Not enough space to update from 1803 to 1809

OldGrantonian · 27 Feb 2019

I have Windows 10 1803, 128 GB SSD, 1TB HD

I have 3.5GB free space on SSD (C:)

I have done 17% of a Windows Update to 1809. The message is that I need 4.5 GB free space on C.

I used Disk Cleanup, and inserted a USB stick. I was informed that there is 90GB space on the stick. But after that, I still need 684 MB on C:

For a week now, I've been researching the options for upgrading my SSD to maybe 512GB. Can I simply cancel the 1809 update for a few more days? If Yes, how do I cancel?

Thanks.

Bree · 27 Feb 2019

OldGrantonian said:

I have Windows 10 1803, 128 GB SSD, 1TB HD
I have 3.5GB free space on SSD (C:)....

That is remarkably little space, what's using it all up? My machines typically have 50-70GB used on C:, of which about half is the Windows system itself. See how your space is being used up in Settings > System >Storage.

View Storage Usage of Drives in Windows 10 | Tutorials

Did you clean up System Files when you used Disk Clean up? Update backups can occupy a lot of space. Also, have you looked at the space taken up by restore points? Typically restore points can be several GB.

Delete System Restore Points in Windows 10 | Tutorials

dalchina · 27 Feb 2019

Hi, you have Pro, so (before a feature update starts) you can use Group Policy to defer feature updates for up to 365 days. Perhaps this will take effect if you apply it and the upgrade fails- I don't know.

Not enough space to update from 1803 to 1809-snap-2019-02-27-11.23.32.png

- via the Group Policy editor or Settings.

Useful also to set updates to Notify, so you choose when to apply them.

Space: as has been said many times:
Wiztree (free) graphically and in a tree shows you how space is used.

Run Ccleaner to save some space (just files, not registry).

The failed upgrade may have created Windows.old- if so you may need to delete it.

Keep your personal documents off C: - separate from OS maintenance. Like me, you have a 1Tb disk- a great place to put them.

I have over 300 progs installed- my C: is 55Gb used space.

CraigHB · 27 Feb 2019

I keep as much as I can on my secondary drive. I only use about 20% of my system drive's capacity. What I would do is replace the HDD with an SDD and move as much as possible to the secondary drive. Go with SSD so programs can be put there as well and still get the speed benefit, actually faster since Windows can do disk operations in parallel, unless of course your system drive is NVMe.

zbook · 27 Feb 2019

1) Please post an image of disk management into the thread.
(by default the columns are compressed > widen each Status and Volume > check each row and make sure the contents within the parenthesis are in full view and that none of the characters are cut off)
Check the disk 0 row and make sure that the contents of each box are in full view and that the characters are not cut off)
Disk Management - How to Post a Screenshot of | Tutorials

2) This link has multiple options to free up drive space:
Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10 | Tutorials

OldGrantonian · 27 Feb 2019

As a result of the kind suggestions and hints made by both @Bree and @dalchina, I have succeeded in updating from 1803 to 1809. The extra space was gained by constant nibbling away using Disk Cleanup, plus some uninstalls of program files, and re-installing them on a different partition.

Here's a screenshot from TreeSize before the update. The numbers in red are the values obtained by hovering over the folder names:

Not enough space to update from 1803 to 1809-image.png

Both @Bree and @dalchina seemed surprised at the amount of space I use on C:

I have 117 files in Program Files and x86, which is only one-third of the number that @dalchina has. (I have other program files on a different partition as "overflow")

I suspect that both of these guys might have their folder "Users" (with an "s") on a different partition. That's what I've been trying to achieve on a different thread in this forum. I can never do that now, because I don't have enough space to bring the MVP folders back to C from my DATA partition, so that I can then move "Users" to the DATA partition:

Windows 10 Help Forums

Thanks.

dalchina · 27 Feb 2019

Glad you achieved that.
No, I've not relocated anything, except my desktop (to preserve data should I need to do something radical).

I simply do not use Documents, Downloads, Pictures.... nor would I personally relocate them (it's too risky in my view- some bad mistakes can be easily made).

Of course the size of what's in %appdata% etc will depend on the individual programs installed too. For example, I've no large games.

You can use Wiztree to give a great analysis of the relative merits of moving things. This is from my Thinkpad laptop - which has just a small no. of progs installed (and still has hibernation enabled- one of the large regions).

Not enough space to update from 1803 to 1809-snap-2019-02-27-20.37.31.png

Bree · 27 Feb 2019

OldGrantonian said:

As a result of the kind suggestions and hints made by both @Bree and @dalchina, I have succeeded in updating from 1803 to 1809...

Glad to hear that...

Both @Bree and @dalchina seemed surprised at the amount of space I use on C:

...I suspect that both of these guys might have their folder "Users" (with an "s") on a different partition...

No, but I see you have a lot more user data than I do. I thought my 31.8GB was a lot (and overdue for a tidy up) but your 55GB wins hands down.

I also see that you have 5.2GB in System Volume Information (compared to only 10.3MB in mine). This is where your restore points are stored. You could probably regain that 5GB by deleting all restore points.

Your Windows folder at 36.2GB is some 16GB larger than mine (and dalchina's) at 20GB. This suggests your Component Store (WinSxS) may benefit from a clean up. You should analyse it to see if there is scope for reclaiming more space.

Analyze Component Store (WinSxS folder) in Windows 10 | Tutorials

Clean Up Component Store (WinSxS folder) in Windows 10 | Tutorials

NavyLCDR · 27 Feb 2019

Clone the C: drive partition to the HDD. Expand the size of the partition by a couple of GB. Boot into it, do the upgrade, disk cleanup to remove the Windows.old folder. Then clone it back to the SSD.