The next major Windows update is set to launch next month, and it’s expected to bring some new features including support for a new light theme and Windows Sandbox for Pro users, as well as the ability for Windows Subsystem for Linux users to access Linux files using Windows tools.

But one change that might not be so exciting? The Windows 10 May 2019 Update (also known as version 1903) needs at least 32GB of storage to run properly.

That’s about twice as much as Windows 10 version 1809 (the October 2018 update).

Update: Microsoft has clarified that the restriction only applies to new PCs that ship with Windows 10, version 1903. If you have an older PC with less storage, you can still get updates.

Reserved Storage in Windows 10 version 1903

Previously Microsoft said you needed 16GB to run Windows 10 32-bit and 20GB for Windows 10 64-bit. Now you need 32GB for either version of the operating system.

The change will probably hit folk with entry-level computers the hardest — there aren’t many Windows PCs that ship with less than 32GB of storage, but in recent years there have been some.

Anyway, the new minimum storage requirement probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. Earlier this year Microsoft revealed that it was adding a feature called Reserved Storage that would be used to set aside space for Windows updates, temporary files, cache files, and other data. Among other things, this should reduce the likelihood that Windows updates fail to install because your device doesn’t have enough free space… assuming you have enough space to install Windows 10 in the first place.

via PureInfoTech

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14 replies on “Windows 10 May 2019 Update requires at least 32GB of storage”

  2. Most 32gb Windows PCs are already running out of free space. I see brand new 32gb Windows laptops that only have 7.5gb of free space out of the box. I considered buying a 64gb Windows laptop, but customer reviews complain these run out of free storage quickly too. Part of the problem is the Recovery Partition using up 1/3 of that 32gb, leaving only 20gb of storage for the C: drive. Maybe you’ll have 10gb of free space on the C: drive after a fresh install, but that won’t last long.

  3. Time for me to find a Linux distribution that works on my Lenovo Ideapad MIIX then

  4. Honestly, what I want most from Windows Updates are cosmetic upgrades and reworks of the explorer.
    It needs to clean up a lot in my opinion and the dark mode is not looking too great either. (Still love it because it’s dark.)

  5. The solution to use alternate storage was buggy and didn’t work for me. Ever. After many attempts. It rendered my laptop dead. So to me this has lawsuit written all over it. They can compensate me for a POS laptop that doesn’t have the storage capacity to handle the OS that came pre-installed. Too bad nobody buys ASUS laptops because I doubt there are enough out there to make this a legality issue. I may try their solution one more time but big middle finger to MS over this.

  7. So, just to be clear, will the new Windows 10 installation automatically carve out this amount of storage during installation?

  9. I guess owners of some of those cheap Windows machines might be forced to try some “alternative” OSes.

    1. “I guess owners of some of those cheap Windows machines might be forced to try some “alternative” OSes.”

      Nope, they can’t. AFAIK part of the Micro$oft OS OEM “discount” MANDATES that the UEFI BIOS be LOCKED exclusively to Micro$oft Windows only! For example, on 21-Sep-2018 I was sold an 11.6″ ASUS VivoBook Flip 12 Model No. TP202NA-OB04T S/N: J7N0GR01E971274 with Win10S upgradeable to Win10 (which I easily and legally did). The laptop came with 4GB SDRAM and 64GB eMMC. I was told by the seller (Office Depot) and ASUS that I could install Linux on the machine, but that ASUS would not officially support it (I was OK with that). Nope, they LIED! The UEFI BIOS blocked me from accessing the eMMC storage even though I eventually got a Debian-based (Mint 19.x) install USB stick to boot. For weeks ASUS Customer Support gave me the run-around. But in the end ASUS finally admitted that essentially Micro$oft owned the machine, not me – even though I PAID for it. Stay away from ASUS!

    2. I think most people with the low power and low storage Windows machines are going to be better served by “alternative” OSes anyway. I have a HP Stream 11 (32GB eMMC, Celeron N3060, 4GB RAM). It was such a pain every time there was a big Windows 10 update, but even more importantly to me was the fact that after every update, it got slower and slower. Windows 10 was fairly trim when it was first introduced, but every major update has given it noticeably more bloat. Microsoft has been more concerned with pushing new features than keeping the code tight. It’s as bloated now as any Windows ever. It makes Vista look light by comparison. I decided to move the Steam 11 to Ubuntu, and I’ve never regretted it. The laptop is quick enough now for pleasant light use. Something I couldn’t say when it was running Windows. Plus I don’t have to worry about turning it on and dealing with annoying updates (either in the background or foreground). Despite the other guy replying to your post’s difficulty, my install of Ubuntu on the Stream 11 couldn’t have been easier. I created a USB installer on another system running Ubuntu, powered up the Stream 11, pointed the boot to the USB, and was up and running without any issue. All the hardware was detected and all the drivers were automatically installed.
      I also have a HP Stream 14 (64GB eMMC, Celeron N3060, 4 GB RAM). Even though it doesn’t have the storage issues of the Stream 11, it is suffering from the same Windows 10 bloat issue. I really don’t believe Microsoft has ever considered how some of their design decisions with Windows 10 affects low end hardware. It would be different if this was old outdated hardware, but you can go into a store right now and buy a similarly spec’ed machine. The Stream 14 is noticeably more sluggish than the Stream 11 running Ubuntu. Plus, there are times when there are background processes that make the system unusable. I was trying to use it Friday, and a background task “.Net optimization” or something like that was using 100% of the CPU. I had to pull out the Stream 11 get stuff done. It’s really a pain to use whenever Windows 10 is doing anything in the background, such as searching for updates, and it feels like it’s always searching for updates. The system will grind to a halt, and I’ll open up Task Manager and “Windows Installer Module” or something like that will be monopolizing the CPU. (Fortunately, the newer low end Celerons are quite a bit better. The N4000 is like 50% more powerful than the N3060.) So I may end up moving the Stream 14 to Ubuntu as well.
      I’ll probably pick up an older 12.5″ or 14″ HP Elitebook or Dell Latitude for a light, cheap, portable Windows machine. It’ll be heavier, and won’t have the same battery life, but it will have the power to maneuver Windows 10’s mighty heft, and I can expand the storage if I need to. For people looking for something cheap and light that runs Windows, I’d recommend doing the same and staying away from the laptops with eMMC storage. It’s probably what I should have done to start with, but I really like the form factor of the Stream 11. I picked mine up from a friend, so I don’t have much into it, I can throw it in my should bag and it doesn’t add much weight, the battery lasts all day, and the screen, trackpad, and keyboard are decent enough. It’s also surprisingly durable. I’ve dropped it twice, and both times it came out with only minor injures.

  10. “We heard you voice loud and clear: you don’t want that after every update Windows takes up an additional 8-10 GB on your small system SSD. We understand you don’t want to delete the junk from there every month. So instead we will take that space permanently. Yeah, you might want to upgrade from that 128GB SSD by 2020…”

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