With 'Reserved Storage', Microsoft Windows 10 Becomes More Aggressive In Pushing Updates

Frequent software update is a good sign that the company behind it is actively developing its product. But if that company forces users to update, that can be annoying.

Microsoft and its world-famous Windows 10 operating system is one good example. It has controversies since it suffers from a fundamental lack of user control.

Microsoft somehow thinks that an up-to-date operating system is more important than a user’s right to control what their PC installs.

This time, the company warned users that it wants to consume even more of their computer’s resources to enforce it.

In a blog post, Microsoft program manager Jesse Rajwan said that the company is taking measures to ensure users' Windows 10 operating system can get any future updates no matter what, by automatically reserving disk space.

And users might not like it.

"Through reserved storage, some disk space will be set aside to be used by updates, apps, temporary files, and system caches. Our goal is to improve the day-to-day function of your PC by ensuring critical OS functions always have access to disk space."

Starting Windows 10 Build 1903, the operating system takes some portion of users' hard drive, which "cannot be removed from the OS."

To do this, when Windows 10 sees apps and system processes create temporary files, these files will automatically be placed into Reserved Storage.

And since disk space has been set aside for this purpose, if for some reason this Reserved Storage fills up, Windows will continue to operate by temporarily consuming some disk space outside of the reserve if it is temporarily full.

Rajwan says the typical amount taken from Windows 10 users’ hard drives is 7GB:

"This will enable most PCs to download and install an update without having to free up any of your disk space, even when you have minimal free disk space."

Windows 10 - Reserved Storage
Under 'Storage settings', users can see this Windows 10 'Reserved Storage'

In a good way, Microsoft is one of the well-known tech company that shared a brilliant past. Its Windows product has been regarded as the most popular operating systems for decades, and the company wants to keep that title for years to come.

With the modern days of the internet, threats are everywhere. Each time a device connects itself to the web, it is exposed to endless potential threats from malicious software and viruses.

Keeping Windows operating system updated to the latest build is one of the ways Microsoft can make sure that users are safe, at least under its own terms. And Reserve Storage is one strategy to ensure that users can benefit from newest updates, no matter what.

In a bad way, besides Microsoft in giving users less control, is that of Windows 10 updates may have bugs.

In previous times, Windows 10 updates can accidentally downgrade Windows 10 Pro to Home. And updates at certain times may even delete users' personal data.

Another thing is that, most modern PCs, even with average-sized hard drive, have more than enough storage space. Those computers may never need this Reserve Storage. And for older PCs that have a more limited disk space, users won't be happy in giving up their 7GB for just an operating system update.

It's hard to see how Microsoft's attempt with Reserve Storage can help with this situation.

In conclusion, while Microsoft's goal is for a good cause, the attempt in forcing users to upgrade is never an appealing prospect.

Published: 
28/01/2019