Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10  

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    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10

    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10

    How to Change System Protection Maximum Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10
    Published by Category: Performance & Maintenance
    05 Mar 2021
    Designer Media Ltd

    How to Change System Protection Maximum Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10


    System protection (if turned on) is a feature that allows you to perform a system restore that takes your PC back to an earlier point in time, called a system restore point. This can be handy if your PC isn't working well and you recently installed an app, driver, or update.

    Each restore point contains the necessary information needed to restore the system to the chosen state. Restore points are automatically generated when you install a new app, driver, or Windows update, and generated when you create a restore point manually. Restoring won’t affect your personal files in your %UserProfile% folder, but it will remove apps, drivers, and updates installed after the restore point was created.

    You can adjust the maximum disk space per drive used for system protection. As space fills up, older restore points will automatically be deleted to make room for new ones.

    See also:

    This tutorial will show you how to resize the maximum shadow copy storage space used by system protection for a drive in Windows 10.

    You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to change maximum shadow copy storage size.

    Restore points are stored in the hidden protected OS System Volume Information folder in the root directory of each drive you have system protection turned on.



    Contents

    • Option One: To Change System Protection Maximum Storage Size for Drive in System Protection Settings
    • Option Two: To Change System Protection Maximum Storage Size for Drive in Command Prompt






    OPTION ONE

    To Change System Protection Maximum Storage Size for Drive in System Protection Settings


    1 Do step 2, step 3, or step 4 below for how you would like to open System.

    2 Open the Win+X Quick Link menu, click/tap on System, and go to step 5 below.

    3 Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the System icon, and go to step 5 below.

    4 Open the Control Panel (icons view), click/tap on the Recovery icon, click/tap on the Configure System Restore link, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)

    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-system_protection_max_size-1.png

    5 Click/tap on the System protection link on the left side. (see screenshot below)


    Starting with Windows 10 build 20161, you will need to click/tap on About on the left side, and click/tap on the System protection link instead.
    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-settings_system.jpg

    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-system_protection_max_size-2.png

    6 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes.

    7 Under Protection Settings, select a drive (ex: C: ) that you want to change the maximum storage size for, and click/tap on the Configure button. (see screenshot below)

    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-system_protection_max_size-3.png

    8 Adjust the Max Usage slider to the percentage you want, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)

    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-system_protection_max_size-4.png






    OPTION TWO

    To Change System Protection Maximum Storage Size for Drive in Command Prompt


    1 Open an elevated command prompt.

    2 Copy and paste the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. This will show you the current maximum usage size for all drives that have a shadow copy storage space. (see screenshot below)

    vssadmin list shadowstorage

    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-vssadmin_list_shadowstorage.png

    3 Type the command below into the elevated command prompt, and press Enter. (see screenshots below)

    vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=<ForVolumeSpec> /on=<OnVolumeSpec> /maxsize=<MaxSizeSpec>

    Substitute <ForVolumeSpec> in the command above for the actual drive letter (ex: C: ) that the shadow copy storage is for. This will be the For volume in the results from step 2.

    Substitute <OnVolumeSpec> in the command above for the actual drive letter (ex: C: ) that the shadow copy storage is on. This will be the Shadow Copy Storage volume in the results from step 2.

    Substitute <MaxSizeSpec> in the command above for the actual size you want.

    The MaxSizeSpec value must be 1 MB or greater and must be expressed in % percentage or one of the following units: KB, MB, GB, TB, PB, or EB. If no unit is specified, MaxSizeSpec uses bytes by default.

    If no value is specified for /maxsize, there is no limit placed on the amount of storage space that can be used.

    For example:

    vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C: /maxsize=12GB

    OR

    vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=C: /on=C: /maxsize=5%

    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-vssadmin_resize_shadowstorage.png
    Change System Protection Max Storage Size for Drive in Windows 10-vssadmin_resize_shadowstorage_percentage.png


    4 When finished, you can close the elevated command prompt if you like.


    That's it,
    Shawn


    Related Tutorials



  1. Windows 11 Tutorials



  2. omidsolo
    Posts : 174
    Windows 10 Enterprise x64 1709
       New #1

    Is there a way to set it as zero B/MB/GB or 0% for all drives at once like vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet?
    If not it might be a good idea to make a batch file to loop through all drives to do so... )
      My Computer
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  4. apoklyps3
    Posts : 8
    Windows 10
       New #2

    Wich is the recommended size, since nowadays Windows comes with System Restore disabled by default?
      My Computer
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  5. Brink
    Posts : 70,622
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       New #3

    apoklyps3 said:
    Wich is the recommended size, since nowadays Windows comes with System Restore disabled by default?

    It really depends on your personal needs for how many restore points you would like to keep available, and how much free hard drive space you have available to reserve for restore points.

    Each restore point uses around 600 MB on average, but can vary.
      My Computers
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  6. thename
    Posts : 327
    Pro 20H2
       New #4

    Please explain the "Allocated" spaces, and their reported amounts.
      My Computer
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  7. Brink
    Posts : 70,622
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       New #5

    thename said:
    Please explain the "Allocated" spaces, and their reported amounts.
    Hello,

    The "allocated" space is how much space is currently reserved to be used. It can get as high as the set maximum.
      My Computers
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  8. NTN
    Posts : 969
    W10 19045.2546
       New #6

    I stopped using restore points in early versions of W10 when it failed to restore when I really needed it....
    It may have become better now. But I will never trust it 100% anymore.
      My Computers
    Quote Quote

  9. thename
    Posts : 327
    Pro 20H2
       New #7

    Brink said:
    The "allocated" space is how much space is currently reserved to be used.
    But on what basis is any current allocated amount determined?
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

  10. Brink
    Posts : 70,622
    64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Thread Starter
       New #8

    thename said:
    But on what basis is any current allocated amount determined?
    It's determined by Windows based on your current usage.
      My Computers
    Quote Quote

  12. thename
    Posts : 327
    Pro 20H2
       New #9

    In first of the two cases shown in your screenshot www.tenforums.com/attachments/tutorials/53134d1449864290-change-system-protection-max-storage-size-drive-windows-10-a-vssadmin_list_shadowstorage.png ,
    allocated amount differs from current usage.
    In second case, the amounts are almost same.
      My Computer
    Quote Quote

 

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