Another of its peculiarities is that if its permissions are configured to restrict access both other programs and users, including administrators. In this way, it is intended to prevent both users and programs without the appropriate permissions from accessing and manipulating internal files, interfering with important system functions.
If we enter the File Explorer, click on the C drive and take a look at the entire list of folders, we will verify that System Volume Information is not found. However, it is not entirely true, because it really is, but it is hidden.
How to see and access it
The System Volume Information folder is restricted by NTFS permissions. By default, only the System account can have full access and control to the folder and its subfolders. In order to see it, it will be necessary to click on the “View” tab. Within the “Show or hide” section, we must check the “Hidden elements” box. Later we review the list again and verify that it appears. Of course, as we have commented, it is blocked, so if we double-click to access it, the following error message will appear: «You cannot access C: / System Volume Information. Access denied.”
And it is that, generally, in NTFS drives like this folder it is locked and can only be used with SYSTEM permissions. Without them we cannot access or delete it. In those units that are formatted in EXT4 or FAT32, it will be possible to access its content. In this way we can even delete them, but it will be of little use, since Windows will immediately notice and recreate it.
Using the Microsoft utility PsExec.exe or other third-party tools, it is possible to start a command prompt session in the System account that will allow us to view, modify, or delete the content of the system volume information.
For example, we can use the command prompt for which it will be necessary to run it with administrator permissions. To do this, we write cmd in the Start menu search box and once it appears, click on Run as administrator. This will open the command prompt from the System32 folder.
Can I reduce its size?
Normally, in this folder, Windows takes care of store system restore points. The usual thing is that it does not take up too much space on our hard drive. In the event that it occupies more than it should, it is precisely because of the storage of these restore points. That is why, if we want to reduce its size, we must eliminate these points and reduce the space dedicated to them. In this way, its size will be reduced and we will prevent it from growing more than desired.
Disable restore points
If we are determined to reduce its size we can do it from the Control Panel. To do this, press the keyboard shortcut “Windows + R” and the “Run” command will be launched. Here we write “Control Panel” and press Enter. Later we click on “System and security” and click on “System”. This will open a new window, in which we will click on “System Protection”, located on the right side. Again, another window will open.
Next, in the “Protection Settings” section, we can choose whether “System Restore” is enabled and control how much disk space Windows uses for this task. The mere fact of disabling the System Protection of a unit will not help us to eliminate the System Volume Information folder, since Windows stores more elements, but we will be able to reduce part of its size.
Limit the space they can occupy
If we do not want to disable this backup system that we can restore at any time when our equipment is not working properly and we do not want our hard drive to fill up with this type of copies, what we can do is limit the space that these copies can occupy in our team. To limit disk space, within the System Protection tab, we select the main unit of the computer and click on Configure. Next, in the Disk space usage section, we move the slider so that it reduces the percentage of hard disk use. Natively, it is set to 2%but we can reduce that space so that it only occupies 1% and thus reduce the space it currently occupies in half.
If at that time, the restore points are taking up more space than we have established, Windows will automatically delete the oldest restore points, leaving only the most recent ones available. It is only advisable to modify the space on the hard disk destined to restore points when we are always short of space, since if this is not the case, and we have a problem with our equipment, this function will be useless if we do not have the possibility of restoring the computer to earlier versions than the ones we have stored on the computer.
Delete previous restore points
But, if what we want is to delete it correctly and without the computer presenting a stability or operation problem, from the same window where we can limit the amount of space it occupies on the hard drive, we can also delete all the restore points that we have in the team. To do so, in the section Delete all restore points on this drive, we must click on Delete. By clicking on Delete, all the restore points that the equipment had created will be deleted and we will not be able to return to a previous point in which the equipment worked without a problem.
Why is the folder too big?
The System Volume Information folder is capable of consuming gigabytes of disk space if System Restore is enabled on the drive. In Windows 8 and earlier, Windows used to create a restore point daily. If the disk space allocation is incorrect or set generously by the user, then the SVI folder can occupy a large disk space, even hundreds of gigabytes.
Taking up so much space is probably due to scheduled system state backups using Windows Server backup features.
It is possible to reduce disk space allocation using the vssadmin.exe command line. If we open the command prompt with administrator rights we can run the following command to list the amount of storage used
vssadmin list shadowstorage
Running the following command will set a limit for the space used:
vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=E: /MaxSize=5GB
In this case we have established 5 GB although we can change it to the amount we want.
And if we delete it?
As we have mentioned previously, deleting the System Volume Information folder is not an easy task because it will be necessary to have SYSTEM services for it. Also, it’s not an action. not recommendedsince Windows stores important system data here, so we should not do anything beyond reducing the space allocated for the System Restore utility.
Despite this, if you prefer to ignore our recommendations, in order to access the contents of the folder and even delete its elements, we must assign ourselves as the owner of the directory, and grant your account NTFS permissions to be able to access it. This is something we can do from the Security tab itself within the folder properties. However, there is a much faster option to assign yourself as owner and get direct access. To do this we must do it from the Command Prompt tool.
To access the Command Prompt, we must type cmd in the Start menu search box and then click on “Run as administrator”. Once the window appears, we must write the following commands independently, pressing Enter after each one.
takeown /f “C:System Volume information” icacls “C:System Volume Information” /grant woshubjwolf:F
Once this is done from the “Properties” section of the folder, in the “Security” tab, we can verify that the account now has full control permissions. In the case of wanting to restore the original permissions of the System Volume Information folder, we must execute the following commands, also from the Command Prompt window.
icacls “C:System Volume Information” /setowner “NT AuthoritySystem” icacls “C:System Volume Information” /remove woshubjwolf
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