Fix Setup needs space to update Windows 11/10

I will guide you How to fix the problem that the installation needs space to update Windows 11/10

Windows 11 requires free space on an HDD or SSD to be able to install without interruptions. If your computer does not have the required disk space, you will not be able to install or upgrade Windows 11. Some users receive the error “Setup needs space to upgrade Windows 11” while upgrading Windows 11. If you receive this error, use the solutions provided in this article.

How to fix the problem that the installation needs space to update Windows 11/10

Solution to the problem that Setup needs space to upgrade Windows 11/10

If you see the message “Setup needs space to upgrade” when trying to install or upgrade Windows 11/10, follow these steps to free up disk space:

Use Disk Cleanup
Disable Paging File and Hibernation
Delete System Restore Points and Disable System Protection.
Delete unused or inactive profiles.
Multiple steps to free up space on C drive

Let's get started.

1] Use Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a built-in feature in Windows 11 that helps users free up space on their hard drives by deleting unnecessary or junk files. You can launch it via the Windows 11 search bar. Now, select the Clean up system files option in Disk Cleanup to restart the tool. Select the C drive and click OK. This time, it will scan your system files.

Some options are selected by default. You can also select more options to free up space on the C drive, such as Windows Update log files. If system error memory log files are taking up more space, you can delete them as well. Deleting these files does not cause any negative impact on your system. However, after deleting the memory log files, you will not be able to fix BSOD errors.

Now, check if you can upgrade Windows 11.

2] Disable Paging File and Hibernation

If the error keeps occurring while upgrading Windows 11, this means that you need to free up more space on the C drive. Now, in this case, you can disable the paging file and hibernation on the C drive. Windows 11 uses the paging file to manage virtual memory. So, it must be enabled. Disabling hibernation and paging file will free up space on the C drive. After upgrading Windows 11, you can enable the paging file again.

To disable the paging file, follow the steps given below:

Open Windows 11 Settings.
Go to System > About.
Expand the Device specifications tab and click on Advanced system settings. The System Properties window will open.
Select the Advanced tab in the System Properties window.
Click on Settings under the Performance section.
Go to the Advanced tab and click Change under the Virtual Memory section.
Uncheck the Automatically manage paging file size for all drives box.
Select the C drive.
Select the No paging file option and click Set.
Click OK.

Now, check if you can upgrade to Windows 11.

3] Delete system restore points and disable system protection

System restore points also take up space on the C drive. These points are used to restore your system to the previous working state if any problem occurs. Open the System Restore tool to see how much space the system restore points take up on your C drive. Click on Windows Search, type Create a restore point, and select the matching result from the search results. On the System Protection tab, select the C drive and click the Configure button. You will see the current usage of the restore points.

If the restore points take up a large amount of space on the C drive, you can delete them to free up space. To delete restore points, click Delete. Alternatively, you can disable System Protection. This action also deletes all the restore points stored on the C drive.

Disabling System Protection does not harm your system. The only downside is that you cannot restore your system to an earlier point in time if any problem occurs.

Update Windows 11 and see if the error occurs this time. After updating Windows 11, enable System Protection again.

4] Delete unused or inactive profiles

Windows 11 allows users to create multiple user profiles. All user profiles have a separate folder to store their data separately. These folders exist on the C drive.Or, all the user profiles are consuming space on the C drive. If there are any inactive or unused user profiles on your system, delete them.

5] Various steps to free up space on C drive

Empty the Recycle Bin to free up some more space on the C drive. Also, delete the temporary files. Open the Run command box, type %temp% and click OK. This will open the Temp folder. Delete all the files in it. You can also use a third-party utility to scan your C drive and delete unnecessary files.

Open Windows 11 Settings and go to Apps > Installed apps. Now, slowly scroll down the list and locate the programs that you don't use. Uninstall those programs.

How to Fix Setup needs space to update Windows 11/10