Windows 7 VSS Overhead???

DShuck · 27 Jun 2011

Hello:

VSS seems to make a lot of sense but I have always wondered about the HD Overhead Cost that VSS imposes. For example on a PC or Notebook with a 500GB HD running Windows 7 Ultimate (64) how much additional HD space will be consumed by turning on VSS -vs- leaving it turned off? If the OS fills roughly 50 GB and applications & files fill another 150 GB then there is roughly 250+GB of HD space left available. How much of that remaining "free space" would be eaten up by VSS (on average)?

Best regards,
Doug

Brink · 27 Jun 2011

Hello Doug,

That would depend on how much maximum space you set to allow system protection to use for the HDD.

System Protection - Change Disk Space Usage

Hope this helps,
Shawn

kado897 · 27 Jun 2011

I really would turn it on. It has saved my bacon more than once.

DShuck · 27 Jun 2011

Thanks Shawn (Brink) & Kado

Is there a good pro's & con's document available on VSS? I have looked at much of what is on the MS Support Site but I am looking for something more in the line of a technical risk-vs-benefits analyses.

Thanks again!

Brink · 27 Jun 2011

That's really only something that you could weigh if you wanted to take the risk of not having a restore point to gain additional HDD free space or not.

If you keep updated system images, then you may not need it.

If you would like to have a very quick way of undoing a mistake made to system files or the registry without having to do a system image recovery, then a restore point could be handy to have. In addition, system protection could help you restore previous versions of files in a pinch as well. Such as accidentally deleting it.

kado897 · 28 Jun 2011

There are a number of advantages of System Recovery (VSS) over System Restore from a backup..

1. Restore points are automatically taken at critical events. Updates and installs etc. Windows ensures that at least one RP is taken each week.

2. Shadow copies are incremental. Only changed blocks are saved. OK that is on the primary volume rather than the backup volume. On my system 10% of the volume is allocated to SR. That is enough to give me 20 RPs.

3. System Recovery does not overwrite user data.

4. System Recovery is much quicker. You can be back up in five minutes.

5. As Shawn says you also get "Previous Versions".

DShuck · 28 Jun 2011

Thanks!

kado897 · 28 Jun 2011

I hope we were of some help DShuck.

Brink · 28 Jun 2011

You're welcome. I hope that we were able to help you make a decision on it. :)