How Much Space Do You Need For Windows 10 to Work?

Microsoft has raised Windows 10’s minimum storage requirement to 32 GB. But you can strip it back even further to make it take up the least amount of disk space possible.

How Much Space Do You Need For Windows 10 to Work?

Consider the fact that a fresh install for Windows 10 takes up storage space of about 15 GB.

Most of this 15 GB is composed of reserved and system files, whereas a space of 1 GB is taken up by the default games and apps that come pre-shipped with Windows 10.

While that may not seem like a lot, when using a low-end laptop with 32 GB or 64 GB memory, this represents a significant amount of storage space for the OS.

In this article, we will focus on how you will reduce your Windows 10 installation size.

What Is The Ideal SSD Size For Windows 10?

According to the specifications and requirements of Windows 10, users need to have 16 GB of free SSD space for the 32-bit version to install the operating system on a device.

However, if users opt for the 64-bit version 20 GB of free SSD space is required. Here is the answer to your query as to how large an SSD will need to install Windows 10 and work properly.

We first need to install Windows 10 on a computer in order to verify how much Windows 10 occupies. When the installation process is complete, go to the operating system unit directly to see exactly how much it occupies.

After that, we will get that Windows 10 occupies about 20 GB of space on the disk including drivers (for instance the NVIDIA drivers).

How Much Space Does Windows 10 Need?

Usually, Windows 10 receives updates every week, which improve both the overall performance of the system and computer security.

It is best to have at least 10 GB of additional free space for these updates to ensure that your Windows 10 is updated without space issues.

Moreover, keep in mind that a new update is typically launched for this in Windows 10 every 6 months; it is suggested to have at least 30 GB of space available so that the current version can be backed up and the new one installed.

In case you want to run your Windows smoothly and seamlessly then, it is essential to make sure you have at least 20 GB of free storage space. It will be utilized to work with the temporary files and cache freely.

Also, if you activate the interchange memory and hibernation functionalities then, you need 10 GB more space.

So, eventually, make sure if you are installing Windows 10 in at least 60 GB as only after this your OS will run without any issues.

Reducing The Windows 10 Installation Size

1. Remove Bloatware

Windows 10 comes with a reasonable (or unreasonable, as it were) amount of bloatware. Some Windows 10 pre-installed apps include Microsoft 3D Builder, Candy Crush Saga, Groove Music, Money, Weather, Music, Sport, and so on.

How Much Space Do You Need For Windows 10 to Work?

Most Windows 10 users will have an alternative preference for these apps. Nonetheless, Microsoft bundles them up.

Moreover, removing them is time-consuming, and, only returns a fraction of space.

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2. Reduce Or Remove Hiberfil.Sys

Windows 10 arrives on your system with hibernation turned on by default. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for those with masses of storage.

Hiberfil.sys is the hibernation storage file that keeps track of your system vitals. The file stores key settings the operating system requires to restore from hibernation rapidly.

How Much Space Do You Need For Windows 10 to Work?

The size of your hiberfil.sys file relates directly to the amount of installed system RAM. It can occupy up to 75% of that amount, too.

For instance, if you have 8GB RAM installed, the hiberfil.sys file could use up to 6GB of storage (hard drive storage, not your RAM). The more RAM you have, the more space the hiberfil.sys file will consume.

Want to turn it off?

  1. Type command prompt in your Start Menu search bar, right-click the Best Match and select Run as Administrator.
  2. Now, input powercfg /hibernate off. That’s it; hibernation is switched off.
  3. To turn it back on, input powercfg /hibernate on. Again, that’s it.

When you turn hibernation off, the hiberfil.sys file should immediately disappear, freeing up space.

3. Tweak Your Paging File Storage

Windows has an inbuilt feature called the Paging File. It works somewhat like a virtual memory relief.

Your system has a set amount of installed RAM. You cannot exceed the amount of RAM installed on your system. The installed amount is the limit. However, there are times when your system will butt up against the amount of RAM you have installed.

When that happens, Windows will attempt to use the paging file to offer temporary relief. Some of the important information currently held in the RAM will temporarily transfer to a file on your hard drive.

As hard drive memory is much slower than super-fast RAM (even SSDs are slower), recalling this information takes longer. It also increases the wear and tears on your drive as your system performs more read/write operations.

You can control the size of the paging file or remove it completely.

Head to Control Panel > System and Security > System. In the left-hand panel, select Advanced system settings. Select the Advanced tab. Under Performance, select Settings.

How Much Space Do You Need For Windows 10 to Work?

Head to the Advanced tab. You should now see a Virtual Memory panel. Select Change.

How Much Space Do You Need For Windows 10 to Work?

You now have three options:

  • Custom size
  • System managed size
  • No paging file

You can eliminate the paging file, but I wouldn’t advise that. Even though the paging file exists, it isn’t necessarily taking up space, especially if you are not using all the RAM available to your system. If you want, reduce the size of the paging file.

Please spread the word about this article to your friends and family if you found it to be educational and useful.

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