Wondershare Filmora is a popular video editing application used for creating YouTube videos, tutorials, presentations, short films, and social media content. While editing, Filmora generates temporary files, preview renders, proxies, autosave backups, and export files to ensure smooth playback and faster rendering. However, if your system drive starts running out of storage, Filmora may display a “Low Disk Space” warning, fail to import media, stop rendering, or refuse to export projects.
This issue can occur due to insufficient free space on the system drive, oversized cache files, temporary render data, proxy media, autosave backups, large export files, or projects stored on a nearly full partition. In some cases, Windows temporary files or other applications consuming storage can also leave Filmora without enough working space.
Fortunately, you can usually resolve the problem by clearing Filmora’s cache, deleting temporary files, changing the cache location, and freeing up storage on your computer. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the most effective methods to fix the Low Disk Space issue in Filmora.
How to Fix Low Disk Space Issue in Filmora
Before you begin, check which drive Filmora is using for its cache, temporary files, and project exports. Even if you’re exporting to another drive, Filmora may still use the C: drive for processing. Follow the troubleshooting methods below until the warning disappears.
1. Free Up Disk Space
If your drive is nearly full, start by removing unnecessary files.
- Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Go to System > Storage.
- Review your storage usage.
- Delete unnecessary files, downloads, or applications.
- Ensure you have several gigabytes of free space before reopening Filmora.
Keeping adequate free space allows Filmora to create temporary editing and export files.
2. Clear Filmora Cache
Filmora stores preview and rendering data that can grow significantly over time.
- Open Filmora.
- Go to File > Preferences.
- Open the Performance or Cache section, depending on your Filmora version.
- Click Delete Cache or Clean Cache.
- Restart Filmora.
Clearing the cache removes temporary editing files that are no longer needed.
3. Change the Cache Location
Moving Filmora’s cache to another drive can prevent the system drive from filling up.
- Open Filmora Preferences.
- Navigate to the Performance or Cache settings.
- Change the cache folder to a drive with more available storage.
- Save the changes.
- Restart Filmora.
Using a larger secondary drive improves editing performance and reduces storage issues.
4. Delete Temporary Files
Windows temporary files may occupy several gigabytes of storage.
- Open Settings.
- Go to System > Storage.
- Click Temporary files.
- Select unnecessary items.
- Click Remove files.
Cleaning temporary files frees up additional space for Filmora.
5. Remove Old Proxy Files
If proxy editing is enabled, Filmora generates lower-resolution copies of your media.
- Open your Filmora project folder.
- Locate the Proxy or temporary media folder.
- Delete proxy files that are no longer required.
- Restart Filmora.
Removing unused proxy files can recover a significant amount of storage.
6. Delete Autosave Backups
Filmora automatically creates backup versions of your projects.
- Open the Filmora autosave folder.
- Review older backup files.
- Delete backups you no longer need.
- Keep only the latest versions.
Cleaning old backups helps reduce disk usage without affecting your current project.
7. Empty the Recycle Bin
Deleted files continue occupying storage until the Recycle Bin is emptied.
- Right-click the Recycle Bin.
- Select Empty Recycle Bin.
- Confirm the deletion.
- Check your available storage again.
This permanently frees the space occupied by deleted files.
8. Export to Another Drive
Large video exports require significant free storage.
- In Filmora, select Export.
- Choose a destination on another drive with sufficient free space.
- Start the export.
Saving exports to another drive prevents the system partition from filling up unnecessarily.
9. Run Disk Cleanup
Windows Disk Cleanup removes unnecessary system files.
- Press Windows + S.
- Search for Disk Cleanup.
- Select your system drive.
- Choose items such as:
- Temporary files
- Delivery Optimization files
- Thumbnails
- Windows Update Cleanup
- Click OK.
- Confirm the cleanup.
Disk Cleanup can recover several gigabytes of storage.
10. Move Large Media Files
High-resolution videos consume significant disk space.
- Locate large video files used in older projects.
- Move them to:
- An external hard drive
- Another internal drive
- A NAS device
- Relink the files if necessary.
Moving archived media helps free up valuable storage on your editing drive.
11. Repair Corrupted System Files
Corrupted Windows components can sometimes cause incorrect storage reporting.
- Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
- Run:
sfc /scannow
- After the scan completes, run:
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
- Restart your computer.
These tools repair Windows system files that may affect storage management.
12. Upgrade Your Storage
If you frequently edit large 4K or 8K videos, your current storage may simply be insufficient.
Consider upgrading to:
- A larger SSD
- A secondary internal SSD
- An external SSD for project files
- A high-capacity HDD for archived projects
Additional storage improves both editing performance and project management.
Conclusion
If you’re experiencing a Low Disk Space issue in Filmora, the problem is usually caused by limited free storage, oversized cache files, proxy media, autosave backups, or large export files. In most cases, clearing Filmora’s cache, deleting temporary files, moving media to another drive, and freeing up storage on your system partition will resolve the issue.
If the warning continues to appear, change Filmora’s cache location, export projects to a different drive, and consider upgrading your storage if you regularly edit high-resolution videos. Maintaining plenty of free disk space and periodically cleaning Filmora’s cache will help ensure smoother editing, faster exports, and more reliable performance on Windows 11.
