How to install Windows 11 when the main hard drive doesn’t have enough free space
If your PC doesn’t have enough available space, this is how you can successfully install Windows 11.
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Although your computer may meet the minimum hard drive requirements to installWindows 11, the setup may still get stuck because there is not enough space to process the upgrade. If this is your case, you can use a pair of USB flash drives to circumvent this problem.
Windows 11, like its predecessor, has “reserved storage” to reserve part of the drive space to prevent issues during an update. However, the device still needs some additional space to process the upgrade, so you will need workarounds to continue with the setup.
In thishow-to guide, I’ll explain how to install Windows 11 on devices with limited disk space. These instructions apply to upgrading to a newer version of Windows 11 or when you want to upgrade fromWindows 10to 11.
These instructions have been updates to ensure that they are still accurate.
How to install Windows 11 on PCs with low storage capacity
If you have a laptop or other device with limited storage capacity, you can still upgrade to Windows 11. You will only need to go through some additional steps with different components.
Hardware requirements
As part of the preparation process, you will need the following:
Windows 11 USB flash drive creation
To create a Windows 11 installation media, connect a USB flash drive to the secondary computer, and use these steps:
Once you complete the steps, the tool will download the files to create a bootable media to install the operating system on a computer with limited capacity.
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Windows 11 installation process
To install the initial release of Windows 11 on a computer with limited storage, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, the setup will proceed with the upgrade to the latest version of the operating system.
Shrink current setup (optional)
Alternatively, you can also use “Compact OS,” a command-line tool designed to compress and reduce the footprint of the Windows setup and applications.
Warning:This is a friendly reminder that modifying system files is risky and can cause irreversible damage to your installation if you do not do it correctly. Before proceeding, it is recommended that you make a temporaryfull backup of your PC.
To shrink the size of the current installation of Windows, use these steps:
After you complete the steps, the installation footprint will be reduced, giving you around 2GB of extra storage that may help you continue with the setup.
You can always revert the changes after the upgrade using the same instructions, but instep 3, use the"compact.exe /compactOS:never"command.
More resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.
