System Protection Error

Question

System Protection Error

Dennis Nørgaard Andersen 20

So when i save a restore point in windows 11 pro, after a day or two i get the error message when i check the drive i save them to wich is c drive also windows drive the error messsage is "Using System Protection on a drive that contains system image backups causes other snapshots to be deleted faster than normal" and i get a yellow triangle along with the message and i never had that issue before.

It also lowers how much space i dedicated to from 6% 111GB to 2% 37GB the drive is a Samsung 990 pro 2 tb and there is 1 1/2 Tb free of space on it.

Why all of a sudden do i get that message

Dennis Nørgaard Andersen 20 Omdømmepoint

2026-07-16T02:12:41.87+00:00
Im only using system protection no other software or windows tool.

Every time it gives me the error wich is every 2 day i create a new system protection point.

Every 2nd day it changds my max usage from 6 % to 2 %
Sin-D 11,270 Omdømmepoint Eksternt Microsoft-personale Redaktør

2026-07-16T07:23:55.38+00:00

Hi Dennis Nørgaard Andersen,

Thanks for your response. Since you've confirmed you're only using System Protection and Windows keeps changing the maximum usage from 6% back to 2% every couple of days, that is not the normal behavior expected from simply creating restore points.

I'd like to narrow down whether Windows is changing the setting or if the shadow storage allocation itself is being modified.

Please open an elevated Command Prompt and run: vssadmin list shadowstorage

Then post the complete output.

Also, when the issue occurs again and you see that Max Usage has returned to 2%, please check whether the value is still displayed as 2% in:

Control Panel > System > System Protection > Configure

Once we have the vssadmin output, I can determine the next troubleshooting step rather than guessing at the cause.

7 svar

Dit svar

Dennis Nørgaard Andersen 20 Omdømmepoint

2026-07-16T02:12:41.87+00:00

Im only using system protection no other software or windows tool.

Every time it gives me the error wich is every 2 day i create a new system protection point.

Every 2nd day it changds my max usage from 6 % to 2 %
Sin-D 11,270 Omdømmepoint Eksternt Microsoft-personale Redaktør

2026-07-16T07:23:55.38+00:00

Hi Dennis Nørgaard Andersen,

Thanks for your response. Since you've confirmed you're only using System Protection and Windows keeps changing the maximum usage from 6% back to 2% every couple of days, that is not the normal behavior expected from simply creating restore points.

I'd like to narrow down whether Windows is changing the setting or if the shadow storage allocation itself is being modified.

Please open an elevated Command Prompt and run: vssadmin list shadowstorage

Then post the complete output.

Also, when the issue occurs again and you see that Max Usage has returned to 2%, please check whether the value is still displayed as 2% in:

Control Panel > System > System Protection > Configure

Once we have the vssadmin output, I can determine the next troubleshooting step rather than guessing at the cause.

Answer 1

Dennis Nørgaard Andersen 20

I did that last night and now i have to see if it works in the next couple of days.

I alse did with

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

sfc /scannow

So now i have to wait and see 😀

Sin-D 11,270 Omdømmepoint Eksternt Microsoft-personale Redaktør

2026-07-21T03:49:00.3566667+00:00

Hi Dennis Nørgaard Andersen,

I understand. Thank you for the update.

At this point, the best course of action is to monitor the system for the next few days and see whether the Max Usage setting remains at 6% or is automatically reduced back to 2% again.

If the issue does not return, it may have been caused by a temporary corruption in the System Protection or shadow-copy configuration.

Thank you for taking the time to test these steps, and I look forward to hearing how it behaves over the next few days.

Answer 2

Dennis Nørgaard Andersen 20

Didnt i akready do that?

Sin-D 11,270 Omdømmepoint Eksternt Microsoft-personale Redaktør

2026-07-19T07:38:56.8633333+00:00
Hi Dennis Nørgaard Andersen,

The command you already ran provided the information I needed. Thank you for posting the output.

To help determine what is resetting the value, could you check the following:

Open Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc).

Navigate to Windows Logs > Application.

Look for recent VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) or System Restore (SR) events around the time the setting changes from 6% to 2%.

If you find any warnings or errors, please share the Event ID and description.

Answer 3

Dennis Nørgaard Andersen 20

Shadow Copy Storage association

For volume: (C:)\?\Volume{7ed966b5-b428-4060-81ff-08743381a519}\

Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\?\Volume{7ed966b5-b428-4060-81ff-08743381a519}\

Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 2,88 GB (0%)

Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 4,48 GB (0%)

Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 37,2 GB (1%)

this is what came up when typing the command line you gave me earlier

Sin-D 11,270 Omdømmepoint Eksternt Microsoft-personale Redaktør

2026-07-19T01:22:11.3766667+00:00
Hi Dennis Nørgaard Andersen,

Thanks for your updates.

At this point, I'd like to narrow down whether Windows is automatically resizing the shadow storage or whether the configuration is being reset.

Please open an elevated Command Prompt and run: vssadmin list volumes

Then identify the entry corresponding to C: and post the output.

Also, please check:

Press Windows + R

Type taskschd.msc

Navigate to Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > SystemRestore

How many tasks are listed there, and are any of them showing recent run times around the period when the storage limit changes?

Answer 4

Dennis Nørgaard Andersen 20

Ill do that when i get home from work

Sin-D 11,270 Omdømmepoint Eksternt Microsoft-personale Redaktør

2026-07-16T08:17:01.0966667+00:00

Hi Dennis Nørgaard Andersen,

Please take your time and feel free to try it when you have some free time. I look forward to your update.

Answer 5

Disclaimer: you're posting on a Danish locale forum and using another language, therefore I will engage using the same language as the original post.

Hi Dennis Nørgaard Andersen,

I understand why this is concerning, especially since you did not see this warning before and you've already allocated a significant amount of storage space for System Protection.

When Windows detects system image backup data on the same drive, it warns that older restore points may be removed sooner than expected. This behavior is by design and has existed in previous Windows versions as well.

Since you mentioned that the allocated space drops from approximately 111 GB (6%) to 37 GB (2%), I'd like to narrow down what changed:

Are you currently using any backup software, such as Windows Backup, Macrium Reflect, Acronis, Samsung software, or another imaging tool?
Have you recently created a system image backup or restored one?
Did this start after a Windows update, or did it appear without any obvious change?

In the meantime, if you're using only Windows' built-in features, please check the current System Protection configuration:

Press Windows + R.
Type SystemPropertiesProtection and press Enter.
Select the C: drive and click "Configure".
Verify whether "Max Usage" still shows your preferred value (6%) or if Windows has reduced it.

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