- Windows 11 reserved storage is useful for keeping the system updated, but otherwise isn’t used.
- You should usually only temporarily disable the storage if you want to update other apps, as Windows might not update without it.
- Make sure that Windows is not currently trying to download or install updates.
- Windows might not free up the reserved space immediately but wait until the next service period or background housekeeping (which is usually weekly).
Windows keeps around 5 to 7GB of “spare storage” from the partition its in to download new updates. Then, those updates are integrated into the system and the storage “flushed” to make room for new ones later. However, Windows will usually reserve that storage for itself. This can be an issue if you’re running out of space while Windows is taking more and more.
You can find the exact amount of space being taken up if you go to the Storage section in the Settings (in the “System” tab), and expand to view the “System & reserved” category.
How to Disable Reserved Storage in Windows 11
Most of the time, you don’t want to touch reserved storage, as Windows might start throwing update errors if it gets disabled and your hard disk space is running low. With that in mind, you should only disable it temporarily. As soon as you perform the necessary updates or file transfers, you’ll need to re-enable it.
There are a few ways to remove disabled storage in Windows 11, but by far the simplest is with PowerShell console commands.
Step 1. Right-click on the Start button and select “Terminal (Admin).”
Step 2. Paste the following command and hit “Enter.”
Get-WindowsReservedStorageState
If you see the status Enabled, you can go ahead and disable it. Otherwise, there’s nothing really to do.
Step 3. Enter the following command:
Set-WindowsReservedStorageState -State Disabled
Windows will quickly run through the process and display information relevant to the memory that is being reallocated. In most cases, you will just see the new status as “Disabled.”
However, if you see any other message in the Terminal, such as “the storage is currently in use,” it means Windows has downloaded updates and is waiting to install them. You need to go to Windows Update and manually complete the process, then try the command again.
Step 4. Reboot your PC and recheck to see if the storage space has been reclaimed.
How to Re-Enable Reserved Storage
The process for re-enabling the space is similarly simple.
Step 1. Open the Terminal as an admin again.
Step 2. Run the following command:
Set-WindowsReservedStorageState -State Enabled
Step 3. Restart the PC.
Windows should immediately allocate the space for future updates and you should see a reduction in available space.
Using the Registry to Disable Reserved Space in Windows 11
If for some reason the console commands don’t work, you can manually change the storage settings via registry.
Step 1. Search for and open the registry editor (regedit) as an administrator.
Step 2. Click on the “File” tab on the top and select “Export,” then save the file somewhere. This will be a backup in case something goes wrong.
Step 3. Click and drag over the address bar on the top to select everything (double-click won’t work), then overwrite it with the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ReserveManager
Step 4. You should see a “ShippedWithReserves” value on the right. Changing it to 0 disables the reserved storage, while changing it to 1 re-enables it.
Step 5. Exit the Registry Editor, which saves it, and restart the PC.
