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Free Up Disk Space After Installing Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

If you installed Windows 10 version 1709 "Fall Creators Update" over a previous Windows version, you might have noticed that free disk space on your disk drive was considerably reduced. You can get back up to 40 Gigabytes.

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When you do an in-place upgrade from a previous version of Windows, Windows 10 saves a lot of files from the earlier installed OS during the upgrade and fills your hard drive with files that you might never need again if your upgrade is successful. The reason setup saves these files is so that if something goes wrong during setup, it can safely rollback to the earlier version of Windows. However, if your upgrade was successful and you've got everything working perfectly, then there's no need to keep these files. You can reclaim all the wasted disk space by following these simple instructions.

Before you proceed: Keep in mind that deleting these files will remove the ability to uninstall Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. You won't be able to rollback to the earlier version of Windows.

To free up space after you have upgraded to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, do the following:

  1. Press Win + R shortcut keys together on the keyboard to open the Run dialog.
    Tip: See the ultimate list of all Windows keyboard shortcuts with Win keys.
  2. Type the following in the Run box:
    cleanmgr

    Windows 10 run cleanmgr

  3. Select your system drive:Windows 10 run select drive c
  4. Click the Clean up system files button to switch the Disk Cleanup tool to extended mode.
    Windows 10 clean up system files
  5. Find and check the Previous Windows installation(s) item.
    Windows 10 free up space
  6. Click OK and you are done.

Tip: You might be interested in learning more about the cleanmgr app's features and options. Refer to the following articles:

Alternatively, you can use the Storage Sense feature to remove the files from the earlier installed OS. Here is how it can be done.

Free up space after you have upgraded to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update using Storage Sense

 

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Go to System -> Storage.
  3. There, you will find the option named "Storage Sense". Enable it.Clear Temporary Files Automatically In Windows 10
  4. Now, click the link Change how we free up space.Change How We Free Up Space Link
  5. The Change how we free up space page will appear. Under Free up space now, enable (check) the option Delete previous versions of Windows. See the following screenshot.Delete Previous Versions Of Windows Automatically
  6. Now, click the button Clean now. This will remove the files from the earlier installed OS instantly.Delete Windows.old Automatically

 

That's it. You can see how easy it is to reclaim disk space which was unnecessarily being consumed after the upgrade to Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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