Everything related to the storage section on a Windows PC is very delicate and we must pay special attention to it. It is for all this that Microsoft itself tries to make available to us functions that help us in these specific tasks.
But of course, at the same time the Redmond- based firm must be able to take the necessary steps to take advantage of our disk drives, for its own benefit. And when we talk about self-benefit, we mean trying to make applications like Windows 10 as reliable as possible. In fact, and how could it be otherwise, that is one of the main objectives of the company.
What is reserved storage used by Windows 10
For all this and through the last Microsoft update for Windows 10 May 2019 Update or version 1903, we got the function called reserved storage. Specifically, and as most of you already know, it is responsible for reserving a part of the PC’s storage to ensure that updates and drivers are installed when there is little disk space.
Months and versions of the operating system have passed, and this is a feature that seems to be here to stay. It should be mentioned that it is initially supposed to use around 7 gigs of disk drive space by default. Of course, this number could increase when optional functions are added, other drivers are installed, or new language packs are enabled.
As we mentioned, with this functionality of the reserved storage Microsoft affirms that it guarantees that the updates are carried out without problems. All this prevents us from encountering any critical storage warning message. But with everything and with it, it is more than possible that many users are not very happy with it. This is something that will be especially evident in devices in which the manufacturer offers its own recovery unit that comes to occupy up to 15 gigs of space.
We can customize the space reserved by Windows
It is worth mentioning that to date, some users have made the decision to get rid of reserved storage from the Windows Registry . However, playing with this section is not always the best decision, since we can damage other sections. With this we can achieve serious problems in the operating system itself.
It is for all this, as we are now knowing, that Microsoft plans to introduce a new tool that will work in Windows 10 1903, 1909 and 2004 . This will allow us to have greater control over this process and manage this reserved space. In addition we will achieve it in a more secure way through the command line. Specifically, we mean that soon we will receive updates in the DISM command , all to have greater control over the reserved storage.
As we told you, these improved command line-based DISM command tools are expected to be available in Windows 10 1903, 1909 and 2004 later this year. All this will allow us to know if a PC is using reserved storage, as well as to activate or deactivate the functionality as such. Therefore, when all this is finally ready, we can use the following commands :
- DISM.exe / Online / Get-ReservedStorageState
This will serve us to find out if we have the functionality running, or not.
- DISM.exe / Online / Set-ReservedStorageState / State: Enabled
- DISM.exe / Online / Set-ReservedStorageState / State: Disabled
These other two commands will allow you to enable or disable Windows reserved storage.
As Microsoft itself hints, this feature is in testing for the Windows 10 May 2020 Update version that is about to be released. The company also plans to take it to previous versions over the coming months.