How to Delete Shadow Files in Microsoft Windows Vista

Windows Vista and Windows 7 saves copies of previous versions of your files. You can restore these copies by from the "Previous Versions" tab of a file's properties dialog in Windows Explorer. Shadow copies provide a backup measure in case important files become corrupted, or if you just want to revert to a previous copy of a document. Shadow copies take up space on your hard drive and can be a privacy concern, so Windows Vista provides a way to delete them. Shadow copies are part of Windows System Restore, so deleting shadow files will also delete all restore points aside from the most recent one.

Instructions

1. Click "Start," "All Programs," "Accessories," "System Tools" and "Disk Cleanup."

2. Click "Files from All Users on this Computer" in the "Disk Cleanup Options" window.

3. Click "Continue" in the "User Account Control" window.

4. Select the disk drive containing the shadow copies you want to delete in the "Drive Selection" dialog, if it appears, and click "OK."

5. Click the "More Options" tab at the top of the "Disk Cleanup" window.

6. Click the "Clean Up" button under "System Restore and Shadow Copies."

7. Click "Delete."

References

• Microsoft: Delete Files Using Disk Cleanup
• PC Magazine; Controlling Shadow Copies in Vista (and Windows 7!); Neil Randall; March 2009