Is there a way to create only fixed number of system restore ?

William654 · Mar 11, 2024

hdmi said:
You can set it to 1MB or greater. vssadmin resize shadowstorage

To be able to (somewhat) more clearly identify restore points, so as to be able to then freely decide what individual restore points you want to delete with vssadmin, refer to my post: Turn On or Off System Protection for Drives in Windows 11 Tutorial

Great solution. For this command

Code:

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=<ForVolumeSpec> /on=<OnVolumeSpec> [/maxsize=<MaxSizeSpec>]

I dont understand what is "ForVolumeSpec" and what is "OnVolumeSpec" ?

In this command :

Code:

vssadmin delete shadows /for=<ForVolumeSpec> [/oldest | /all | /shadow=<ShadowID>] [/quiet]

What define the "oldest" parameter ? do I must provide "ShadowID" ?

hdmi · Mar 12, 2024

William654 said:
Great solution. For this command

Code:

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=<ForVolumeSpec> /on=<OnVolumeSpec> [/maxsize=<MaxSizeSpec>]

I dont understand what is "ForVolumeSpec" and what is "OnVolumeSpec" ?

As can be seen in the description, ForVolumeSpec specifies the volume for which the maximum amount of [shadow copy] storage space is to be resized. However, due to how the VSS works, the shadow copy storage space in question does not necessarily have to be located on the same volume. I.e., it [the VSS] also allows shadow copies of volume C to be located on volume D (as opposed to be located on volume C). The examples very clearly demonstrate this fact. Here's the link again: vssadmin resize shadowstorage
I guess if you wanted to "just change" the limit for volume C, it would mean that both ForVolumeSpec and OnVolumeSpec would need to be C, as that's what the third example obviously is also about. So, to resize shadow copy of volume C, with a maximum size of 900MB, type:
vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=900MB
Also note, there's a link on there that takes you to here: Registry Keys and Values for Backup and Restore - Win32 apps
So, if you specify 1MB as the maximum size limit, it will either be rounded up to 32MB if the volume is smaller than 500MB or be rounded up to 320MB if the volume is greater than 500MB. I suppose they actually meant greater than or equal to 500MB. lol

William654 said:
In this command :

Code:

vssadmin delete shadows /for=<ForVolumeSpec> [/oldest | /all | /shadow=<ShadowID>] [/quiet]

What define the "oldest" parameter ? do I must provide "ShadowID" ?

Vssadmin delete shadows

learn.microsoft.com

/oldest

Deletes only the oldest shadow copy.

The Shadow Copy ID must only be specified if using the /shadow= parameter to specify it. You must choose between specifying the /oldest parameter, specifying the /all parameter, specifying the /shadow= parameter, and specifying none of these three different parameters. The square brackets in a command syntax definition mark the beginning and end of a sequence that is optional, whereas the "|" is a delimiter symbol character that denotes a mandatory selection choice so, in the syntax definition of this specific command, that optional sequence consists of one mandatory selection choice.