I have 2 files on my C:\ drive: C:\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy22 = 248 GB (266,455,478,272 bytes) C:\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy26 = 357 GB (384,213,041,152 bytes) for a total of 605 GB. Are these real files or do they represent links to files on my other drives? I have 4 other drives that hold 3+ TB.
The problem is that my C: drive is only 240 GB. Properties for C: are: Used space: 160.774.803.456 bytes 149 GB Free space: 48.940.392.448 bytes 45.5 GB Capacity: 209.715.195.904byles 195GB (28.29 GB Unallocated)
Can anyone explain, in laymen's terms, how Shadow Copy works?
Thanks.
1 Answer
Shadow copy stores snapshots of your hard disks and allows restoring if something goes wrong (e.g. a program or driver installation breaks Windows).
It's not a excuse not to do backups. If you are regularly doing backups, you can probably safely disable shadow copy. Even if you aren't, you still can disable shadow copy (although this is advised against).
It's also called "System restore" in the user interface.
If you feel comfortable turning off system restore:
Open control panel
Search for system
Click system
On left side click system protection
Click configure
Click turn of system protection or change the space you are allowing it to take up
Press ok to commit change
