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i am having a problem with one of my server backups. More specifically the disk space it seems to use but shouldnt.

The WindowsImageBackup folder for the Server in question is about 600gb which would be totally ok. Sadly though the properties of the backup drive show that the space used is 2,4TB. Besides the backup there is nothing on there. File History is also disabled.

Does someone have an idea why this occurs and what i can do to decrease the used space for the backup?

Thanks in advance

Paul
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1 Answers1

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This could be due to shadow copies of your backups. Run this command in elevated cmd to view reserved storage for shadow copies (replace X with your drive letter):

vssadmin List ShadowStorage /On=X:

To lists all existing shadow copies of a specified volume use:

vssadmin List Shadows /For=X:

You can delete shadow copies. If /Oldest argument is given, the oldest shadow copy on the volume is deleted. If /All argument is given, then all shadow copies on all volumes that can be deleted will be deleted. If /Shadow=ShadowId argument is given, the shadow copy with that Shadow Copy ID will be deleted.

vssadmin Delete Shadows /For=X: /Oldest

Shadow storage also can be resized (resizing may cause shadow copies to disappear):

vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /on=X: /For=X: /MaxSize=10GB

More information:

beatcracker
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  • actually shadow copies was the first thing i looked at, strangely the GUI showed that they were disabled but vssadmin reports 1,8TB which perfectly aligns with the missing space. thank you – Paul Mar 18 '15 at 13:20