Fix "Not Enough Space on the Disk in Windows Server"

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Content: Fix two bugs.

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Server computer having problems? Check it out!

Error 1: "There is not enough space on partition (C:) for the upgrade to Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012"

If you try to upgrade an older version of the Windows operating system to a newer one, such as from Windows Server 2008 to Windows Server 2008 R2, from Windows Server 2016 to 2019, or from Windows Server 2016 to 2022, you may receive a message that the upgrade failed.

Windows can't update because of the following issues. Cancel the upgrade, fix each issue, and then try the upgrade again.

There isn't enough available space on the partition (drive:). GB of disk space is required. Try using Disk Cleanup or moving files to an external location, such as a CD, DVD, or external hard drive, and then restart the installation.

How does this happen? Well, Microsoft recommends that the page file be a minimum of 1.5 times the size of your physical RAM. So, when virtual memory gets down to that limit, this can happen.

You can try increasing the virtual memory above the minimum limit as a solution, as described in Part 1.

Error 2 - "There is not enough space on the disk to complete this operation."

Another mistake is using Disk Management to compress, extend, or create partitions on a Windows Server computer. What should we do if this happens? First, please check out Part 2 for more practical methods.

Part 1 - Addressing the "Not Enough Space on C Drive" Issue

These issues can be easily resolved by reinstalling, using disk cleanup tools, partition managers, and leveraging advanced system settings in Windows to free up space on your server.

1 - Use Disk Cleanup

As noted, you might try running Disk Cleanup to remove unnecessary files, and then restart the OS install.

A step-by-step guide to running Disk Cleanup:

Step 1: Click the Windows Start button.

Step 2: Click on 'All Programs', then 'Accessories', then 'System Tools', and finally 'Disk Cleanup'.

Step 3: Select the C: drive, then click OK.

Step 4: Select the unwanted files you want to delete, and then click OK.

2. Resolving Issues with Partition Master

If your C drive is full of important files that you can't delete to make room, what can you do? Don't worry; you can solve this problem with the help of a tool called Partition Master.

When the server system C drive is full, you can use the Partition Master software to allocate space from other volumes to the C drive. The software will not delete any existing data. You can rely on this tool whether or not there is unallocated space. You have two options to extend the C drive space.

Start your download now:

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How to expand C drive space:

Option 1: Extend the System C drive using unallocated space

1. Right-click on the System C drive and select "Resize/Move." 2. Drag the system partition to the unallocated space, adding it to the C drive. Then click "OK." 3. Click "Apply" and "Execute Task" to perform the operation and extend the C drive.

Option 2: Extend the System C Drive without Unallocated Space

1. Right-click on a large partition with sufficient available space on the system disk and select "Allocate Space." 2. In the "Allocate from (*) to" section, choose the system drive, then drag the end of the System C drive to the unallocated space. Click "OK" to confirm. 3. Click "Perform Tasks," which will list the pending operations. Then click "Apply" to save the changes and extend the C drive.

0:00-0:26 Extend the system drive using unallocated space; 0:27-0:58 Extend the system drive without unallocated space.

3. Use Advanced System Settings to Move the Page File

Step 1. Right-click on “Computer” and select “Properties”.

Step 2: Click "Advanced system settings".

Step 3. In the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab. Then click Settings under Performance.

Step 4: In the Performance Options window, click on the Advanced tab and then click on Change.

Step 5: Deselect the “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” option.

Step 6: Set the size of the paging file.

• Locate the Volume Label list, and then select the hard disk on which you want to install the Windows operating system.
• Go to Custom size > Initial Size (MB), and then type the maximum size (in MB) > click Set.
• In the Volume Label list, select the volume, check the No Paging File box, and then click Set.
• If prompted, click Yes > click OK, and then restart the server computer.

Part 2: Resolving "There is not enough space on the disk to complete this operation"

Many guides might suggest using the “Scan Disk” feature from “Computer Management.” Unfortunately, that does not work at all. Are there any other solutions?

AOMEI Partition Assistant is a professional disk optimization tool that allows you to resize and move partitions. Run this utility on your server, and then select the "Resize/Move Partition" option.

Download software:

Step one: Locate the target demographic.

Please enter the Partition Manager, locate the target partition, and select "Resize/Move Partition".

Select the partition to extend.

Step 2: Extend the target partition.

Drag the partition panel right or left to add unallocated space to the current partition, and then click “OK” to confirm.

Next up, just translate this into American English:

Additional option: Get space from another disk.

If there isn't enough unallocated space, right-click on a partition with enough space and select "Extend Volume."

Under “Allocate to,” select the partition you want to expand.

Select another disk to allocate space from

Step 3: Perform the operation to expand the partition

Drag the partition you want to move into the unallocated space, and then click "OK".

Click the "Run Task" button, and then click "Apply" to save all changes.

Final thoughts.

The article mentions the Partition Master tool in the Solutions section. After reviewing third-party software and other manual methods, professional software better liberates space on server computers. When encountering these two errors, this space manager can easily expand the room.