[SOLVED] Windows 10 actual size over time

[MrGreener]

I want to install windows 10, but I discovered it uses up a lot of space for no reason
I have two partitions at the moment, 81 gb for my windows and windows ONLY and 850 gb for everything else
That is more than enough for my windows 7 and i still have ~14-15 gb free space
But I asked some friends who have windows 10 and they all say it uses between 180 - 220 gb of space. Like what the actual sugar

Official microsoft specs for windows 10 64 bit says it takes up ~20 gb. Lets assume over time it racks up 40gb of bloatware but 200 gb ??
What is going on here ?? Why so much space ??

TL DR : I want to install windows AND ONLY WINDOWS 10 on a 81 gb partition, is that enough ????

 

[faalin]

How long have they had the install? what other stuff have the installed. It doesnt matter if you install programs on another drive or partition, little bits still get installed on the C:\ drive.

I just did a fresh windows 10 pro install yesterday with all the updates it is 30GB

 

[MrGreener]

How long have they had the install? what other stuff have the installed. It doesnt matter if you install programs on another drive or partition, little bits still get installed on the C:\ drive.

I just did a fresh windows 10 pro install yesterday with all the updates it is 30GB

I dont know what else they installed there or if they have desktop folders with large files. They have w10 for a couple of years now
I know little bits and pieces get installed on C:\ over time as you install programs and games but 150-200 gb ?
I checked my windows 7 sizes, 24gb for w7, 18gb for the user, 8gb for progam folders and the rest is misc stuff
And i have been running this since 2016, thats why im shocked when i heard their w10 sizes

 

[ex_bubblehead]

.....TL DR : I want to install windows AND ONLY WINDOWS 10 on a 81 gb partition, is that enough ????

The very simple answer to that is NO. It's recommended that no less than 200-250GB be assigned, and even that will get a little tight.

 

[Bob.B]

I want to install windows 10, but I discovered it uses up a lot of space for no reason
I have two partitions at the moment, 81 gb for my windows and windows ONLY and 850 gb for everything else
That is more than enough for my windows 7 and i still have ~14-15 gb free space
But I asked some friends who have windows 10 and they all say it uses between 180 - 220 gb of space. Like what the actual sugar

Official microsoft specs for windows 10 64 bit says it takes up ~20 gb. Lets assume over time it racks up 40gb of bloatware but 200 gb ??
What is going on here ?? Why so much space ??

TL DR : I want to install windows AND ONLY WINDOWS 10 on a 81 gb partition, is that enough ????

I think this has a lot to do with what features you use and how tidy you are.

Many folks know how to add but not subtract.

I use w10 pro.

My C drive has the OS and apps.

After a few years of use it sits ~21GB.

 

[Eximo]

Barebones Windows 10 install fits on my little 32GB Lenovo Think Stick. Granted I have installed nothing, since it is more a toy to me than anything else.

 

[Lafong]

But I asked some friends who have windows 10 and they all say it uses between 180 - 220 gb of space. Like what the actual sugar

Phooey and a lot of unprintable words.

A bare install with NO updating took under 20 GB the last I checked several years ago.

A fully updated install takes somewhere in the 20s now.

My C partition sits right now at 50 gb with dozens of installed applications. No gaming stuff at all. It has never been higher than 50. It creeps up maybe a GB or two every year, depending on Windows updates.

If you totally ignore maintenance, I suppose it could become astronomical and you'd deserve what you get.

You are the foremost authority on how much space you need. If you have 4000 installed apps, you may need a 5 TB C partition. That's for you to determine.

 

[dudio]

Try running Disk Cleanup, and clean System Files option..and in particular, Windows Update files. Even tho those files are no longer needed after the updates are complete, they remain there incase a rollback is required

 

[USAFRet]

TL DR : I want to install windows AND ONLY WINDOWS 10 on a 81 gb partition, is that enough ????

Why?

A lot of people want "windows only" on their C drive or partition.
It never ends up like that. Nor should it.

Your applications (apart from games) should also be on that drive. You're not saving any time or performance by having those elsewhere.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, you have to factor in free space for the semi annual updates.
Figure 30+GB for that. It will eventually free itself, but you DO need that extra space on your C drive.

 

[Colif]

Windows doesn't have bloatware that would make it (the os) grow to be 200gb in size. Main reason we suggest more is to stop people using 120gb ssd now.

I have two partitions at the moment, 81 gb for my windows and windows ONLY and 850 gb for everything else

If its only windows, you don't need 81gb.
If its both on the same drive, no reason you can't run everything from other partition as if you have to reinstall windows, you would need to reinstall a lot of that as well. Avoiding the clean up of left overs after a reinstall is main reason we suggest installing all applications on C drive, but if you know you have to reinstall it all, its your choice.

I can tell its MBR just from the partitions so that 81gb will have to include the space for updates as well. Given I can run win 10 in 32gb of space, that should be doable.

 

[USAFRet]

I have a soon to be retired ASUS Transformer, with a 64GB eMMC drive.
Win 10 Pro + a very few applications consumes ~42GB.

The only reason this is somewhat usable is the 256GB microSD card as the D drive.

Can Win 10 exist in a small partition like the indicated 80GB?
Sure.
But the question is....why?

Why "windows only"?

Having applications in a different partition serves no real purpose. They need to be reinstalled following a OS reinstall, no matter where they live.

 

[MrGreener]

Can Win 10 exist in a small partition like the indicated 80GB?
Sure.
But the question is....why?

Why "windows only"?

Thats how i do things since i started using w7 and thats how i would like to keep it
All the "whys" i get start to sound like kink-shaming
I keep my pc very clean and organized, i asked a simple question because i am still running w7 that i installed in 2016 ...6 years without reinstalling and i wanted to know if the same works with w10.

If its only windows, you don't need 81gb.
If its both on the same drive, no reason you can't run everything from other partition as if you have to reinstall windows, you would need to reinstall a lot of that as well. Avoiding the clean up of left overs after a reinstall is main reason we suggest installing all applications on C drive, but if you know you have to reinstall it all, its your choice.

There is no clean up of leftovers when everything is organized

 

[USAFRet]

Thats how i do things since i started using w7 and thats how i would like to keep it
All the "whys" i get start to sound like kink-shaming
I keep my pc very clean and organized, i asked a simple question because i am still running w7 that i installed in 2016 ...6 years without reinstalling and i wanted to know if the same works with w10.

No, not shaming.

But I asked why, because we frequently see people wanting to do this for completely misguided reasons.

"My friend said it will make the SSD run faster" (No, it wont)
"The SSD will last longer" (No, it won't)

Disregarding a few .mp4 and .iso files, my current 1TB C drive is about 150GB consumed.
This is Win 11 Pro and all applications except games.

But if your concept works for you, go for it.
I wouldn't designate less than about 120GB or so.

 

[MrGreener]

But I asked why, because we frequently see people wanting to do this for completely misguided reasons.

"My friend said it will make the SSD run faster" (No, it wont)
"The SSD will last longer" (No, it won't)

But if your concept works for you, go for it.
I wouldn't designate less than about 120GB or so.

No, i dont believe it will run faster
No, i dont believe it will last longer
Its just a personal preference to keep things clean and organized and separated. Might be a lingering phobia from the MS-DOS and windows 95 days where i wouldnt organize stuff and things got cluttered. I just want to keep windows separated from the games and programs and other files.

I will allocate more space to the C drive