Deleting System Volume Information Files

[Howdyf]

My XP Pro machine has 12,000 files (3.31 GB) in the
hidden C:\system volume information folder. Is it OK to
delete any or all of these files?

 

[Mike Matheny]

Only if you don't want to do a system restore to a previous time.

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

My XP Pro machine has 12,000 files (3.31 GB) in the
hidden C:\system volume information folder. Is it OK to
delete any or all of these files?

No. You can however reduce the amount of space you have given to system
restore (which is what most of these probably are). You shouldn't be
able to access this folder anyway, unless you diddled with the security
settings for the folder.

 

[Ramesh]

Hi,

Deleting these files/folder erases your Restore points as well.

Instead, use Disk Cleanup and purge all system restore points except the
"last point".
Click Start/Run/Cleanmgr / More Options / system restore /cleanup.

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Ramesh
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My XP Pro machine has 12,000 files (3.31 GB) in the
hidden C:\system volume information folder. Is it OK to
delete any or all of these files?

 

[Jeff Malka]

How much space should be allocated for this purpose? In other words how
much space does each restore point need or take up?

 

[Bill James]

That is going to vary from one system to another, and individual Restore Points vary in size. I just looked at 2 of my XP systems and the average was 43MB on one machine, and 83MB on the other.

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Microsoft MVP - Shell/User

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How much space should be allocated for this purpose? In other words how
much space does each restore point need or take up?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

To a certain extant, the choice is yours. By default, WinXP sets
aside a maximum of 12% of the partition's size for storing System
Volume Information, but the amount of space set aside for this purpose
can be adjusted by the user. Start > All Programs > Accessories >
System Tools > System Restore > System Restore Settings, select the
pertinent partition and click Settings.


Bruce Chambers

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How much space should be allocated for this purpose? In other words how
much space does each restore point need or take up?

 

[Alex Nichol]

How much space should be allocated for this purpose? In other words how
much space does each restore point need or take up?

My own feeling is that a lot of the troubles people see are caused by it
allocating too much, and the system getting confused. 12% of a drive
the default, was OK when XP came out and drives were much smaller but is
too much on big partitions. I run on C: only, and use 500MB for it,
which is typically enough for about a dozen points. I'd aim probably
for under 1GB and certainly under 2. Depending on how much change has
gone on between one and the next, size might be from maybe 25MB if
nothing changed since yesterday, up to 80 MB which I have seen when none
had been made for some time.