On every Windows drive—fifty-fifty external USB drives—you lot'll find a "System Volume Data" folder. You lot'll only see information technology if you have Windows set to evidence hidden files and folders, but it's ever there. So what is it for?

Why Can't I Open up the Folder?

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On drives formatted with the NTFS file system, this binder's permissions are set to prevent everyone from accessing the folder, even users with Ambassador permissions. Double-click the binder and yous'll see an error message saying the "location is not available" and "admission is denied." This is normal.

That'south considering Windows uses this binder for certain system-level features. The permissions are gear up to foreclose users—and programs without the advisable permissions—from tampering with the files inside and interfering with important system functions.

What Is It For?

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Amid other things, Windows stores Arrangement Restore points in the Organization Volume Data folder.

If you need to shrink the size of the System Volume Information folder, you can do so from the Command Panel. Head to Command Panel > System and Security > Organization > Organization Protection. Under Protection Settings, yous tin cull whether Arrangement Restore is enabled and control how much deejay space Windows uses for System Restore points.

Just disabling System Protection for a drive won't actually delete the System Volume Information folder. Windows stores more than but restore points here.

For example, the Organisation Book Information binder also contains information used by the content indexing service databases that speed upward your file searches, the Volume Shadow Copy service for backups, and the Distributed Link Tracking Service databases used to repair shortcuts and links.

If you lot have a drive formatted with the exFAT or FAT32 file systems—an external USB drive, for example—yous can open the System Volume Information folder and expect inside.

For example, on 1 of our USB drives, nosotros saw two files within: IndexerVolumeGuid and WPSettings.dat.

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The IndexerVolumeGuid file assigns a unique identifier to this drive. The Windows indexing service examines the files on the drive and indexes them. When y'all connect the drive to the computer in the future, Windows checks the identifier and knows which search database to associate with the drive. You can so apply Windows search features, such as the search box in the Start menu, Cortana on Windows x, or the search box in the File Explorer or Windows Explorer, to quickly search for files on the drive.

WPSettings.dat is another file created by a Windows service, simply we're not sure exactly what it'due south for. There'due south no official documentation on this file.

Tin can I Delete the Binder?

Y'all shouldn't delete the System Volume Information folder. On NTFS-formatted drives, Windows won't normally let you access this folder, much less delete it. On exFAT or FAT32-formatted drives, you can cull to delete the binder—but Windows volition only recreate it in the future, since it needs it.

Windows stores important organization data hither, and you should leave the folder alone. Don't attempt to change the permissions on the folder to delete it.

If the Organisation Volume Information folder is using a lot of space, reduce the space allocated to Arrangement Restore in Windows. If seeing the binder bothers y'all, just set Windows to hide hidden files and folders.

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