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Fix: There is Insufficient Disk Space to Complete Operation
Do not hesitate to apply some tips that worked for others
7 min. read
Updated onSeptember 5, 2024
updated onSeptember 5, 2024
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When you get anerror message as you try to open a fileand it saysthere is insufficient disk space to complete operation, it could either be that thefile or files are corruptedor device drivers.
This issue has been reported to happen when your computer is running certainantivirus software versions, or if you’re saving to an already fulldisk.
Sometimes the same error message pops up when you try to save a file, either in Microsoft Office Word or another program and it says there is not enough memory or disk space to complete this operation in Word 2010.
Here are some quick fixes.
How to fix There is insufficient disk space to complete operation error?
1. Reboot your computer
One of the easiest ways to fix the insufficientdiskspace problem is toreboot your computer. You may have recently installed or upgraded a program, your operating system, or installed updates.
Whatever the case, reboot and see if the problem persists.
2. Boot in Safe Mode
Safe mode starts up your computer with limited files and drivers, but Windows will still run. To know whether you’re on Safe mode, you’ll see the words at the corners of your screen.
If the issue of Shift key not working persists, check whether it occurs while your computer is in Safe mode.
Follow these steps to start your computer in Safe Mode:
If the issue isn’t there while in Safe mode, then your default settings and basic drivers are not contributing to the issue.
Additionally, if booting in safe mode helped remove any enabled add-ins, delete the add-ins from the registry and see if it helps by doing the following:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice14.0WordAddins
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOfficeWordAddins
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftOffice14.0WordAddins
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftOfficeWordAddins
Ensure to back up the registry before deleting the keys.
If you had installed a program and the error came after that, you have to reinstall the program on the computer after uninstalling it, because the installation could have been corrupt.
Speaking about the registry, there is an easier way to fix useless, superfluous or broken entries and this implies using a third-party tool.
In order to repair your registry and clean your disk space, it is recommended to use thebest registry cleaner tools for Windows 10.
3. Perform a clean boot
This reduces conflicts related to software that can bring up the root causes of theinsufficient disk space erroras a result of apps and services that start and run in the background when Windows starts normally.
4. Replace the normal.dot template
One of the causes of the error ‘there is insufficientdiskspace to complete the operation’ is a corrupted normal.dot template. Here’s how to resolve it:
5. Check the File Allocation Table (FAT)
The File Allocation Table (FAT) uses a 32-bit integer to store the size of the files thus it is called FAT32, which then means that the maximum size it can hold is just under 4 GB.
If your external harddiskis using the FAT32 File System, then it isn’t a limitation of Windows that you could be facing in terms of the insufficient disk space error, it is in fact a limitation of the file system.
In this case, you could either split your files smaller than 4GB (typical limit of formats like FAT32), or reformat the external Hard disk to NTFS it to something that allows for files larger than 4GB.
Note:Reformatting the hard diskwill wipe any data you have on thedrive. Make sure you back up the data to another storage media.
6. Use Disk compression utility
This helps you add more harddiskspace. If you are running antivirus software, try turning it off. If this corrects the issue, contact the manufacturer of your antivirus software for an update or workaround.
You may be able torecover some disk spaceby quitting programs that you do not need. After you quit the other programs, a few minutes may pass before Windows changes the size of the paging file.
7. Run Disk Cleanup
You can freediskspace by deleting files that you do not need, by following these steps:
You may be able to save your file to a flash drive, network drive, or any storage that has free disk space.
8. Clean %temp% folder
After your reboot, clean up the %temp% folder by doing the following:
9. Disable add-ins
10. Repair Office from the Control Panel
The steps to access the repair tool vary depending on your operating system.
Choose your operating system then do the following:
Note:This will repair the entire Office suite even if it’s just one application you want to repair such as Word or Excel. If you have a standalone app installed, then search for that application by name.
Depending on if your copy of Office is Click-to-run or MSI-based install, do the following.
If yours is MSI-based, go toChange your installation, selectRepair,and then clickContinue. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the repair.
Should the problems be caused by RAM, read our guide onhow to enable or disable Memory Compression on Windows 11.
Recently we covered a similar problem in ourError Handle Disk Fullguide, so don’t hesitate to check it out.
Let us know if any of these fixes helped by commenting in the section below.
More about the topics:Disk Cleanup,hard drive,RAM,windows 10 fix
Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Milan has been enthusiastic about technology ever since his childhood days, and this led him to take interest in all PC-related technologies. He’s a PC enthusiast and he spends most of his time learning about computers and technology.
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s one of the Troubleshooting experts in our worldwide team, specializing in Windows errors & software issues.
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Milan Stanojevic
Windows Toubleshooting Expert
Before joining WindowsReport, he worked as a front-end web developer. Now, he’s specialized in Windows errors & software issues.
