What Does Low Disk Space Mean on Windows [6 Fixes]

Have you ever received a low disk space error on your PC? Don't worry; we will focus on 'what does low disk space mean' in this article, so dive into learning.

In this article, you can learn about low disk space, its causes, and its quick fixes.

Disk space plays a vital role in computer usage and user experience. Certain applications and programs may have specific disk space requirements for installation. However, many users face low disk space issues due to poor management and lack of awareness to use disk space properly. So what exactly does low disk space mean?

What Does Low Disk Space Mean on Windows 10/11/8/7

Low disk space means that you have used most of your computer's disk space and have less space available for data storage. When this happens, the computer prompts an error to draw your awareness and attention to the problem. Typically, this error occurs when there is less than 200 MB of free storage in the disk space. However, why do we get low disk space errors? There are two main cases where you may get this error message.

Case 1: PC's internal disk is full

You will receive the following warning message: 

The error message typically appears on Windows startup. Hence, it is not a regular warning. This error is usually related to the C:\ Windows\Temp folder.

Case 2: When PC's local disk storage almost runs out

This error message may appear in the format below:

When you get this error, it means that your local drive is low on free space.

Some PCs have multiple local disks. For example, you might have partitioned your local disk into drives D and E. If one of the disks has less than 200MB of storage, you will receive a storage error if you try to save data on that disk.

However, how can we remove the low disk space error? Here are some quick fixes for you.

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How to Remove Low Disk Space Error

Defragmenting your hard drive, using an external hard drive, or extending partitions are some of the ways you can solve low disk space issues on your PC.

 💡1. Free Up Disk Space:

If your PC or laptop is running low on free space, you may not be able to install important Windows updates, and your PC's speed may be affected. Here are some methods to free up space so you can keep your laptop or PC up-to-date and running smoothly:

• Clean the junk files to free up the hard drive space.
• Remove or transfer larger files.
• Save or move the important larger files to your external hard drive.
• Also, you can use Cloud Storage to save your documents.
• Change the default install location of your apps.
• Transfer programs and software to another hard drive.
• Empty the Recycle Bin regularly.
• Delete or remove the duplicate files and the temp files.
• Run the Anti-Virus software to remove malware on a regular basis.

You can get more information from the link below.

💡2. Install a Second Hard Drive

Adding a second drive to the motherboard is one effective way to extend/expand drive capacity. However, this method is somewhat expensive and requires knowledge of computer hardware. Fortunately, it's much better than using an external drive that can get lost or dropped. 

💡3. Use an External Drive

If you want to keep large files for long-term use, store them on an external drive. Photos, videos, music, and documents are some of the personal files you might consider moving to external storage. The best external storage devices include a USB flash drive, memory card, or portable USB hard drive.

💡4. Save Your Files in the Cloud

A significant advantage of storing data in the Cloud is that it acts as a backup for the data. In addition, the data can be stored in the Cloud for a long time, and you can store unlimited data according to the subscription.

You can get cloud storage services on Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, Mega, or Google Drive. These options come with free and subscription options. If the amount of data is small, you can use the free version.

💡5. Create/Combine Partitions

You can create more partitions or combine two partitions to get more usable space. Disk Management and Diskpart can help users create new partitions or merge existing partitions without costing any fee.

💡 6. Extend Partitions

When the system Drive C or data Drive D has insufficient disk space, you can check for unallocated free space. If so, you can extend the partition by using Disk Management.
Also, if you don't have unallocated space on your disk but you have a nearly empty adjacent drive. You can try to merge two adjacent partitions into one to solve the current problem of insufficient disk space on one drive.

Conclusion

What does low disk space mean? I believe you have a brief understanding of it now. We have talked a lot about its definition and five efficient fixes to remove this error. Additionally, users can switch to the Storage Sense switch to automatically free up space by deleting unnecessary files in the Trash Can. This feature will delete files such as content and temporary files.

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