How to fix disk space errors on Steam [SIMPLEST METHODS]
- Steam is the most popular game distribution software out there, having thousands of games available for its millions of users worldwide.
- Valve is quick to respond to any issues with Steam, and they keep to a tight update schedule to make sure that everything works as intended, but sometimes errors fall through the cracks. Today we're taking a look at why Steam thinks you don't have any free space.
- Steam has become a permanent fixture in our lives, as it is always running on our gaming rigs. So there's no surprise that we cover Steam extensively, and you check out all this content on our Steam page.
- For more tips and guides on how to fix issues with your Windows 10 machine, check out our troubleshooting hub where we post the latest fixes for the most annoying problems.
Steam is one of the most popular digital distribution platforms in the world. From 2003 when it was first released until today, millions of users worldwide enjoy downloading and playing games through it.
In the beginning, Steam only offered first-party games but now it has developed and allows access to third-party games and developers. With more and more features on every update comes also the risk of errors.
One of the most common issues users have reported in Windows 10 is the Not enough disk space error when trying to download a game, even though there was plenty of space on the computer.
Fortunately, there are a lot of solutions to this problem and today we will go through them.
What can I do if Steam says there is not enough disk space? The fastest way to solve the issue is to clear the Steam download cache. In most of the cases, incomplete or corrupted files are triggering the error. If that doesn’t work, repair your Steam library files and delete the partially downloaded game.
For more on how to do that, check the guide below.
Steps to fix low disk space errors on Steam
First and foremost, let’s try some quick and simple solutions like freeing up some disk space, rebooting your Windows 10 PC, disabling the antivirus or running Steam as an administrator.
If none of them worked, we can try some more advanced solutions.
1. Clear Steam Download cache
It’s possible that some of the files that Steam cached are incomplete or corrupted, so the best solution is to clear the cache. To do that, follow the steps:
- Launch Steam.
- Go to Settings.
- In the left panel choose Downloads.
- In the bottom of the window, there should be a Clear Download Cache button. Click on it.
- This will clear your local download cache, and you will need to log in to Steam Again message will appear. Click OK.
- Restart Steam, log in with your credentials and start the game download.
Are Steam downloads slowing to a crawl? We have the answer right here!
2. Repair Steam Library files
The Steam Library is where all your games are, and sometimes it’s not configured correctly. In that case, you should repair it by doing the following:
- Launch Steam.
- Go to Settings.
- In the left panel choose Downloads.
- In the Content Libraries section click on Steam Library Folders.
- A new Steam Library Folders window should appear. Right-click on the Steam Registry C:Program Files (x86)Steam and select Repair Library Folder.
- Once the process is finished, restart Steam, log in with your credentials and start the game download again.
Additionally, you can verify the integrity of the game files:
- Launch Steam.
- Go to Library.
- Find the game that’s of interest to you and right-click it > choose Proprieties.
- Select the Local files tab and then click on Verify Integrity of Game Files.
- Restart Steam, log in with your credentials and continue the game download.
3. Delete the partially downloaded file
If the download was interrupted by an error, then the files are incomplete thus creating a Steam conflict. To fix this, follow the steps:
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and select Task Manager.
- Find all the Steam services that are running and click on End task for each of them.
- Go to your Steam directory. Usually, the path is C:Program Files (x86)Steam.
- Go to the Steamapps folder > and then downloading folder.
- Locate the folder that’s causing the problems. You can identify it by the application ID.
- Restart your PC, log in to Steam with your credentials and continue the game download.
Task Manager is unresponsive? We have a fix for that!
If you can’t delete the folder, then you might have managed to make it read-only. To fix it, do the following:
- In the Windows search bar type cmd. Right-click the result and click Run as an administrator.
- In the cmd window type cd c:/program files (x86)/Steam and then attrib -r /S *.*.
- This should make your folder R/W again and you should be able to delete it.
As you can see, there are a lot of solutions and workarounds to the Not enough disk space message error, and all of them are confirmed as working by users.
We hope that one of these solutions solved your problem. If you have any more questions or you know other ways to solve the disk space issue on Steam, reach for the comments section below and we’ll be sure to check it out.
FAQ: Common Steam questions
- How do I fix disk write error on Steam?
Run Steam as an administrator. Additionally, we have a comprehensive list of Steam errors and their fixes where you can see how to get rid of disk write errors.
- Why does Steam say I don’t have enough disk space?
Because it is reading the drive’s available disk space and it thinks it is empty. This guide will show you how to fix this issue.
- How do I check my disk space on Steam?
Go to Steam (upper left corner) > Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders.
- How do I free up disk space on Steam?
You can uninstall Steam games or use this specialized tool which deletes temp and duplicate files.
- How do I clear up disk space?
If you want to make more space on your system drive, you can use the Disk Clean-up utility baked into Windows 10. For creating space on other drives, we recommend moving files to the cloud.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been since revamped and updated in March 2020 for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in May 2019 and was revamped and updated in August 2020 for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.