How to delete “System Volume Information” folder from external drives?

Question

I'm running Vista Prof 32bit on a lenovo w500 thinkpad. I have four external drives and use 4 different PCs, that all have system volume information folders, taking up lots of space, and I can't delete them.

I don't even know which computer's files are backed up on which external.

I've used Thinkvantage rescue and recovery to delete all backups, as well as checked system restore settings to only use my main C drive. I checked all the PC's to ensure only the Main drive keeps system restore points and deleted previous versions. I ran Disc Clean up too.

But I can't figure out how to get rid of these large folders from my external drives.

Answer 1

The solution is take ownership of the directory "System Volume Information":

Assuming the external drive is named G, Start cmd.exe using "Run as administrator" and type:

G:
cd \
takeown /r /f "System Volume Information"

Answer "y" for yes when asked if to replace all permissions.

This will replace the existing owner SYSTEM by yourself, so you can delete the directory.

EDIT

In Windows 7 & Vista you'll need to check that you're the real administrator:
Unhiding the "real" Administrator account

Answer 2

Boot to the recovery console or a Linux Live CD and delete them. Windows makes it very difficult to delete them while it's running. Before you do it though make sure they won't show up again when you restart windows.

Go to Control Panel -> System -> System Protection. Make sure that it is off on the external drives.

Answer 3

Plug your external drive into any Mac running OS X or any computer running a Linux distro (e.g., Ubuntu). Find the 'System Volume Information' folder. Drag it to the Trash. Eject the drive. Done!

Answer 4

Use

RMDIR /s /q

This is for removing a directory in Windows 7. It's the same as DELTREE in DOS.