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

I bought a little Asus Notebook a year ago with Windows 10 preinstalled. It has a 32Gb SSD and I added a 128Gb mini SD card in the slot for documents.

As far as possible I've tried to make Windows 10 use the SD card for the User folder and other space consuming folders. It was not as simple as I hoped (e.g. on earlier versions of Windows it was a single change) so essentially all the OS and Programs are installed on the SSD.

It has been OK up until now - every few months I need to hunt down a bloated folder and delete it. Now unfortunately with the latest cumulative update (I forget the number), I am getting an error message that I need 8Gb free space. After deleting pretty much every program, I have 8.5Gb free - great, let's go! But no... it doesn't install. It gets part way through and then complains it doesn't have enough disk space.

So it looks like this is the end of the line for Windows 10 on this machine. If anyone has suggestions for how to break up the cumulative patch into smaller ones or install it from the larger SD disk then I'm all ears!

As far as I know the only "updates" that need 8gb of free space are the major version upgrades such as Fall Creators Update. Run winver and what version of Windows 10 do you have? You should be on version 1709. If you are not on version 1709, then I suggest you create a version 1709 USB flash drive using the Media Creation Tool:

Download Windows 10

If the MCT complains it does not have enough free space, there is an alternative way to download the ISO file directly from Microsoft that we can show you, if we have to.

Once you have the USB flash drive created, run disk cleanup using option 2 here:
Open and Use Disk Cleanup in Windows 10 Windows 10 Tutorials

Then run setup.exe from the USB flash drive you created.

You can also gain more free disk space by turning hibernation off (this also turns off Windows fast startup). Open a Command Prompt (Admin) - and I think it is also the same in Powershell (Admin) - and run:
powercfg /h off

I've got a couple of 32GB computers and with careful management I've always been able to update/upgrade to the latest version of Windows 10. But I don't have very many programs installed on them, they are mostly just for surfing internet and email when traveling, or connected to a TV for a media player.

When we eventually get the "spring" creators update and it wants to create a Windows.old folder on your notebook then you have a problem.

Also, make sure Windows is in the compact state, from Command Prompt (Admin) run:
compact /compactos:always

Also, you can open disk management and see if you have a recovery partition that is taking up space, chances are you can delete the recovery partition. Just make sure you backup all the existing third party drivers first by running:
DISM.exe /Online /Export-Driver /Destination:D:\destpath

change D:\destpath to the drive letter of the SD card and the folder name of a folder you create to hold the drivers.

In summary, that's how I manage my 32GB computers:
1. Turn off hibernation
2. Make sure the OS is compacted
3. Export the drivers, delete the recovery partition and extend the OS partition into the free space
4. Use folder junctions to move my user data files to an SD card or USB flash drive
5. Use the command line disk cleanup option to keep the disk clean
6. Use a flash drive or SD card with the latest Windows 10 version setup files to do any major version upgrades

'Outside-the-box' thinking suggests a long-term investment in a newer larger volume-sized SSD, accompanied by a clean install of the April 2018 OS via USB flash drive, to future-proof the notebook another two years. Especially if you are happy with the notebook's functionalities thus far.

pyramid10 said:

'Outside-the-box' thinking suggests a long-term investment in a newer larger volume-sized SSD, accompanied by a clean install of the April 2018 OS via USB flash drive, to future-proof the notebook another two years. Especially if you are happy with the notebook's functionalities thus far.

I suspect this very much inside-the-box thinking to get people to "invest" in a new computer every 2 years... I work with computers and am prepared to get down an dirty but your average "investor" is going to hit the wall. I've cleared even more space on the SSD (drivers, etc) and STILL the update wants more more MOAR.

32 GB SSD is too small.
128 GB SD card helps ... but it's SLOOOOOW.
I think you need more, better, faster.