How to fix
“There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error
on Windows

I cannot save Word document on my computer because it gives an error “There is insufficient disk space to complete an operation.” But I can see about 10 GB available on my disk, and this file is not that big. So, what’s wrong with my PC?

“There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error on Windows generally means one of the three things: actual lack of space on the drive, file corruption or problems with device drivers. Fortunately, these programs can be solved quite easily.

Sometimes, it’s enough just to close other programs or windows. For instance, close the browser or music player and try to save your Word file. Moreover, “There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error might be caused by antivirus program installed on the PC. Though, temporarily disable it to see if it was the issue.

However, if these simple solutions cannot help you, we have prepared a guide how to fix “There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error which will explain how to fix corrupted files or disk.

Available methods to fix “There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error on Windows

Many Windows can be solved by rebooting a computer. Hence, you should save information on Google Drive or other cloud storage platform, and restart your PC. If it does not solve the issue, try the following methods.

Option 1. Reboot the computer to Safe Mode

When you boot a computer to Safe Mode,[ref en-1] you will be able to see if some computer drivers are causing the problem. This mode runs computer only by using most important files and drivers.

1. Click the Start button and navigate to Settings.
2. Choose Update & Security.
   

   

3. Click Recovery from the left menu.
4. Click Restart now button under Advanced startup section.
   

   

5. In the appeared Choose an option screen. Click on Troubleshoot option.
6. Click Advanced options and navigate to Startup Settings.
7. Click Restart.
8. When your computer boots up, you will see the list of available options. Click 4 or F4 to boot in Safe Mode.

If the “There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error does not come up, it means that the problem is not related to computer’s default settings or basic drivers.

Booting to Safe Mode also helps to delete enabled add-ins,[ref en-2] but you can also delete them from the registry. Before proceeding, please back up the registry[ref en-3] in case something goes wrong:

1. Type run in the Windows search box.
2. Open Run program and type regedit and then click OK.
   

   

3. Find and delete add-in keys in the following locations:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Office\\14.0\\Word\\Addins
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\\Software\\Microsoft\\Office\\Word\\Addins
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Office\\14.0\\Word\\Addins
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Office\\Word\\Addins

Option 2. Try a clean boot

This method helps to fix issues with apps and services that are launched during Windows startup that might be the source of “There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error.

1. Log in to a computer as admin.
2. In Windows search box type msconfig.
3. Open System Configuration.
4. Navigate to Services tab and mark the checkbox near Hide all Microsoft services option at the end of the window.
5. Click Disable all option.
   

   

6. Open Startup tab and click Open Task Manager link.
   

   

7. Close Task Manager and click OK.
8. Restart the computer and check if it helped to fix “There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error.

Option 3. Modify the normal.dot template

Corrupted normal.dot template[ref en-4] is one of the common reasons for insufficient disk space error.

1. In the Windows search box enter normal.dot. However, it’s a hidden file, so you have to check Search hidden files option if available. If not, go to Folder options and make sure that show hidden files option is enabled, or try searching for *.dot.
2. Once you find normal.dot, rename it to old.dot.
3. Restart the computer.
4. Open a program/file. It should create a new normal.dot template.

Option 4. Run Disk Cleanup

If your computer actually runs out of space, run Disk Cleanup tool and delete files or programs you do not need:

1. Open Start.
2. Navigate to All Apps > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.
3. In the appeared Select Drive pop-up, choose the drive you want to clean up and click OK.
4. Mark entries you want to clean in the Disk Cleanup tab.
5. Click OK.

Option 5. Clean %temp% folder

1. Open Run by right-clicking Start and choosing it from the menu.
2. Type %temp% in the Run window and click OK.
3. When in File Explorer in the TEMP folder, select all files by pressing Ctrl + A keys.
4. Click Delete.

Note. If you receive an error that some files cannot be deleted because they are in use, skip them.

Once it’s done, try to save a file. Hopefully, it helped to fix "There is insufficient disk space to complete operation” error on Windows.