How do I delete the "full system restore" backup folder in XP?

[cedrick]

I performed a "full system restore (with backup)" system recovery on my
laptop,which is running Windows XP, Media Center Edition, Version 2002, SP3.
Everything is fine now, but I have an 8 GB backup folder that I no longer
need or want. I tried to delete it, but the system prevented it. I then
tried the instructions that I found on this forum, entitled "How to take
ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP." Here is what I did:

Booted in safe mode,
highlighted the folder,
right-clicked, selected properties
security tab
advanced
owner tab, selected administrator
checked "replace owner of sub containers & Objects" (or at least that's the
gist of what it said)
answered yes to replace.

The procedure started. After maybe 45 minutes there came a beeping,
perhaps every 4 or 5 seconds. Everything appeared normal, however, and no
messages showed themselves. The beeping stopped, then later started again.
I left it running for several hours, but the process never seemed to progress
beyond the folder it appeared to be working on (documents\history). The
animation (files floating across space) worked all along. I canceled it,
and tried a 2nd time. After a couple of hours I got a "not responding"
message.

I want to delete this file! Someone told me that after a set period of
time, the system may automatically change the folder's permissions and allow
me to then delete it. Does anyone know whether this is true, and if so, how
long is the period I need to wait? I have looked for a solution here (this
is where I found the "taking possession" instructions) but now I'm out of
leads. BTW, I am not a computer person...but I know how to follow
instructions. Thanks.

 

[JF]

*Bonjour cedrick * !
<
Do not delete System Volume Information.
It has other functions than Restoration.
Just desactivate it in System Properties.
This will empty the folder.

 

[cedrick]

Bonjour Jean-François, and thank you for the prompt reply!

The folder is "C:\My Backup -- 29-07-08 1532" and appears to be a standard
backup folder, so I wonder whether it has System Volume information. I am
positive that I will not return to the prior situation. Knowing this, do you
still think it unsafe to delete?

Also, can you tell me how to turn it off in system properties (the folder
does not reside in the system folder)?

Thanks again.
Cedrick

 

[Bill in Co.]

*Bonjour cedrick * !
<
Do not delete System Volume Information.
It has other functions than Restoration.
Just desactivate it in System Properties.
This will empty the folder.

And then be sure to reactivate it again.

 

[JF]

*Bonjour cedrick * !

Bonjour Jean-François, and thank you for the prompt reply!

The folder is "C:\My Backup -- 29-07-08 1532" and appears to be a standard
backup folder, so I wonder whether it has System Volume information. I am
positive that I will not return to the prior situation. Knowing this, do you
still think it unsafe to delete?

Ok, this not the SVI, just a normal backup folder.
You are free to delete it !

Also, can you tell me how to turn it off in system properties (the folder
does not reside in the system folder)?

A good idea should be to do a CHKDSK /R to check the clusters.
After that it would be more cooperative.
Your procedure seems correct to me.

If problems, see

You cannot delete a file or a folder on an NTFS file system volume
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320081/en

Try to use CACLS ou SUBINACL commands.

 

[cedrick]

to Jean-François and Bill in Co., a heart-felt thanks. I turned off the
"system restore" and rebooted in safe mode several times. I haven't been
able to entirely delete the folder, but I have reduced its size from about 9
GBs to about 7 Mbs. That's good enough for me! Now my virus and spyware
scanners don't have to get bogged down with this damnable and unwanted
folder. God how persistent is XP in protecting a file! I've renamed all the
folders and moved them to different locations, but I still have several empty
nested folders that will not go away. Okay xp, you win...at least for now.

Cedrick

 

[JF]

*Bonjour cedrick * !

to Jean-François and Bill in Co., a heart-felt thanks. I turned off the
"system restore" and rebooted in safe mode several times. I haven't been
able to entirely delete the folder, but I have reduced its size from about 9
GBs to about 7 Mbs. That's good enough for me! Now my virus and spyware
scanners don't have to get bogged down with this damnable and unwanted
folder. God how persistent is XP in protecting a file!

SVI is a pretty good idea and a very good thing.
It store not only files, but also Hives (Registry).
So you had a virus ? This was the real problem ?
Now you know how to purge the SVI to help your
*poor* anti-virus.

SVI use 12% of the volume.
You can reduce it to 5%.

I suggest to reactivate the System Restore,
it's a very useful protection.
Check if the anti-virus is up to date.
To not work in Administrative Mode.

Erunt to protect your Registry, better than System Restore
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

 

[cedrick]

Thanks JF, I did reactivate the System Restore; agree it is a most useful tool.

Was it a virus? I don't know. What happened was I googled a film clip of a
black pastor ranting against Obama--it was not his pastor in Chicago but
someone else. So I found a clip listed and clicked on it. It came up and
started to run, then my browser opened a second window and ran the same clip.
This repeated until I had many tabs showing the video at different points in
the film. The sound was like a crowd of voices saying the same thing, but at
different points in the dialogue. I tried to close the extra tabs but was
unable to. I then tried to close my browser, but could not. Finally in
desperation I killed the machine. When I rebooted, my virus scanner, Avast!,
was knocked out, and many of my program files were corrupted and would not
launch. I downloaded AGV 8 and their latest virus definitions and did a
scan, but could not find anything. I also scanned with Avira and found
nothing.

I finally decided to just re-install windows and be rid of any possiblility
of having a virus remain on my computer. That's whyI will never use that
backup. Perhaps it was a virus, or perhaps a random event cascaded to such
proportins, but I lost complete control of my computer, it corrupted Avast!,
and several system and program files. I'm just glad it's behind me now.
Again thank you for all the help.

Best regards,
Cedric

 

[JF]

*Bonjour cedrick * !
<
Thank you for these details.
Impossible to tell if the problems which occured after came because of
this accident with IE, or because of the hard cut off.

Better than kill the machine,
you can try TSKILL commands :
WIN+R to get to "Execute", and then :
tskill iexplore to kill Internet Explorer
tskill explorer to restart explorer if necessary
(and all the Desk)

Can be even more useful with a keyboard shortkut.

 

[cedrick]

Thanks Jean-François, I'll try that next time but, hopefully, there will be
no next time. (I know, given enough time, there will always be a next time!)

Warmest regards,
Cedrick