Fix Low Disk Space Error on Windows 11/10/8/7 [2021 New]

If your PC is with low disk space error, you can't install a new Windows update, and the PC's performance may be affected. Here are some ways to fix this error for you to try:

Combine Low-space Drive with a Neighbour Drive
Extend Drive with Unallocated Space
Extend Low-space Drive with Space on Another Drive
Transfer Large Files to An External Hard Drive
Clean Junk Files
Clean Large Files

Sometimes, when you receive a "Low Disk Space" error pop-up, you might ignore the warning message or try to disable it for permanent. Indeed, modifying the registry value can stop the notification from showing up again, but that's not the thing we talk about here.

On this page, you'll learn what is "Low Disk Space" error, what will happen when your PC is with this issue, and how to get rid of this issue with over 11/10 fixes.

What Does "Low Disk Space" Mean?

The "Low Disk Space" warning message usually pops up in Windows operating system when you boot up the PC or open a computer hard drive.

There are two types of warning messages, each of them has different meanings:

1. Low Disk Space - "You are running out of disk space on Local Disk (X:). Click here to see if you can free space on this drive."

When you get this error, it means that your local drive (X:) is running out of free space for saving data.

2. Low Disk Space - "You're running out of space on this PC. Manage storage to view usage and free up some space."

This error doesn't appear regularly. It is mainly related to the C:\ Windows\Temp folder. When the folder gets full, this error would appear on Windows startup.

When Windows prompts low disk space warning messages, you can hardly save new data, download apps, play games or install a recent Windows update. What's worse, PC performance may be affected.

Part 1. Fix Low Disk Space in Windows 11/10/8/7 by Extending Disk Space

Applies to: Fix low disk space error by extending disk space with available free space in Windows 11/10/8/7 hard drives.

The quickest and most efficient way to get rid of low disk space error from Windows 11/10/8/7 is to add more space to the current drive. In other words, all you need is to extend the drive or partition which is running out of space, then the problem gets resolved.

Download: Partition Manager Software to Fix Low Disk Space Error

So how to add usable space to extend the low disk partition? Here, we introduce an all-around partition manager software named Qiling Partition Master to help you out.

It is a handy third-party software that enables users to extend/shrink a partition, format a partition, convert a file system, migrate Windows OS, clone a hard drive, etc. on Windows 11/10/8/7.

Download this software and follow the tutorials listed below to extend the low disk partition immediately:

Free Download

Fix Low Disk Space Error by Extending Partitions in 4 Methods

Now, you can apply Qiling Partition Master to solve the 'low disk space' problem in Windows operating systems with any one of the following 4 ways:

1. Extend Drive Which Is With Low Free Disk Space

2. Combine the Low-space Drive with a Neighbour Drive

Method 1. Extend Drive Which Is With Low Disk Space

When a drive partition like system drive C or data partition D is filled with a red bar, it's having a low disk space issue. Check if there is unallocated free space available? If yes, you can directly extend the currently running low disk space drive as instructed below.

Follow the example here, you're going to learn how to extend a system C drive or a non-system drive with ease:

Option 1. Extend System C drive with unallocated space

1. Click on the System C: drive and select "Resize/Move" in "Disk management" page.

2. Drag the system partition end into the unallocated space so to add it to the C: drive. And click "Proceed" to start.

Option 2. Extend System C drive without unallocated space

1. Click a big partition with enough free space on the system disk, select "Resize/Move" in "Disk management" page.

2. Drag the partition end into the partition space so to decrease the partition's size. click "Proceed" to create some free disk space.

3. Wait it finish, and select the disk you want to extend, select "Resize/Move" in "Disk management" page to increase disk space.

Method 2. Combine the Low-space Drive with a Neighbour Drive

Step 1. Backup the merged partition with file backup mode

1. Click "File backup" on the main window.

2. Choose the specific files that you want to backup. click "Proceed" to backup files.

Step 2. Delete the merged partition.

Step 3. Extend the partition.

1. Click on the partition and select "Resize/Move" in "Disk management" page.

2. Drag the partition end into the unallocated space so to add it to the partition. And click "Proceed" to start.

Step 4. Restore the backup to the extended partition.

Part 2. Free Up Hard Drive Space to Remove Low Disk Space Error

Apples to: Clean up disk temp files, free up hard drive space so to remove low disk space error on Windows 11/10/8/7.

I hope that Qiling Partition Master has released a considerable amount of disk space for at least a short-term use. It always works by extending partitions and drives.

If you need more basic operations to prevent future low disk space-associated warnings, here are some tips that you can manage your computer hard drive in a logical and clean way.

8 Ways to Free Up Hard Drive Space, Get Rid of Low Disk Space on Windows:

#1. Clean Junk Files to Free Up the System Drive Space

#2. Clean Large Files

#3. Transfer or Save Important Large Files to An External Hard Drive

#4. Turn on Cloud Storage Service to Save Files

#5. Transfer Programs from C Drive to Another Drive, Change Apps' Default Install Location

#6. Empty Recycle Bin on a Regular Basis

#7. Delete Duplicate Files and Temp Files

#8. Run Anti-Virus Software to Clean Up Malware Regularly

Way 1. Clean Junk Files to Free Up the System Drive Space

Junk files include systems junk files (temporary files, Windows system logs...), and browser data, Windows applications data, and all the unknown and unuseful data that takes up space. For average computer users who use a computer 8 hours a day, if you didn't do a junk files clean up like in a year, you'll pile up around 15GB of space.

Way 2. Clean Large Files

It's easy for some professions, such as designers or photographers, to create extremely large files. A pile of 100MB~10GB documents, pictures, zip files, ebooks, or movies are account for most of the low disk space problem on a computer.

Way 3. Transfer and Save Important Large Files to An External Hard Drive

Personal files such as videos, music, photos, and documents can take up a lot of disk space on your computer. They are important, and usually for long-term preservation.

Important files like those are seldom for use, so it's a good idea to transfer those files to an external hard drive or USB flash drive:

Step 1. Connect a big empty micro SD card, USB, or external hard drive to your PC

Step 2. Locate and copy those files to your external storage device.

Step 3. When you complete the copy, delete them from your local computer.

Doing so will reduce the heavy load of local hard drives.

Way 4. Turn on Cloud Storage Service to Save Files

Cloud is also a good place to save large files, to reduce disk usage, at the same time, a very good backup location for your valuable data files. Let's see how to free up low-space disk capacity:

Step 1. Sign up for a Cloud drive like OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

Step 2. Log in OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive with your account.

Step 3. Select and upload important large files from your PC to the cloud drive.

Step 4. After the uploading, delete the files saved on your local drive.

Way 5. Transfer Programs from C Drive to Another Drive, Change Apps' Default Install Location

C drive, as we know, is for system installation, and it's closely related to system performance.

Low C drive space would affect OS performance, making OS crash all the time. So, when installing programs, customize another location instead of choosing the default C drive.

As for the installed applications, you can transfer them to another local drive so as to free up the disk space.

Way 6. Empty Recycle Bin on a Regular Basis

The Windows recycle bin is for holding deleted files and folders for the long term if you need to recover deleted files someday after deletion. But the recycle bin folder with too many files would also take up plenty of disk space.

Regularly cleaning up the recycle bin will help prevent the drive from filling up and running out of free space. You can manually empty the Recycle Bin on your own or set an automatic Recycle Bin clean up a plan with the following steps:

Step 1. Go to Settings > System > Storage.

Step 2. Click "Change how we free up space automatically", set a plan "Every day", "Every week", "Every month", etc.

Way 7. Delete Duplicate Files and Temp Files

It's inevitable to produce duplicate files. Do not let many copies of the same file eat up your valuable hard drive space.

To delete the temp files, you can manually delete them by going to: Windows File Explorer > C: > Windows folder > Temp folder and clear files in the folder.

Or you can set up an automatic temporary clean up plan:

Step 1. Go to Settings > System > Storage.

Step 2. Move to Temporary Files, set up a cleanup plan for 1 day, 14 days, 30 days, or more.

Way 8. Run Anti-Virus Software to Clean Up Malware Regularly

As we know that, sometimes, malware or virus infection may also cause a situation that the system that warns low disk error but the disk actually has enough free space.

To avoid this issue, we also suggest you run antivirus software to clear viruses and malware on your computer regularly.

The Bottom Line

On this page, we explained what does Low Disk Space means and what will happen if you have this error popping up on your computer.

To get rid of this issue, you have two options: one is to extend the disk which is having low disk space. And the other option is to free up disk space.

On helping you fixing low disk space error on Windows 10/8/7, we suggest beginners try Qiling Partition Master with the listed 4 methods in Part 2 to directly extend a hard drive. It's easy and efficient.

For daily regular prevention, avoid the low disk space issue from popping up, we suggest you try the other 8 ways listed in Part 2 for help. Although complex but indeed helpful.

If you have further concerns, check the answers listed below, your doubts may get released.