▷ How much windows 10 occupies

In another of our tutorials we told you what the minimum requirements of Windows 10 were and what we recommended. In this other article we will talk more carefully about how much Windows 10 occupies once installed in its different most used versions.

Index of contents

According to the specifications given by Microsoft, we will need a space available on a hard disk of at least 16 GB to install the 32 Bit version and 20 GB for the 64 Bit version. But of course, this is only referred to only the operating system. Then we will have to introduce programs, our files, the odd game, and so the list will get fatter.

Really, how much Windows 10 occupies

To really know how much Windows 10 occupies once installed in our operating system, it is best to try it. We are going to install the versions of Windows Home for 32 and 64 bit architectures, and Windows Pro also for 32 and 64 bit architectures. In this way we can see what minimum space Windows 10 needs for a clean installation of the operating system.

Once installed we will go to the hard disk and we will look at its properties how much Windows 10 occupies.

We must take into account that we have used the latest downloadable version of the system, that of Windows 10 April 2018 Update with Build 1803. The tests that have been given say the following:

• Windows Home 32 Bit: 8.04 GB Windows Pro 32 Bit: 7.03 GB Windows Home 64 Bit: 12.8 GB Windows Pro 64 Bit: 10.5 GB

We can say then that the 64-bit versions actually take up more than the 32- bit versions. Let's now do some extra accounts for how long a fully functional system would take. Suppose we are going to install the 64-bit Home version, which has turned out to be the heaviest.

• Basic drivers: we would need the drivers for the basic devices we have. For example, the graphics card and motherboard drivers. Normally these usually occupy around 1 GB or 2.5 at most. Extra drivers like the printer, keyboard, mouse, headphones and other things that we have. These are usually not too heavy, so as a whole let's put 1 GB.

In the end we will have to need at least 16.3 GB to be sure that we have Windows 10 with our devices working as it should be. As Microsoft suggests, in principle we will not exceed the minimum mark established by them.

Extra space for normal operation

Let's continue with the calculations. Now let's take into account the space that Windows needs to do its things. Here we must take into account a percentage of space destined for use by the operating system to move applications and processes. And also another percentage for updates.

Windows usually receives updates to security patches and others weekly. To make backups and restore points, if we have this option activated we will allocate about 10 GB of minimum space. But we must also take into account the large updates that the system receives approximately every 6 months. With this update Windows create a folder parallel to Windows called Windows.old. This usually occupies about 20 GB and this amount of space will be necessary to update.

We must also consider a minimum space for system transactions, file movement and the work of the hard disk itself. A full hard drive will go much slower. In this way we can say that with 15 GB of extra space things will go more smoothly.

If we do the accounts we will have a total of 61.3 GB necessary. This is the minimum capacity for Windows 10 to work well in the long run.

Applications and files

This third aspect is already very variant. We have users who need a large number of applications for their work and others who only have an office, a multimedia player and WinRAR are luxurious.

For example, a hard drive destined exclusively for Windows and the installation of its applications may be consuming about 100 GB. The following image is of a computer with fairly heavy applications installed, Photoshop, AutoCAD, Office, and others. It does not have the Windows.old update folder, so we must add 20 GB. They also don't have games or personal files installed.

If we do not fix what is said, about 100 GB.

If we are PC gamers we know that currently a game can perfectly weigh about 70 GB. A movie in Micro HD another 8 GB and our files, that is. With a hard drive dedicated to the system you should have a capacity of between 250 and 500 GB to walk comfortably for a while.

Ideal setup

We recommend having two hard drives or, where appropriate, two partitions. On the one hand, it would be ideal to allocate a partition of about 150 GB for System and applications. This way if the system fails, we would not lose personal files. If we want to install the games also in this partition we should allocate at least 300 GB to at least 3 big games.

For partitioning documents, possibly 200 GB would suffice, at least in the short term. So a 500GB hard drive would be feasible.

If we have a mechanical hard drive, with traditional dishes and we are thinking of buying an SSD, we can consider several options.

• The first option is to buy a large capacity one, be it the example of the previous 500 GB, we will be spending 100 or 120 euros on a disk with better features than a mechanical one and a good capacity. In addition, we can leave the mechanical hard drive to store files. The second option is to keep our mechanical hard drive for storage of games and files and buy us a 120 or 240 GB SSD between 30 and 60 euros. In this case we will have enough space for system and applications, but our games would load slower. In addition, it is a fairly inexpensive option. Discard the option of an SSD and buy a new 2 TB mechanical hard drive (2000GB =) for 60 euros. It is a cheap option and we will have a lot of capacity, but the performance of our system will be as slow as it has always been if an SSD. We do not recommend it. Finally, if you do not play and you need good performance to load applications, buy a 240 GB SSD for no more than 60 euros. Properly managing the space you will have an economical and lasting option.

In short, keep in mind that 150 GB is the minimum you should have. Thereafter everything is welcome. Have you already decided what to do? If they have any other suggestions that you see better, leave them in the comments.

We also recommend reading our tutorial: