Reserved storage is a feature of the Windows 11/10 operating system that stores a part of the internal hard disk as a reserve to use by Windows temporary files, caches, and other files. This reserves storage facilitates your machine to run with proper performance and successful device updates. Windows 11/10 automatically clears the reserve storage when the primary disk runs out of free space and needs more storage for Windows updates or other processes.
The default size of reserved storage is around 7 GB. However, it may vary based on several things, such as disk space, processes, number of apps installed, etc. In most cases, you will not want to delete the reserved storage space as it’s crucial for Windows.
Due to some reason, if you decide to remove the reserved storage space, this gearupwindows article will help you. However, it’s not recommended as it is needed by Windows 11/10 to run it smoothly. When troubleshooting Windows or for some reason, if you delete this reserved storage, we recommend you recreate it again.
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How to Enable or Disable Reserved Storage Space in Windows 11?
Before disabling the reserved storage space in Windows 11, you should know how much space your system uses. To see that, do the following:-
Step 1. Open the Settings app by pressing
Step 2. When Windows Settings opens, select the
Step 3. In the right sidebar, click the
Step 4. Then click the option
Step 5. Next, select the option
Step 6. Select “C” drive from the list of available volumes.
Step 7. Then, select
Step 8. When you’re done, you can view the Reserved storage. On my computer, Windows reserved storage is 7.72GB.
Step 9. Now that you are familiar with reserve storage on Windows 11, open an elevated command prompt to proceed further with disabling the reserved storage.
Step 10. When Command Prompt with administrator rights opens, copy and paste the following line and then hit
DISM /Online /Set-ReservedStorageState /State:Disabled
Now reserved storage will disappear from the Windows Settings.
Step 11. To re-create the reserved storage on your Windows 11 computer, use the following command:-
DISM /Online /Set-ReservedStorageState /State:Enabled
After executing the above command, Windows 11 will reoccupy storage and keep for reserve for Windows updates, temporary files, etc.
How to Turn On or Off Reserved Storage Space in Windows 10?
Before proceeding with further steps, we want to mention that there is no option available in the Settings app to disable the Reserved Storage Space in Windows 10. However, there is a workaround that lets you disable it. First, we will show you viewing the Reserved Storage Space and then how to disable it.
Step 1. Open the Settings app.
Step 2. Then, click on the
Step 3. Select the
Step 4. On the right-sidebar, click the
Step 5. In the “System & reserved” setting page, you can view the reserved storage under the “Reserved storage” section.
Step 6. Now that you have seen the reserve storage on your Windows 10 open an elevated command prompt to proceed further with disabling the reserved storage.
Step 10. In the administrative Command Prompt, copy and paste the following line and then hit
DISM /Online /Set-ReservedStorageState /State:Disabled
Step 11. Once you complete the above command, reserved storage will disappear from the Windows Settings. You can view the same by navigating to Settings > System > Storage.
Step 12. To enable the reserved storage again on your PC, in the administrative Command Prompt, copy and paste the following line and then hit
DISM /Online /Set-ReservedStorageState /State:Enabled
Good luck.