How to Remove or Disable the System Volume Information Folder from a Flash Drive

The System Volume Information folder can consume significant space on a flash drive. This article offers three methods to either remove or disable this folder, ensuring that your flash drive remains efficient and functional.

Method 1: Disable System Restore for the Drive

This method disables the creation of the System Volume Information folder on your flash drive.

Open System Properties and right-click on your Computer icon. Select your flash drive in the list. Within the System Properties window, find your flash drive and select it. Click on the System Protection tab. Select Disable system protection. Click Delete to remove any existing System Restore information.

While this disables System Protection on the flash drive, the System Volume Information folder will still be created automatically for search purposes or if the drive is plugged into another Windows PC that allows System Restore.

Method 2: Using Command Prompt

This method directly removes the System Volume Information folder files.

Open Command Prompt as an administrator. Change the directory to your flash drive using the command cd /d E:, replacing E: with your flash drive's letter. Type the following command to remove the folder: rmdir /S /Q C:$ExtendCON[dfs] Press Enter.

Note: You may encounter access denied errors, as files in this folder can be protected.

Method 3: Formatting the Drive

If you don't need any data on the flash drive and want to remove all folders, this method will format the drive.

Back up any important data from the flash drive. Format the drive by right-clicking on E: and selecting Format. Select the file system and click Start.

Important Note: Deleting or disabling the System Volume Information folder will remove all of the files within it. These files are necessary for System Restore, so ensure that you have backed up any important data before proceeding.

Additional Information

Hiding the System Volume Information Folder:

Open File Explorer. Go to View > Options > View tab. Select Dont show hidden files, folders, or drives. Click OK.

This will hide the folder, but it will still be visible on other systems unless explicitly hidden there as well.

Deleting the Folder Temporarily:

Open File Explorer and double-click your flash drive. Press Shift and right-click a blank area, selecting Open command prompt window here. Type rmdir /S /Q C:$ExtendCON[dfs] and press Enter.

If your flash drive is formatted with NTFS, you may encounter an error. Reformatting to exFAT or FAT32 will allow you to delete the folder in the future.