How do I delete huge files from System Volume Information?

Anonymous
2011-08-16T11:37:52+00:00

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.

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Anonymous
2011-08-17T10:05:51+00:00

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.

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-01-02T22:47:48+00:00

    In Windows 8 it's more known as restore points.

    To delete them.

    Win + R

    sysdm.cpl

    Sytem Protection tab

    Under Protection Settings select affected drive i.e (D:)

    Configure

    Change Max Usage: or just click Delete to remove all restore point files.

    Thanks! That helped me too where I had an external USB drive with 93 GB tied up in the SVI folder even though I had the restore points disabled for that drive. I set the slider to zero and deleted the "old" restore points and the files are gone. Thanks again!

    Paul

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-12-09T17:09:38+00:00

    Your suggestion worked perfectly on Windows 7 Enterprise Edition. Cheers for posting the resolution.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-09-29T06:33:07+00:00

    Hi Richard,

    Thank you for sharing the resolution with us which will help others facing the same problems to fix it.

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-09-28T09:34:59+00:00

    In Windows 8 it's more known as restore points.

    To delete them.

    Win + R

    sysdm.cpl

    Sytem Protection tab

    Under Protection Settings select affected drive i.e (D:)

    Configure

    Change Max Usage: or just click Delete to remove all restore point files.

    Was this answer helpful?

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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