. Posts : 18,424
    Windows 11 Pro
       #2

    I can't think of either a benefit or harm, unless your system partition is really short on free space.
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  3. Posts : 5,478
    2004
       #3

    Generally not but some file systems need it. For example OSX expects 128MB unallocated after all HFS partitions like this:

    Is it advisable to leave some of the hard disk space unallocated?-capture.png

    There is a good explanation of partitioning here http://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/advice.html
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  4. Posts : 193
    Windows 10 Pro
       #4

    In a normal Windows system for home use I cannot think of a reason to leave unallocated space.
    Especially if it's an SSD drive where you need to make maximum use of all the space.
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  5. Posts : 46
    64-bit 10240 10 Pro
       #5

    There is no reason to do so, no benefit whatsoever. No harm to do it but it is not a thing one should even consider.
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  6. Posts : 299
    Windows 10
       #6

    Kanata said:
    In a normal Windows system for home use I cannot think of a reason to leave unallocated space.
    Especially if it's an SSD drive where you need to make maximum use of all the space.
    Actually, in an SSD having some unallocated space can have some benefits. In fact most SSD's already have built-in unallocated space (OP – over provisioning). This allows the the SSD's internal systems greater efficiency in the Garbage Collection and trimming process. For example Samsung drives recommend a 10% over provisioning but allow users to exceed this limit. Furthermore, any time an SSD is filled to over 80% capacity you will see decrease in efficiency and speed. In traditional HD drives, unallocated space really serves no function.
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  7. Posts : 448
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #7

    NavyLCDR said:
    I can't think of either a benefit or harm, unless your system partition is really short on free space.
    Thanks.
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  8. Posts : 448
    Windows 10
    Thread Starter
       #8

    Thanks to all for their valuable information. As I do not have shortage of space and if there is no benefit and no harm that I would like to keep some GB unallocated. May be in future some software may need free space.
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