This browser is no longer supported.
Upgrade to Microsoft Edge to take advantage of the latest features, security updates, and technical support.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
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?
Hi,
If you did not see the option to use an external drive to temporarily free up space so that the Windows update can be done, we suggest that you utilize the different options available on this link to resolve your concern and get the free space the update needs.
Feel free to reach out to us for any further concerns.
There is not an option on my update to use an external drive; when the update opens it says there is not enough storage space, but does not allow me to choose to use the external drive anywhere within the application. How might I fix this?
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.
