How do I delete huge files from System Volume Information?

Anonymous

I have three large hard disks that I use to store backups of the system. Some program -- I think it was the defragmenter -- caused Win 7 to place huge files (> 4 GB) in System Volume Information. Nothing I do wil let me delete these files. I cannot even take ownership of them. When I try to take ownership of either the file or of System Volume Information I receive an "Access is denied" error on the file name. Nothing should prevent an administrator from taking ownership of any file on his system. How can I delete these huge files? Please do not answer "Use Disk Cleanup to delete all but the last restore point." That runs, but it deletes nothing. On a previous installation of Win 7, I could take ownership of System Volume Information and delete its contents, but ot on this new installation.

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous

Hello,

The System Volume information folder keeps the Restore point entries. Usually it is not recommended to delete the entries from the System volume information.

Step 1 : Stop the Volume shadow copy service.

a: Go to Start - Run and type Services.msc then press enter.

b: Under the Status column look for any entries that read as "Started", make it as “Stopped”.

**c:**Click apply and then ok.

Step 2 : Then take ownership of the System volume Information folder and then try to delete its contents.

How do I open a file if I get an access denied message?

Hope that helps.

0 comments

47 additional answers

Anonymous

2017-09-23T10:55:28+00:00

I tried this but it did nothing for me. I still have all 8 of the System Volume Information folders that I cannot alter. I cannot get access to these SVIs so 52GB of SSD space is wasted. I have an 8TB backup but only 72GB of working space on the SSD. I need to get access to the SVI and previous articles info did not work for me on a Win 7 Home Premium system. Here is a picture of what I am dealing with. Thanks for any help.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2017-09-23T10:26:31+00:00

I have used Everything.exe and it reports that I have 7 system volume information folders on my C: drive with a total space used of 52.3GB. I also have over 200 services that are marked "Started" so doing a stopped to all those seems beyond the imagination. This partition of my 1TB SSD is just using too much space for SVI so how can I get to the SVI itself. Any helpful info on this, given the sizes and numbers, would be appreciated.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2016-05-15T02:21:15+00:00

This solution worked for me. Thanks.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments
Anonymous

2016-03-13T19:56:48+00:00

I god through step a:

I have Windows 7 64 bit & there are no options for b:

I can see the list. Some say "Started", the others, the larger portion, do not show any status.

Is it safe delete any of these system files?

Hello,

The System Volume information folder keeps the Restore point entries. Usually it is not recommended to delete the entries from the System volume information.

Step 1 : Stop the Volume shadow copy service.

a: Go to Start - Run and type Services.msc then press enter.

b: Under the Status column look for any entries that read as "Started", make it as “Stopped”.

c: Click apply and then ok.

Step 2 : Then take ownership of the System volume Information folder and then try to delete its contents.

How do I open a file if I get an access denied message?

Hope that helps.
Was this answer helpful?

0 comments No comments