How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore

Bree · 19 Oct 2019

jellyroll said:

Please advice if there may be another simpler method to delete the above folders OR if you are able and have time to post a step by step instructions (with pictures if possible) on how to follow your advice...

I know of no easier way to delete them, so here are the instructions.

Delete System Image Restore Point from System Restore in Windows 10

A System Image restore point is describe as type 'Backup'.

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-system-image-restore-point.png

First, go to Settings > Backup & Restore > Recovery and select the 'Restart now' button in Advanced Start-up.

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-advanced-start-up.png

When you get Advanced Start-up, select Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, then Command Prompt.

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-advanced-start-up-command-prompt.png

You will be asked to choose an administrator account and supply it's password, then the Command Prompt will open.

Type the commands DISKPART then LIST VOL and EXIT to see a list of all drives, in this example the Windows system is on the C: drive, yours may have a different letter. Whatever the letter is, type it followed by a colon to switch to that drive, in this example I typed C:

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-advanced-start-up-command-prompt-diskpart.png

Then use the CD (change directory) command CD System Volume Information\WindowsImageBackup

Use the DIR command to check you are in the right folder, then use DEL to delete the contents of each of the Catalog and SPPMetadataCache folders.

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-advanced-start-up-command-prompt-delete-files.png

Youn can now close the command prompt window (or type EXIT) to restart the PC and go back to Windows.

All System Image Restore points of type 'Backup' will now have gone.

SIW2 · 19 Oct 2019

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-zvsscopyjpg.jpg

Z-VSSCOPY is the program name
Seems to be a 30 day trial now. That is fine if you just want to delete some shadows.
https://www.z-dbackup.com/download.html#vss

topgundcp · 19 Oct 2019

The best way to delete a corrupted System Information Volume folder is to use LINUX.

Download Etcher (146MB). Install
Download slackopuppy linux (~245MB, select X32 or X64 bit) Puppy Linux Home
Connect a USB stick then run Etcher to create a bootable Linux USB.
Boot up the USB then browse to "System Volume Information", right click and delete the whole folder.
Disconnect the USB and reboot into Windows, a new "System Volume Information" will be created.
Create a new restore point.

zbook · 19 Oct 2019

When Windows is upgraded all system restore points are deleted.
Consider waiting for the release of 1909 and then performing an upgrade.
After the upgrade you can make no restore points or make them manually.
Consider making backup images:
Macrium Software | Your Image is Everything
Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

Bree · 19 Oct 2019

topgundcp said:

The best way to delete a corrupted System Information Volume folder is to use LINUX. ... browse to "System Volume Information", right click and delete the whole folder.

The OP's System Volume Information Folder is not corrupt, it contains System Image Restore Points that are created in the normal course of using the MS System Image Backup.

Unfortunately these cannot be deleted by System Protection, Disk Clean-up or any other tools MS provides. Linux would work too, but all the OP needs to delete is the contents of the WindowsImageBackup folder. Doing so would leave everything else intact, including any restore poins made by System Protection.

Bree · 19 Oct 2019

zbook said:

When Windows is upgraded all system restore points are deleted....

No, not quite. Only system restore points made by System Protection are deleted, those made by System Image Backup and stored in the WindowsImageBackup folder are not deleted, though they may no longer be listed in System Protection as available to restore after the upgrade.

This system of mine was upgraded, but the Catalog and SPPMetadata folders still contain files from before the upgrade.

.

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-sys-vol-info-windowsimagebackup.png

topgundcp · 19 Oct 2019

Bree said:

The OP's System Volume Information Folder is not corrupt, it contains System Image Restore Points that are created in the normal course of using the MS System Image Backup.

Unfortunately these cannot be deleted by System Protection, Disk Clean-up or any other tools MS provides. Linux would work too, but all the OP needs to delete is the contents of the WindowsImageBackup folder. Doing so would leave everything else intact, including any restore poins made by System Protection.

Does not matter. If he wants to get rid of them. Within Windows, you just cannot delete those. If OP want to delete individual file in the folder, he can also do it, just select the file to delete.
FYI, I just did to my Windows using LINUX, here's a new "System Volume Information" looks like ~20K

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore-2019-10-19_144318.jpg

zbook · 19 Oct 2019

Bree said:

No, not quite. Only system restore points made by System Protection are deleted, those made by System Image Backup and stored in the WindowsImageBackup folder are not deleted, though they may no longer be listed in System Protection as available to restore after the upgrade.

This system of mine was upgraded, but the Catalog and SPPMetadata folders still contain files from before the upgrade.

.

What purpose if any are they kept after the upgrade?
Are they consuming drive space as fill?

Bree · 19 Oct 2019

topgundcp said:

Does not matter. If he wants to get rid of them. Within Windows, you just cannot delete those. If OP want to delete individual file in the folder, he can also do it.

There are a lot of other files, besides restore points, kept in System Volume Information. I wouldn't want to delete them, or cause the OP to loose theirs. There's a Chkdsk folder for example, about the only place to find Chkdsk reports if you ran Chkdsk at boot. I have some reports that date back to 2014 in that folder.

Bree · 19 Oct 2019

zbook said:

What purpose if any are they kept after the upgrade?

None whatsoever...

Are they consuming drive space as fill?

Yes, but as part of the deprecated System Image Backup the upgrade is not equipped to deal with them - so the just get left there.