How to check for and disable compactOS on Windows 10
Windows 10 might be running in a compressed state on your system. This is a setting that you can manually enable or, if it deems it necessary, Windows 10 might enable during an update. Most notably, this tends to happen when you install a feature update and the OS gives no indication that it has done so. In some cases, this might lead to your system running slow after the update. Here’s how to check for and disable compactOS on Windows 10.
On windows 10 1903, there is a feature called reserved storage that will automatically reserve space needed for an update so you can safely disable compactOS without worrying about updates failing.
Check compactOS state
Open Command Prompt with admin rights and run the following command to check if Windows 10 is running in a compact state or not.
compact /compactos:query
The command will return two pieces of information; whether or not the OS is in compact state, and why it’s in this state. The reasons may vary; it might have been enabled by the system administrator, or it may have been enabled if Windows 10 thinks it’s best for the system. In some cases, the command may tell you that compactOS isn’t enabled but might be enabled if needed at any point in the future.
Disable compactOS
In order to disable compactOS, you need admin rights. Disabling compactOS will result in Windows 10 taking up more space on your Windows drive. You stand to lose anywhere from 4 – 8 GB of space.
Open Command Prompt with admin rights and run the following command;
compact /compactos:never
It can take anywhere from 10-20 minutes for the process to complete. The time it takes may depend on the size of your disk but it shouldn’t exceed the upper limit of 20 minutes.
compactOS is meant for devices with low storage however, it may be enabled on systems that have plenty of storage as well. Disabling it might also cause problems later when you try to install a feature update as feature updates require some free space on your Windows drive in order to install without any problems. You should consider all these things before you disable compactOS.
Enable compactOS
Enabling compactOS is as easy as disabling it. Open Command Prompt with admin rights and run the following command;
compact /compactOS:always
Enabling it will also take time; 10-20 minutes should be enough. Enabling it will free up some space on your Windows drive though it may slow your system down some what.
If your device has very little storage e.g., it’s a tablet, you may not be able to disable compactOS no matter what you do.
