Unable to install updates, disk full

By AlecTaylor
in Microsoft (Windows)

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Apprentice

AlecTaylor

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For the last 4 months or so my Windows 8.1 x64 OS has been trying to install the KB2919355 update.

 

Via the command line I used expand to extract the files from Windows8.1-KB2919355-x64.msu, then ran: DISM /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:E:\Downloads\tmp\Windows8.1-KB2919355-x64.cab

 

The error I am getting is:

Installation Failure: Windows failed to install the following update with error 0x80070070: Update for Windows (KB2919355).

 

Which means there isn't enough free-space, see: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows-8/windows-update-error-0x80070070

 

I have 7.44GB of free-space on my C drive, and a further 428GB free on my F drive.

 

If I know the right folders, I could probably add directory junctures for everything used by this update. It's C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution, right?

 

How do I update my Windows machine to KB2919355?

 

Thanks for all suggestions,

 

Alec Taylor

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Grand Master

simonlang

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i don't know what that udpate does but hardly will an update ever need GBs of free disk space to get installed, even if ms updates are rather big compared to let's say linux updates.

 

i would try:

- use a disk cleaner to get more free disk space

or

- use a  parition manager (gparted for example is very good) and shrink the size of device F and increase the size of device c

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Ian S.

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Jack: My F partition is on another disk drive, my C drive is on my small SSD. I have used CCleaner to clear up space, but not much was freed.

Do you have to have the update? You can just hide it in Windows Update and install other updates.

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francescob

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You can use dism.exe /online /cleanup-image /startcomponentcleanup /resetbase to clean up all the space wasted by the backup of previous updates (you can also do that from disk cleanup using the button that requires admin privileges).

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Praetor

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Do you have to have the update? You can just hide it in Windows Update and install other updates.

 

It's the Spring Update so it's mandatory for newer updates.

 

 

Important All future security and nonsecurity updates for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 require this update to be installed. We recommend that you install this update on your Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, or Windows Server 2012 R2-based computer in order to receive continued future updates.
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Meko Mimi

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Would it be that there is a required amount of GB installing your update to your PC.

 

It's not good that you have low volume on your first drive since you install all your updates on Drive C: as your PC might crash anytime. Have you checked in the Windows Update how much file size does the update has?

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B.Jay

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For the last 4 months or so my Windows 8.1 x64 OS has been trying to install the KB2919355 update.

 

<snip>

 

I have 7.44GB of free-space on my C drive, and a further 428GB free on my F drive.

 

The error message about "not enough disk space" the update gives you is correct.

 

This is the April Update for Windows 8.1 (weighing in at ~700MB - because it got asked above), so your system wants to create a system restore point for which you obviously have too less space on your SSD.

 

One option would be to completely turn off system restore to free up the space and make the update install. Not recommended though.

 

Another option would be, as pointed out above, to use a larger drive as your system drive and image your SSD to the new one (i.e. Macrium Reflect) so you just swap out the drive and go from there (read: go and buy yourself a 128 or 256GB SSD - or get a cheap traditional hard drive in case you've stuffed your "C:" drive with tons of apps and huge games).

 

Last option would be to work out where Windows stores the system restore points (can't recall from the top of my head) and try the "junction" trick.

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Arachno 1D

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You could at a push move the swap file to the second drive along with your personal stuff i.e.my documents,images etc folder which should free up a good chunk of space

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francescob

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I tried disabling system restore and running that DCIM command, neither worked.

 

Is there not some directory juncture solution?

Use the command I wrote in an administrative command prompt, it usually cleans a lot of space. Also using a "FOR %F in (OEM*.INF) do PNPUTIL -d %F" in the C:\WINDOWS\INF directory will clear all older drivers no longer associated with devices (upgraded drivers).

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Grand Master

cork1958

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Wow!

 

I find it hard to believe that you have 7.44GB of free-space on the C drive, and one poster above says the file you want is only 700MB's and yet it won't install?

 

You'd have to think there is some other issue besides simply not enough free space? I know that's what you're trying to figure out, but it's boggling my mind!

 

Is there some app or something that could simply be blocking the install and just giving you that error for lack of anything else to give you?

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Apprentice

AlecTaylor

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Try from an elevated command prompt turning off hibernation file? "powercfg -h off"

Thanks, that cleared about 7GB.

 

Use the command I wrote in an administrative command prompt, it usually cleans a lot of space. Also using a "FOR %F in (OEM*.INF) do PNPUTIL -d %F" in the C:\WINDOWS\INF directory will clear all older drivers no longer associated with devices (upgraded drivers).

Thanks, that cleared about 400MB.

 

 

Still unable to install it though.  :/

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B.Jay

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I find it hard to believe that you have 7.44GB of free-space on the C drive, and one poster above says the file you want is only 700MB's and yet it won't install?

 

You're missing the bigger picture. The "April Update" / "Spring Update" (call it like you want) is actually more like a "Service Pack" (to speak in pre-Windows 8 terms) than a "generic" hotfix/update. This means that Windows will go through the required routine of updating the system (i.e. like installing Service Pack 1 on Windows 7 RTM). It not only creates a system restore point, just for good measure in case something goes wrong during the update process so it can roll back to revert the changes, it also creates the "service pack files" backup ... back in Windows 7 you could delete them after the fact with the Disk Cleanup Tool, but then you lost the ability to uninstall the Service Pack (as unlikely as it is that you'll ever do that, the option's still there).

 

In short, the "a file of around 700MB" isn't the full story... the actual disk space requirements to install the update are way above "700MB free space to download it".

 

Since the OP didn't say how big his SSD is, he only told us that he has about 7.5GB free space left which he now managed to improve to about 15GB, it's kinda hard to estimate how much free space he really needs for the update to install ... or ... if possible prerequisite updates are already installed (at least the download page doesn't hint at any prerequisite updates being necessary).

 

Anyway, I would estimate that he needs at least around 20GB free space to make it install, though that estimation could be off and he may need a wee bit more than that.

 

Best solution to his problem would be to simply get a larger system drive of at least twice the size of his current SSD and image the current SSD one over to the new one and then swap them out and carry on as if nothing ever happened. Running Windows 8.1 on a, for example, 64GB SSD is "asking for trouble" (just look at the "64GB Surface" and related woes with free disk space) ... running it on a 128GB SSD is "keep an eye on your drive space and don't install too much bloat", 256GB+ should be sufficient if you don't hoard a metric b**tload of Steam Games on your drive.

 

Breaking my Windows Installation down to a 120/128GB SSD drive (running a 256GB Cruicial SSD) ... with the things I've installed on my system (Office 2013, VS2013, Photoshop plus the one or another odd program (Audacity, MPC-HC, ...) - no games whatsoever) I'd be left with about 30/35GB free space (factoring in Swap and Hibernate files) - that'd be very close to a "low disk space" warning.

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+BudMan MVC

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I am curious how big your SSD is as well, and what do you have installed on it that is using all the space? My windows OS drive, which is a 840 Pro 120GB has 70GB free.. Why don't you just uninstall whatever gaves you might have on there sucking up all the space, or just move the files over to your other drive with 400GB free, install your update and then move your files back.

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B.Jay

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and here are the properties of my C drive (a 53.6GB partition with 15GB free space)

 

53.6GB partition? That's too small of a system partition.

 

If there's nothing left you can possibly temporarily move out of the way, like BudMan suggested above, you well better face the fact that you didn't make the best choice to install Windows on such a small partition.

 

Only real solution to rectify the problem (assuming the total drive capacity, since your said "partition", is ~500/512GB - you still didn't say how big the drive really is) would be ...

 

- Image the system partition into a file on another hard drive

(NOT to the partition on the same drive where your "C:" partition is!)

- Backup all of the stuff you have on the 2nd partition onto another hard drive.

- Repartition the drive (at least 128GB+ for the system partition)

- Restore the system image

- Boot it up

- Copy your data back onto the 2nd partiton

 

I don't think you'll have much other options than this left.

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Arachno 1D

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If you read through the previous link I posted it also mentions updates looking at the wrong partition for the available install space hence another reason for an error.

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