Why Is This Happening?

In order for Windows to install updates onto your system, it must first download them onto your computer. Once the update is downloaded and safe on your hard drive, it can then be installed the next time you restart your computer. The problem is you need enough room to actually download the update. If you have 1GB of space free, and an update takes up 3GB of space, you don’t have any room to get the update! Microsoft is aiming to solve this by automatically locking away 7GB of space dedicated to Windows updates, so users will always have enough room for an update. Hopefully, with this new update for Windows, computers will be designed around this limitation, and users won’t be locked out of updates.

What Does this Mean for My Hard Drive?

Simple — you won’t be able to use 7GB of it! The section is a strict reservation, meaning you won’t be able to use it for your own needs. As a result, when the update drops, you may see your free storage space drop by 7GB as a result. This is very bad for anyone who already has issues getting 7GB free on their computer.

Is There Any Way to Disable It?

Not only is this bad for people with low storage space, it’s bad for anyone who wants complete control over their hard drive. Who wants Microsoft telling them how much of their own free space they can use, anyway? Unfortunately, given the fact that this feature is currently only on the test update branch, there’s no knowing if the solutions we have to fix this issue will carry over into the main branch. If the update drops and Microsoft doesn’t patch up the current means of defeating their reservation, the following steps should work.

  1. Open regedit by pressing Win + R and typing “regedit” in the box that appears.
  2. Go to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ReserveManager.”
  3. Find the value called “ShippedWithReserves,” right-click it, and click “Modify…” Then, change the 1 to a 0 and restart. This should then free up the 7GB once again. Hopefully, Microsoft will allow users to turn off this feature via a more user-friendly option – that is, if they even intend for users to circumvent this limit in the first place.

Reservations on Reserved Space

In a bid to keep computer space free to download Windows updates, Microsoft will push to reserve 7GB of storage space dedicated to downloading update files. While this will smooth the update process, people aren’t pleased to hear that they’re being denied storage space without a clear, easy means of turning the feature off. What do you think of this update? Will you miss 7GB of your storage space? Is this one step too far for Microsoft? Let us know below.