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So I was told that I can use the storage on an external hard drive to update Windows 10, which would make sense. I even saw on other Windows Community Forums that it is possible, however there aren't any tutorials or anything online that I could find. I've tried but the update page tells me I need more space, I really hope I didn't waste money on an external hard drive, it would have taken 3 weeks for an internal. So if it is possible to use the space on the hard drive to update Windows please guide me through.
Thank you.
Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.
Hi Adam,
There will be an option to use an external drive to temporarily extend the storage space of your computer while the update is being installed if your device doesn't have enough space for the update. We recommend that you check this article as a guide on how to use an external storage device to install updates for your Windows 10.
Let us know whenever you need further assistance.
I want to update using an external drive as there is no way to free up sufficient space from my hard drive. Windows Updater doesn't give me an option to access an external drive for this update. What do I do?
Hello.
I've got the same problem. Clicking Free up space now, however, does not open a Windows needs more space window. It simply opens a small box allowing me to choose whether I want to free up space from my external or internal storage device. In other words: I'm not given access to Step 2: Select or connect an external storage device.
Where can I access this Windows needs more space window, when clicking Free up space now doesn't do the trick?
Thank you.
I'm having the same issue. It says "Your device needs the latest security updates" then tells me I need to free up disk space. There is no option to use an external drive, only a link to disc clean up, learn more, hide, and try again.
This article does not help. The message of not enough storage in the article provides an option for using external storage. As previously stated in my original post, this is not the case for this message. 