Help needed with System Restore

Question

Help needed with System Restore

John Emmas 181

Maybe about 5 weeks ago I had about 41GB free space on my C: drive (Windows 10) then maybe 4 weeks ago I needed to do a system restore. I know from past experience with system restore that it keeps a backup of the stuff it uninstalled in case you want to undo the restore later. So I wasn't surprised when my disk space went down from 41GB to 29GB.

I expected the free space to increase again once the restore point got automatically deleted and I noticed this morning that it did get auto deleted sometime. But my free space is still showing around 28GB.

Is it possible that the restore point got deleted but the backed-up files got left hanging around somewhere? If so, how would I find them and delete them manually?

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3 answers

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Answer 1

Marcin Policht 113K MVP Volunteer Moderator

Yep - it is possible, although System Restore normally removes its rollback files when the associated restore point is deleted. The missing 12 GB could also be related to Volume Shadow Copy storage or Windows temporary files.

First, open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

vssadmin list shadowstorage

This shows how much disk space is currently used by shadow copies. Then run:

vssadmin list shadows

This lists any remaining shadow copies.

You can also run Disk Cleanup (cleanmgr), select C:, click Clean up system files, and check for temporary or obsolete Windows files.

I would not manually delete anything from System Volume Information. Run the two commands first, and their output should allow you to identify whether the missing space is related to System Restore.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

John Emmas 181 Reputation points

2026-11-11T16:19:55.5666667+00:00

Many thanks for your help guys. System Protection shows me 11.46GB used out of 11.87GB reserved and Disk Cleanup shows that it'd only free up about 800MB (including the system files)

vssadmin list shadowstorage effectively shows me the same:-

Shadow Copy Storage association For volume: (C:)\?\Volume{f842e8f7-f679-472b-8707-b2448ab9988e}
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\?\Volume{f842e8f7-f679-472b-8707-b2448ab9988e}
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 11.5 GB (9%) Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 11.8 GB (9%) Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 11.9 GB (10%)

and vssadmin list shadows shows me this:-

Contents of shadow copy set ID: {a03045bd-1086-4a84-b725-6b8a7f4ec66b}

Contained 1 shadow copies at creation time: 05/11/2026 10:40:11 Shadow Copy ID: {7a125f34-2c0d-4873-aa23-c96fbbddf52e} Original Volume: (C:)\?\Volume{f842e8f7-f679-472b-8707-b2448ab9988e}
Shadow Copy Volume: \?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy1 Originating Machine: MAC-PRO Service Machine: MAC-PRO Provider: 'Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0' Type: ClientAccessibleWriters Attributes: Persistent, Client-accessible, No auto release, Differential, Auto recovered

Contents of shadow copy set ID: {6cb9bb4c-6b8d-43d5-b4c2-67d4b3adc165} Contained 1 shadow copies at creation time: 11/11/2026 09:19:30 Shadow Copy ID: {f00bedbb-f15c-46a9-bce4-32c45a82c329} Original Volume: (C:)\?\Volume{f842e8f7-f679-472b-8707-b2448ab9988e}
Shadow Copy Volume: \?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy5 Originating Machine: MAC-PRO Service Machine: MAC-PRO Provider: 'Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider 1.0' Type: ClientAccessibleWriters Attributes: Persistent, Client-accessible, No auto release, Differential, Auto recovered

I've a feeling that the Restore Point from Nov 5th was probably the first one that got created after the time I originally needed to use System Restore - so maybe that one includes the changes made from just after my deliberate System Restore Point eventually got auto-deleted (presumably on Nov 5th)??

I'll wait until that Nov 5th one gets auto-deleted and see if the missing disk space magically comes back.
David-M 128.4K Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-11-11T16:31:43.5233333+00:00

Thanks for the details.

There doesn't appear to be anything stuck or orphaned. The approximately 11.5 GB of missing space is actually being used by the active restore points listed in your scan.

Once that November 5th restore point is automatically removed by Windows, this space will be freed up. Everything seems to be working as it should.

If you want to reduce the allocated space a bit, that's fine. On my PC, I've allocated about 5GB for restore points.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
John Emmas 181 Reputation points

2026-11-11T17:55:40.4433333+00:00

Thanks @David-M It used to be set here at 4.5GB but I often found there was only one restore point and I generally like to see two or more. Not sure why exactly.
Marcin Policht 113K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-11-11T18:19:06.6266667+00:00

Yep - that makes sense. With a 4.5GB limit, Windows may have been deleting older restore points sooner to make room for newer ones. Increasing it to around 11.87GB gives System Protection more room to retain multiple restore points, although the number retained will depend on how much space each one requires.

Your assertion about the November 5th restore point is plausible. It may contain changes accumulated since the earlier restore operation. However, its eventual deletion is not guaranteed to recover the entire 11.5GB, since Windows manages shadow storage dynamically.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

Answer 2

Hi. I'm David, and I'm happy to help you.

I find it unlikely that System Restore has left behind any residual files.

Let's check how much disk space is currently being used by System Restore.

I suggest you follow the steps below to fix this.

Press "Windows + R", type sysdm.cpl and press Enter;
Select the "System Protection" tab;
Under "Protection settings", select the "C:" drive, then click on "Configure";
Check under the "Disk Space Usage" the "Current Usage".

If you prefer, share a screenshot. Use the shortcut "Windows + Shift + S" to use the screenshot tool.

Also, I suggest downloading and installing the free version of the TreeSize app.

https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free

Then right-click the application shortcut, select "Run as administrator", select the drive to be scanned, and wait for the scan to finish.

Share a screenshot of the TreeSize scan result. Use the shortcut "Windows + Shift + S" to use the screenshot tool.

Looking forward to your reply.

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Answer 3

It used to be set here at 4.5GB but I often found there was only one restore point and I generally like to see two or more. Not sure why exactly.

Same here. I usually only have one. But for me, that's enough. System Restore here generally takes up around 4GB, rarely reaching the 5GB quota. If having more than one is more comfortable for you, then around 8GB or more should be sufficient.

I recommend taking a look at the article below. It contains some tips that might help you free up some space on your C: drive.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/experience/storage-filemanagement/free-up-drive-space-in-windows#tabpanel_1_windows-10

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.