Vista: Reclaim and Release Disk Space from System Restore and Shadow Copies

Other than change the limit of System Restore disk usage allocation to reduce allocation amount and free up the space, you can also immediately delete and reclaim almost all space used by System Restore and Shadow Copies (including Previous Versions) by using Disk Cleanup Manager to eliminate all but the most recent System Restore point.

To release the reclaim space used by System Restore, simply follow the steps:

  1. Click Start button.
  2. Type clean in the Start Search box.
  3. Click Disk Cleanup from the search results list.
  4. Select Files from All Users on this computer option.
  5. Click OK on Disk Space Cleanup Manager for Windows User Access Control permission request dialog.
  6. Choose a drive letter from the drop down list, and press OK.
  7. Disk Cleanup will perform calculation to determine how much space it can free. Once done, click on More Options tab.
  8. Under the section of System Restore and Shadow Copies, click on Clean up… button.

    Remove System Restore Files

  9. Click on Delete button when asked whether are you sure you want to delete all but the most recent restore point.
  10. Disk Cleanup will erase all old restore points or files and the space will be reclaimed for everybody use. You can check the reduced space used by restore points and shadow copies with vssadmin List ShadowStorage command.

Note that when you delete System Restore old restore points to reclaim or free up some space, the availability of the old except the last Previous Versions files will also be erased and no longer accessible. Beside, this trick also does not change the limit on how much space Volume Shadow Copies and System Restore can use.


This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007 at 12:58 am and is filed under Windows Vista. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

11 Responses to “Vista: Reclaim and Release Disk Space from System Restore and Shadow Copies”

  1. dudeman
    May 22nd, 2009 11:33
    11

    i did the above and the MAx was resized but I cannot reclaim the USed which still sits at 81G. i deleted all restore points. someone help!!!

    aliasemail at gmail.com

  2. i am missing gigs - Page 2 - Final Fantasy XI :: Dreams in Vana'diel :: Community
    July 12th, 2008 03:14
    10

    [...] etc… Which OS are you running, looks to be XP, but if it’s Vista; you may want to take a look at this. Also, in regards to having hidden files/folders shown/hidden; a properties search on C: still [...]

  3. i am missing gigs - Page 2 - Final Fantasy XI :: Dreams in Vana'diel :: Community
    July 12th, 2008 02:19
    9

    [...] Re: i am missing gigs It could be system restore, backups, etc… Which OS are you running, looks to be XP, but if it’s Vista; you may want to take a look at this. [...]

  4. Avi Yehudai
    June 20th, 2008 15:08
    8

    i have a 120 gig hd and only use 45 gigs of data
    so logically i should have around 75 gigs free. but the free space went down to under 60
    so i did this, and now i have 75.6 gigs free. thank you very much

  5. disk space - MyP2P Forum
    March 4th, 2008 05:14
    7

    [...] this site Vista: Reclaim and Release Disk Space from System Restore and Shadow Copies My Digital Life Its for vista, but you can use common sense to find out what u need to do if you are using xp. [...]

  6. Quelbazar, l'oeil du Syklop » Vista et la taille de son disque système
    February 23rd, 2008 05:15
    6

    [...] stocker ses points de restauration. Ca n’est pas une bonne idée. Pour corriger ça, il faut désactiver la restauration du système, puis la réactiver : Ca vide les points de restauration existants, et fixe une limite plus raisonnable à la taille [...]

  7. Brent Clyne (Australia)
    February 22nd, 2008 10:08
    5

    Thanks for your most informative details. Will you please confirm that the above actions are in SP1 as they are not on my new PC (Vista Business).
    Also any ideas on when and how SP1 will be distributed as due to apparent size of file it will take forever to download.
    Kind Regards
    Brent Clyne

  8. More space on Vista | Ionut's WebSpace
    February 14th, 2008 03:28
    4

    [...] Vista on computer. Trying to find the solution, I found some nice articles about this subject: first article, second article, one more. I decided to let system restore turned on and to shrink the space [...]

  9. My Digital Life @ nbfan.com.cn » Blog Archive » Vista Hard Disk Space Shrinking and Reducing Anomaly
    July 9th, 2007 16:44
    3

    [...] immediate relief from space constraint, you can reclaim and release all System Restore and Shadow Copies used disk space. For permanent solution, it’s best to set the limit for Shadow Copies space usage, or you can [...]

  10. salman
    July 4th, 2007 00:28
    2

    http://rapidshare.com/files/40760057/Vista.All.x86.OneClick.Activator-CLoNY.rar
    vista working crack .

  11. 123456789
    July 3rd, 2007 13:28
    1

    great tip. only had a 20 gb hard drive.

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