Optimize Your System: Manage Reservation Storage for Windows 11

Turn Reservation Storage on or Off

Here is a step-by-step instruction to enable or disable reservation saving in Windows 11:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator:
   • Right-click on the Start button and select ‘Command Prompt (Admin)’ or ‘Windows PowerShell (Admin)’.
2. Enter Command to Disable:
   • To disable reservation saving, type the following command and press Enter:

dism /Online /Set-ReservedStorageState /State:Disabled

2. You will see a confirmation message that the operation was successful.
3. Enter Command to Activate:
   • To re-enable reservation storage, use this command:

dism /Online /Set-ReservedStorageState /State:Enabled

3. Make sure you get a message that the operation was successful.
4. Restart your computer:
   • After changing the reservation save state, restart your computer for the changes to take effect correctly.

Tips for Managing Reservation Storage:

• Check the storage size of the reservation periodically. Use Windows Settings to check how much space is allocated for reservation storage and adjust if necessary.
  • Clean up temporary files. Use the ‘Storage Sense’ feature in Windows 11 to clean up unnecessary temporary files, which can help reduce the storage size of reservations.
  • Consider Your Storage Needs. If you have limited disk space, consider turning off reservation storage. However, make sure you have enough space for system updates.
  • Do not disable it unnecessarily. A reservation store exists to ensure smooth system updates. If you have enough disk space, it is better to leave it on.
  • Use Third-Party Tools for Further Analysis. Consider using third-party tools for more in-depth storage analysis and to identify what files can be deleted or moved.

Pros and Cons of Disabling Reservation Storage

Pro:

• Disk Space Saving: Disabling reserved storage can free up significant disk space, which is beneficial for users with limited storage capacity1.
• Greater Control: Users have more control over their disk space usage without space automatically allocated for system updates.

Cons:

• Risk of Update Failing: Without reserved storage, there is a greater risk that system updates may fail due to lack of disk space.
• System Stability: Reservation storage helps maintain system stability by ensuring sufficient space for critical updates, which may be compromised if this feature is disabled.

Suggested use:

• When to Disable:
  • If you have very limited disk space and need additional space for important files or applications.
  • If you manually manage updates and are sure you can free up enough space before performing the update.
• When to let it on:
  • If you have enough disk space and want to make sure that system updates run smoothly without manual intervention.
  • If you are less concerned about the disk space used and prefer system reliability and stability.