There is a way to prevent this from happening now that we know future updates to Windows 10 will reserve 7 GB of space on our hard drives. While the reserved storage issue is currently only available to Windows Insiders on the Fast Ring, a public rollout with Windows 10 version 1903, scheduled for release this Spring, could be on the way. The problem is that not everyone has 7 GB of free space, and that space could be put to better use, such as storing your files.
Related: How to Determine If You’re Running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 10
How to Disable Reserved Storage on Windows 10
Here’s how to completely disable the 7 GB reserved storage that Microsoft plans to hold back for future Windows 10 updates if you’re a Windows Insider on the Fast Ring. This is essentially the inverse of the instructions that Quest Insiders must follow in order for reserved storage to function in the first place. You can, however, turn it off if you know how to turn it on in the Registry.
- To open the Run Prompt, hold down the Windows Key + R combination. Type “regedit” into the search box (Registry Editor). Enter the code. To enable administrator editing privileges, click Yes to the UAC (User Account Control) prompt. You can also go to the Start menu and type regedit.exe and select “Run as administrator.”
- Once you are in Registry Editor, go to the following directory: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ReserveManager
- Go to ShippedWithReserves as indicated. Double click ShippedWithReserves and change the hexadecimal value from 1 to 0.
To make the changes take effect, restart your Windows 10 computer. If you want to see if the registry changes you made were successful. Select Settings > Storage > Show more categories > System and Reserved > Reserved Storage from the drop-down menu. Note that messing with the Registry can harm your computer, and that reserved storage is still a work in progress. All of this, including whether or not it will be included in future versions of Windows, is unknown at this time.
Related: How to Delete 3D Objects from This PC in Windows 10
