Remove system restore folders?

After disabling system restore, I want to remove the folders as it takes up unneccessary space. In WinME it was in the drive's root folder, so where is it located in XP?

Thanks.

 

Dang thing was hard to locate. Seriously hidden and not a lot of info on how to get to it - especially if using NTFS.

Finally found something though. Take a look Here.

 

Disabling SR certainly removes the points, and it is reasonable to believe if the links are removed the space is freed up. In general that is the process to free space.

It has been my understanding if one disables SR and sets cache size to the very minimum almost all space is recovered. However, there appears to be an option to eliminate SR's empty folders. This would be a irreversable solution without recovering much additional space in my opinion.

 

Christer,

I don't believe it is advisable to remove any system files or folders that are integrated into the operating system. Back up files are an exception. Removing folders could cause a problem!?

Many years ago, I ran a third-party app to clean-up unnecessary files. The program ID system files and other files that could be deleted, possibly deleted and OK to delete. I ended up reinstalling the OS due to many problems that developed subsequently. Other posters have also recommended not deleting any files associated with the OS unless with obsolute knowledge one knows it would not cause harm.

 

Apparently, I made an incorrect assumption as I thought we all understood there is a disabling feature associated with SR. The same feature also exists with ME. But the OP wanted to bypass the disable procedure and go to the root and delete the RS folder. I believe the deletion of the folder at the root may or could present a problem. Or any other obscure procedure that gets into the registry. You will note the link to the SR for OPs review was to recover not delete. I guess what I am saying is there may be few necessary steps missed to maintain integrity if one bypasses the regular designed procedure disable and instead deletes at the root. Also, deleting a folder and not disabling doesn't make sense if one wants to avoid using SR.

Thanks for the link you provided. I certainly believe there would be no problem following the regular procedure to disable as you suggest. If one disables SR, it logically follows the space is recovered.

 

I think there is a misunderstanding. Let's start at the beginning. Doctor...wants to remove the folder after disabling SR.

To disable SR, go to system properties and check the box (turn off system restore) or move the slider to minimum. No future restore points will exist, no bckup, and space will be made available immediately.

I have XP that was installed and came on my new machine. The folder is located C:\Windows\System32\Restore. There are about 11 files in the folder GUID, SR-reg, restore log, etc. The total space of the files is about 3,500 KB. These files are not backup files. Backup files were eliminated by the disabling feature. To zap the folder, in my opinion, may cause a problem, but if doc deleted that folder without a problem then it may be OK. If you need 3,500 KB, then delete the folder that holds those files. I have 40 gigs of space, and I don't worry about KB's.

 

You have ME installed. I fired up my other computer that has ME. The restore folder is C:\restore. It contains 4 files with a total of less than 50 KB. I still have restore points available that ends about 6 months ago. The size of ME O/S is about 408 meg.

Yes. There is only one restore folder. The link you refer to is a procedure to recover from a crash, locate the backup registry from a NTFS environment and copy the registry files to C:\Windows\System32\config. This will enable the Recovery Console to function and restore the OS.

 

Christer,

A more important consideration is whether or not you are going to format NTFS or FAT. You may want to research that subject before making a decision.

If you format FAT you have the option to convert to NTFS after the installation. If the installation is NTFS, there is no option to revert to FAT very easily.

 

If I were to install XP, I would seriously consider FAT, but FAT doesn't fully utilize XP's space saving (compression) features, security features, etc. that differentiates the XP kernal capabilities, however one can easily go with NTFS format after becoming acquainted with the FAT format and whether or not a change to NTFS would be beneficial.

Opinions may differ because people have different a configuration of their hardware and associated driver, third-party apps, etc. For example, I recently purchased a CD-RW internal and the associated software cannot backup NTFS data! But I have been told a patch will be provided in the future.

You have expressed the idea of disabling SR and backing up the system differently. I am not able to do that with my CD-RW and the present software. Other people may have different experiences, likes and dislikes based on their system and knowledge, experience, whatever. One would have to weigh that against the advantages NTFS. !