How can I delete Windows Backup/SPPMetadataCache files

Hi @thecaretaker

You cannot delete anything in the hidden and heavily protected 'System Volume Information' folder while Windows is running (well, not without taking ownership, which is probably a bad idea and would likely break other things). You'll have to boot from something else. A Linux Live usb would do, or Kyhi's rescue disk if you prefer a Windows environment to work in.

Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - Windows 10 Forums

If you are confident using just a command prompt, then you could boot to Advanced Start Up, select Troubleshoot and open a command prompt from there. From Settings > Recovery or boot from a recovery drive, either way will work. Note that your 'C:' drive will have a different letter if you boot to Advanced Start Up, in my case it was D:. Use the Diskpart command 'List Volume' to see what letter it ends up with.

Boot to Advanced Startup Options in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials

I too have Windows backups listed that date back to 2014, here shown in TreeSize Free.



As a test I have deleted one of the files from the SPMetadatCache using an Advanced Start Up Command Prompt. I suspect you will break the backup catalogs if you just delete a few files. It may be better to delete the entire WindowsImageBackup folder from System Volume Information. It doesn't exist on another PC that has never made a system image with Microsoft's tools, so it should get recreated anew when you make your next system image.

However, Windows own 'system image backup' is a deprecated feature now. Even Microsoft say you should use something else. I use Macrium Reflect Free now.

Microsoft said:

System Image Backup (SIB) Solution
We recommend that users use full-disk backup solutions from other vendors.

Features removed or Deprecated in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

Well, I put Kyhi on a USB stick, made it bootable and set the bios to boot it. Once booted up, I could see all the files in the folder but the little blighters still would not delete. I right clicked delete on the folder and on individual files, it says it will move them to the recycle bin, but it doesn't.

I checked the properties and ownership, there is only one owner 'System'.

What am I missing here?

thecaretaker said:

What I did notice was that although there are 1,800+ entries, it only takes up 200mb of space. So might be best just to ignore it and live with it. I'm probably getting paranoid... Good old Windows

200MB is not too large (my WindowsImageBackup folder is just 7.6MB) but once in the past had to delete some AppxStaging folders from System Volume Information that occupied over 9GB.

In my test deletion earlier in this thread I booted to Advanced Start Up from Settings > Update & Security > Recovery to get a command prompt. Doing so requires you to give the password for an administrator account in the system being working on, so the permissions were probably no problem as I was signed in a known administrator.

Edit: I have now used the command prompt to delete my WindowsImageBackup folder (7.6MB) from System Volume Information using the commands...

D:
cd System Volume Information
rmdir /s WindowsImageBackup

I also deleted a 'Windows Backup' folder (39.7MB). Before doing so I used the RoboCopy command to copy them elsewhere, as a precaution. So far the system seems to be running as normal...