32Gb Notebook - end of the line for Windows 10?

You might want to check out Susan Bradley's adventures with her 32GB HP Envy.

Search for these articles:

• Patch Lady – Not enough space to install 1709
• Patch Lady – finally got an HP Envy 8 Note 5000 upgraded

Here is how to do it with a bit of effort.
You can update a 32 GB tablet but it is a bit convoluted and requires knowledge of Hyper-V virtual machines and Macrium Reflect Free. It is not that difficult but not for beginners.

You need to know if tablet is 32bit uefi or 64bit uefi.


1) Install Macrium Reflect Free on tablet, and also create boot entry from Macrium "Other Tasks" menu. Also create a Macrium Rescue iso.

2) Back up tablet with Macrium Reflect to a usb drive. Copy Macrium Rescue iso to this drive as well.

3) Create a virtual hard drive 2xsize of linx tablet e.g. 64GB for 32GB tablet

4) Restore image to the virtual hard drive and expand C drive to fill all space on VHD from disk management, the detach vhd as well.

5) If 32bit uefi, create a GENERATION 1 Hyper V VM. If 64 bit, create Gen 2, and attach VM from above, and also connect Macrium Rescue iso as a "DVD". Set VM to boot from "DVD"

6) Boot VM and run Macrium Reflect "Fix window boot problems"

7) Boot pc, this time booting into Windows

8) Do upgrade in normal way

7) Do disk cleanup etc. - check installed files less than say 30 GB.

8) Image backup C partition only and copy to a usb drive

9) Boot tablet into Macrium and restore C image partition from usb to tablet, over existing writing C partition

10) Run Macrium Reflect "fix windows boot problems"


11) Reboot tablet into Windows.

@2460acc

Can you connect an external HDD formatted as NTFS to your device during the upgrade process? Windows should automatically use it for temporary space needed.


I also see that @cereberus is here. I think he will have something to say about this issue too, since he has done a lot of this in the past. :)


EDIT: I see he beat me to it.

I have had success, as stated, with 32GB USB flash drive formatted NTFS . this was on one of those cheap chinese No Name devices, so anything from the more established manufacturers should also be possible using this method, YMMV of course

The vast majority of users of these and all other Laptops and netbooks and desktops prefer windows because it's the most familiar to them, also these small laptops are new devices shipped with windows ten not old xp devices

I have not upgraded many of these devices but the method I've described previously has worked for me

It helps too if the user does not run the system until the memory available runs low, before they add extra memory, as most Phones Tablets and these hybrid devices will, in my experience, default to use of the SD Card or USB Flash drive over it's internal storage if and when present.

The first thing I do when prepping a New Phone or Tablet is add an SD card of the maximum possible size for the intended use, I also include this as a standard cost when purchasing. BTW this is also the case with Garmin Sat Nav units which need a card to update the map data