How much free space should you have on your hard drive?

JDtech · 07-19-2010, 09:19 PM

How much free space should you maintain on your computer's hard drive? Most experts recommend that at least 20 per cent of the drive be kept available. The extra space is used to store temporary files by applications you use, defragmentation programs, and new files and programs you'll undoubtedly add as you use your computer. When you can no longer keep at least 20 percent of your drive free, it's time to think about upgrading to a larger drive.

Jon Foster · 07-19-2010, 10:40 PM

We see machines in the store with full drives on a regular basis. It's hard to get people to understand how important it is to keep a reasonable amount of free space on their systems. I think most people believe they are being upsold for the sake of making money instead of keeping a system running better.

Jon.

etaf · 08-10-2010, 12:24 PM

with the size of drives these days the 20% is probably too much
My sony has 500GB so @20% - 100GB free - MY XP laptop only had a 100GB drive in total

I tend to use 15gb as a guide , but usually with the way systems are installed with partitions I usually move all the user accounts onto the 2nd harddrive / partition
having fixed loads of PCs where the c partition is full and the D is empty with 60-120 GB free

07-19-2010, 09:19 PM	#1
JDtech Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 308 Blog Entries: 1	How much free space should you have on your hard drive? How much free space should you maintain on your computer's hard drive? Most experts recommend that at least 20 per cent of the drive be kept available. The extra space is used to store temporary files by applications you use, defragmentation programs, and new files and programs you'll undoubtedly add as you use your computer. When you can no longer keep at least 20 percent of your drive free, it's time to think about upgrading to a larger drive. __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on Tech Today Online, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more. __________________ Follow me on Twitter \| My Tech Blog

07-19-2010, 10:40 PM	#2
Jon Foster Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: White Lake, MI Posts: 149	We see machines in the store with full drives on a regular basis. It's hard to get people to understand how important it is to keep a reasonable amount of free space on their systems. I think most people believe they are being upsold for the sake of making money instead of keeping a system running better. Jon. __________________ Come visit us on the web at AITec Services

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08-10-2010, 12:24 PM	#3
etaf Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Surrey, UK Posts: 8	with the size of drives these days the 20% is probably too much My sony has 500GB so @20% - 100GB free - MY XP laptop only had a 100GB drive in total I tend to use 15gb as a guide , but usually with the way systems are installed with partitions I usually move all the user accounts onto the 2nd harddrive / partition having fixed loads of PCs where the c partition is full and the D is empty with 60-120 GB free