The Windows 10 Storage Spaces helps protect your data from drive failures and extend storage over time as you add drives to your PC. You can use Windows 10 Storage Spaces to group two or more drives in a storage pool and then use capacity from that pool to create virtual drives called storage spaces. These storage spaces typically store two copies of your data, so if one of your drives fails, you still have an intact copy of your data. If you run low on capacity, just add more drives to the storage pool.

Windows 10 Storage Spaces Requirement

To use Windows 10 Storage Spaces, at least you need two extra drives (in addition to the drive where Windows is installed). These drives can be internal or external hard drives or solid-state drives. You can use a variety of types of drives with Storage Spaces, including USB, SATA, and SAS drives.

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How Do I Create a Storage Space in Windows 10?

Before you configure and setup Windows 10 storage spaces, you should connect the hard disks to your computer. It is the necessary step because you are going to group two or more hard Disks with Storage Spaces feature.

1. Add or connect the drives that you want to group together with Storage Spaces.
2. Type Storage Spaces in the search box, and select Storage Spaces from the list of search results.
3. Select Create a new pool and storage space.
4. Select the drives you want to add to the new storage space, and then select Create pool.
5. Give the drive a name and letter, and then choose a layout. Two-way mirror, Three-way mirror, and Parity can help protect the files in the storage space from drive failure.
6. Enter the maximum size the storage space can reach, and then select Create storage space.
7. Done.

1. To open the Windows 10 Storage spaces, just type Storage Spaces on Windows 10 search box to find Storage Spaces and manage. Click Storage Spaces to open storage space.

2. On the Manage Storage Spaces window, select Create a new pool and storage space. It will create a pool and group hard disks together to create new virtual drives.

Here I have four hard disks on my Windows 10 computer. These hard disks are virtual hard disks, and I’m testing Storage Space on Hyper-v within a Virtual machine to write this article. Its a virtualized environment for server virtualization and networking virtualization.

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3. Select the hard disks you want to create a pool and group together. I have selected disks 2 and 4. When you have selected the hard disks, click Create pool.

4. Now on the Create a storage space page, type a name for the drive, select drive letter from Drive letter, select File system (NTFS), choose Simple (no resiliency) as resiliency type, and specify the size of the virtual hard disk then click Create storage space.

The Storage space drive has created successfully. It’s possible to view files, make changes and even delete the drive from Manage Storage Space section.

How to Remove a Drive from a Pool?

If you created a pool in Windows 10 or upgraded an existing pool, you’ll be able to remove a drive from it. The data stored on that drive will be moved to other drives in the pool, and you’ll be free to use the drive for something else.

1. Type Storage Spaces in the search box, and select Storage Spaces from the list of search results.
2. Select Change settings > Physical drives to see all the drives in your pool.
3. Find the drive you want to remove and select Prepare for removal > Prepare for removal. Leave your PC plugged in until the drive is ready to be removed. It could take several hours, depending on how much data you have stored there.
4. (Optional) To speed up drive preparation, prevent your PC from going to sleep. Type Power and sleep in the search box on the taskbar, then select Power & sleep settings. When plugged in, PC goes to sleep after, choose Never.
5. When the drive is listed as Ready to remove, select Remove > Remove drive. Now, you can disconnect the drive from your PC.

Which one Simple, Mirror, or Parity Space?

You can create simple spaces, mirror spaces, and parity spaces. Read the differences on the below-detailed description.

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If you’re using a PC with more than a user, so “quota” can help you to Manage HDD Storage Capacity between users. This question rays here – why should we manage the storage capacity?

The answer is here: if multiple users with huge data are using a PC, so there must be a rule for using the HDD storage capacity. A single user should not fill all the disks and must give chance to others in order to put their files on HDD.

This series of Tutorials are with Windows 10! Though this tutorial works on windows 7/8 or 8.1 as well.

Manage HDD Storage, Using Disk Quota

Step one: Right-click on the drive – you want to manage and choose “properties” from the pop-up list or simply select the drive and press “Alt + Enter” from the keyboard.

Step Two: When the properties window opens, go to the “quota” tab and click “Show Quota Settings”.

Step Three: Check the “Enable quota management” and click “Quota Entries”.

Step Four: Here you add a quota entry for the desired user. Click “Quota” and Choose “New Quota Entry”.

Step Five: Click “Advanced” to go for user selection.

Step Six: Click “Find Now” (1), Choose a user (2) and click “Ok” (3).

Step Seven: Click “OK”

Step Eight:

For (1): Enter the value/amount for limitation and change the KB to MB/GB/TB

For (2): Enter the value/amount for giving a warning to the user.

Step Nine: Done!! You can see the list, you’ve managed disk space and limited the user’s storage capacity.

Now you’re done. You’ve successfully managed and limited your drive’s storage capacity for desired users.

If any question raises for you, fill free to ask in the comments or if you have any other suggestions.

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