Disable Low Disk Space Warning in Windows

This guide shows you how to turn off the low disk space notification that Windows displays when a drive fills up. You’ll edit the registry to disable the warning for all drives or a specific one. This is useful for drives that are intentionally kept full, like media or backup drives, but you should still monitor free space to avoid problems. You’ll need administrator access to make the changes.

What You’ll Need

• A Windows PC (Windows 10 or Windows 11)
• Administrator account privileges

Step-by-Step

1. Open Registry Editor. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes.
2. Navigate to the policy key. In the Registry Editor, go to the following path:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
   If the Explorer key does not exist, right-click on Policies, select New > Key, and name it Explorer.
3. Create a new DWORD value. Right-click on the Explorer key (or in the right pane), select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name the value. Type NoLowDiskSpaceChecks and press Enter.
5. Set the value to 1. Double-click the new value, change the Value data to 1, and click OK.
6. Restart Windows Explorer or sign out. To apply the change immediately, you can restart the Explorer process: right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager, find Windows Explorer in the list, right-click it, and choose Restart. Alternatively, sign out and back in, or restart the PC.
7. Verify the change. After restarting Explorer, the low disk space warning should no longer appear for any drive. To revert the change later, set the value back to 0 or delete the NoLowDiskSpaceChecks value.

Common Mistakes

• Wrong registry path. The value must be under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, not HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Using the wrong path will not work.
• Creating the value as a String instead of DWORD. The value must be a DWORD (32-bit) Value. If you create a string, Windows will ignore it.
• Not restarting Explorer. The change won’t take effect until Explorer is restarted or you sign out and back in. Simply closing the Registry Editor is not enough.
• Typing the value name incorrectly. The name is case-sensitive in the registry. Make sure it is exactly NoLowDiskSpaceChecks.

Tips

• This disables the warning for all drives on your system. If you only want to disable it for a specific drive, you can use the NoLowDiskSpaceChecks value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer (create the same DWORD there) and it will apply to all users, but it still affects all drives. There is no built-in per-drive setting.
• Even with the warning off, keep an eye on your free space. A drive that is completely full can cause system slowdowns, failed saves, and even data corruption. Use a disk cleanup tool or move large files to an external drive when space gets low.
• If you are comfortable with command line, you can also use the reg add command in an elevated Command Prompt:
  reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer" /v NoLowDiskSpaceChecks /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
• This tweak is safe and reversible. It does not disable other disk-related notifications, like the one that appears when a drive is completely full.

Troubleshooting

• The warning still appears after following the steps. First, double-check the registry path and value name. Then, make sure you restarted Explorer or signed out. If it still doesn’t work, try restarting the computer.
• You get an error when creating the key or value. This usually means you don’t have administrator rights. Make sure you are logged in with an administrator account and that you approved the UAC prompt when launching Registry Editor.
• The warning disappears but comes back after a reboot. This can happen if another program or policy resets the registry value. Check if you have any third-party system optimization tools that might be overwriting it. Also, verify the value is still set to 1 after reboot.
• You can’t find the Explorer key. If the key doesn’t exist, you need to create it. Right-click on Policies, select New > Key, and name it Explorer (exactly). Then proceed with creating the DWORD.
• After disabling, you want to re-enable it. Simply set the NoLowDiskSpaceChecks value back to 0 or delete it. Then restart Explorer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will this disable the warning for all drives?

Yes, the registry value applies to every drive on the system, including internal and external drives. There is no per-drive option in the registry.

Is it safe to disable the low disk space warning?

Yes, it is safe. It only hides the notification. Your system will still function normally, but you should be aware that you won’t get the reminder to free up space. It’s recommended for drives that are intentionally kept full, but you should still monitor free space manually.

Does this work on Windows 10 and Windows 11?

Yes, the same registry key works on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The steps are identical.

Will this stop the warning for the system drive (C:)?

Yes, it will stop the warning for the system drive as well. However, it’s not recommended to disable it for the C: drive because running out of space on the system drive can cause serious problems. If you do disable it, be extra careful about monitoring free space.

Can I disable the warning for a specific drive only?

No, the built-in registry method disables the warning for all drives. There is no official per-drive setting. Third-party tools might offer this, but they are not recommended.

What if I don’t have administrator rights?

You need administrator rights to edit the registry. If you don’t have them, you’ll need to ask the administrator of the computer to make the change for you.

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