The novelty did not sit well with Windows 10 users. Starting with version 1903 (also known by the codename 19H1), the operating system will reserve an average of 7 GB to manage updates and ensure the correct functioning of the system. The original announcement indicated that reserved space cannot be disabled, but users in the Insider program were quick to discover a registry key that does exactly that…
Now the question is: Why? Why is it so important to have a mechanism to disable the reserved space in Windows 10? What is its relevance compared to the average terabyte we can find today in hard drives? Why refuse to let Windows keep a fraction of available storage when it is not that expensive to add more, even if we are talking about solid state? The answer forces us to remember that some laptops (for example, HP Streams) hit the market with only 16 or 32 gigabytes of space, without the possibility of expansion. We also have to consider the situation of integrated Windows 10 versions, as well as Enterprise and LTSC builds. Administrators want greater control over their installations, and they do not need a new feature to cause problems. The deployment of 1809 already gave enough headaches.
How to Disable Reserved Space in Windows 10 by Visiting the Registry
Microsoft indicated that reserved space can be reduced by uninstalling optional tools and secondary languages, but a change in the registry disables it completely. Basically, all we have to do is open the Registry Editor with administrator privileges and visit the path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ReserveManager
There you will find a DWORD value identified as ShippedWithReserves. Double-click on it, replace the 1 with a 0, close the editor and restart the computer. That should be sufficient, but if in the future you decide to re-enable reserved space, put the 1 back in ShippedWithReserves and restart.
Needless to say, the ideal would be for Microsoft to incorporate a switch in the settings menu to enable or disable the reserved space without having to cross swords in the Registry... but at least we have this alternative.
