32gb Acer tablet Windows cannot update because not enough space

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Answers

  • Spinner
    Spinner Member Posts: 6 New User
    Well, I thought I was doing well there for a while.  I went from 7.7 GB available to 9.7 GB, and then to 11.0 GB after uninstalling Norton and Office.
    I downloaded and installed the Windows 10 updates.  I tried this several times over the last couple of days, but always ended up with a Fail after over an hour.  
    Now I only have 5.4 GB available - probably because I tried updating to Windows 10 at least 4 times now.
    I did try this once with an external flash drive, when it asked me to insert an external drive.

    I gotta take a break and get some other stuff done.  Frustrating!  I might do a factory reset later... After making a recovery drive from our other Acer Spin 1.  Then, right away, uninstall some Apps and try the upgrade right away.  
  • padgett
    padgett ACE Posts: 4,532 Pathfinder

    Just an observation but with Windoze 10 you can go to Settings>System>Storage and then click on the C drive to see exactly what is going for what. Can click on the individual items to see what each is using for what.

    Mine keeps varying up and down as Windows updates, have seen as high as 14GB free right after a full cleansing but now at 12.4GB. Keep in mind it still has the 1GB recovery partition. If under 10GB I suspect you have a large hidden C:\windows.old directory.

  • Spinner
    Spinner Member Posts: 6 New User
    Yes.  Thanks.  I have been using Settings>System>Storage.  I discover that I have temporary files, which I delete.  
    I wish I knew what else I could delete besides the obvious: Windows files.  I try to get rid of junkware.
    I have been looking for hidden old Windows files.  I have not found anything specifically titled "windows.old".

    I wonder if we can do a clean install of Windows 10 using the given product ID key?  Or, will using the factory install also install all of the unneeded bloatware?  I would be nice to do a clean Windows 10 install this weekend, and then immediately do the updates, before anything else is added to the hard drive.
  • padgett
    padgett ACE Posts: 4,532 Pathfinder
    edited January 2018

    Well it depends on whether you PC started with Windows 10. If it did then the key should be in the BIOS. If an upgrade or you have added Windows Pro then the key is in software. Either/both/all can be retrieved and stored offline with a third party product like Produkey from Nirsoft. Don't know why they are not on a sticker on the PC like they used to be.

    BTW you can add a large SDCard (I use 64GB or 128GB) as a "D: " drive and tell Windows & apps to put everything possible there including the program files.

  • Spinner
    Spinner Member Posts: 6 New User
    Yes, I added a 64 GB SD Card to the Acer Spin 1.
    In summary, I bought two Acer Spin 1 laptops on Christmas Eve as gifts for my twins in 5th grade.  The computers each came with Windows 10 (and bloatware).  The kids lamented almost immediately that the computer keeps prompting them to update.  I would try doing the updates, but the computer would say not enough storage space.

    I bought 64 GB SD cards, and I was able to move files to the D drive.
    I deleted programs (Norton, MS Office, temporary files).
    I have searched for old Windows files to delete, even with the hidden settings, but I haven't seen any that say "windows.old".
    After several rounds of downloading and installing Windows updates, I get to the end and it says Fail.  
    So, I am thinking that I need to start from scratch with a clean reinstall and then try the Windows updates before anything else takes up space, in hopes of completing the task without a big Fail at the end.

    If only we could put something simple and less weighty like Linux on it, but a colleague told me that Linux doesn't play well with Chromebooks (and similar models).
  • padgett
    padgett ACE Posts: 4,532 Pathfinder

    Really only need to remove all of the bloatware. If an x86 OS it is a lot easier than a -64. Have gotten mine fully updated and 12-14GB free but have had three other devices starting in 2012 that had 32GB. That said all previous small disk devices are running Win 10-32 (-x86) and not -64. Have run -64 on an older Atom device (532h) but it had a 120GB disk and it was slow.

    Might consider running the Chrome OS, it is designed for machines like these but would pull another system image first (have a TB external drive here with about 20 different images from different machines at different times, just need a repair USB disk for each then the images come up as a menu screen. Once I pull an image I always rename its directory to something descriptive.

    Think the bottom line is that Microsoft needs to raise the bar for a Windows 10-64 install for a new machine to at least 4GB of RAM and 64GB of disk and lesser machines need to be limited to -x86 (2GB and 32GB) or Chrome/Linux. Personally would also limit -64 to four core CPUs but I am not a marketeer. (/rant)

    ps there are some nice Spin1's with quad core N4200s and bigger disks like the SP111-32N-P0FA but those are not loss leaders and are rarely found in a big box store.

  • Spinner
    Spinner Member Posts: 6 New User
    I appreciate all the comments, Padgett!

  • Sven62
    Sven62 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    I am seriously considering installing Chromium OS on this POS.