You must have stored important and personal data on your system. Also, you might get worried if something goes wrong with the system, you may lose your data. However, you have a system image backup option available. It takes backup of the whole system so that at the time of recovery, you get your system back the way it was. However, while backing up using this tool, people have encountered an error “there is not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy on the storage location.”

image error

The reason could be the low system reserved space on your PC. Not to worry at all, as you will learn all possible methods to fix this problem. Also, with that error, there is another error message that you might have come across “Windows Backup Image Error 0x80780119,” or the backup failed. You can apply the same solution to fix these errors as well. 

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7 Methods To Solve ‘There Is Not Enough Disk Space To Create The Volume Shadow Copy On The Storage Location’ Error

You can solve these errors with the help of these seven methods. Try them and see if you are able to take backup. Stay tuned to know how all these methods actually work.

New System Volume

You need to create a new system volume when the windows backup does not have enough space for a shadow copy. Follow the below steps to create one.

  1. In the search bar near Windows Icon, type Command Prompt. Right-click on the Command Prompt option and open as Administrator.
  2. You need to type the command bcdboot.exe /s C:\Windows /s F in the prompt. The F: will be the new partition. You can use any drive of your choice.command prompt
  3. After executing the above command, type another command diskpart to access the diskpart tool.
  4. Now you need to activate the new partition created as the main system reserved using the command:select volume Factive
  5. After pressing the enter key, you need to reboot your system.

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Use A Third-party Tool 

If the above method couldn’t solve the error, “there is not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy on the storage location.” You should try a third-party tool to create a new system volume.

  1. You need to download, install, and then open AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard.
  2. Now right-click on the C: drive and select Resize Partition.
  3. Move and Resize Partition window will open up.resize partition
  4. Now check the box I need to move this partition option.
  5. Either drag the slider bar from left to right, or you can specify the amount of space in the Partition Size option to increase it and click on the ok button.
  6. In the main interface, you will see that there is unallocated space between the System Reserved partition and C: drive.
  7. Now repeat step 2 with System Reserved Partition.
  8. A window will pop up where you need to move the slider bar to the right and click on the ok button.
  9. Now simply click on the Apply button, and your system will restart as the program needs to implement the changes in PreOS Mode.

Run Disk Cleanup

Cleaning up the disk can fix a lot of issues in your system. It has temp files that take space in the drive. Try to fix the error “there is not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy on the storage location.”

  1. Type Disk Cleanup in the search bar.
  2. Open Disk Cleanup.
  3. Now it will show you how much you can free up.
  4. Another dialogue box will appear after calculation.
  5. Check mark the Temporary files box. You can select other boxes if you want to delete them from other locations as well.disk cleanup
  6. Now click on Cleanup system files.
  7. The same dialogue box will show up again, stating how much space could be freed up.
  8. You need again select the options same as step 5.
  9. Click on Ok. A prompt will show up to confirm the deletion. Click on Delete Files.
  10. Now within a few minutes, it will delete unnecessary files.

Using The chkdsk Command

On the disk, there might be bad sectors or have errors in there. To check chkdsk insufficient disk space, the steps below will fix the sectors and errors, if any. 

  1. In the search bar near Windows Icon, type Command Prompt. Right-click on the Command Prompt option to open with the Administrator rights.
  2. Run the command, and you will be running this command for drive C:chkdsk C: /f /r /xchkdsk
  3. This will repair the bad sectors on the drive. Wait till it fixes the errors and sectors.
  4. After the process is finished, reboot your system.

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Clearing The Current USN Journal

This method might be the one to solve the error “there is not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy on the storage location.” Go through each step and then try to check if it is fixed.

  1. In the search bar near Windows Icon, type Disk Management and open it.disk management
  2. Now, right-click on the System Reserved volume and select the Change Drive Letter and Paths… option.change drive letter
  3. Now, you need to click on the Change button and then select the Assign the following drive letter: option.assign the letter
  4. Select a new drive letter for the reserved partition, and click on the OK button.
  5. Now you should close the Disk Management window.
  6. In the search bar near Windows Icon, type Command Prompt. Right-click on the Command Prompt option to open with the Administrator rights.
  7. Now, type the below command and then press Enter key:fsutil usn queryjournal F:fsutil usn deletejournal /N /D F:
  8. Now you should restart your PC.

Enable System Protection

You must also check if the system protection is enabled or not. And that could be the reason that window backup says not enough space. Follow the below steps to check if the system protection option is enabled.

  1. Right-click the Windows icon or press Windows + R to open the Run window.
  2. In the text field, type sysdm.cpl to open the System Properties window.run dialog
  3. Now you need to select the C drive from the list of categories in the System Protection tab.configure
  4. Click on the configure button below the list.turn on system protection
  5. Now select the Turn on System Protection option or slide the Max Usage bar as per your choice and click ok.

Update Disk Driver

The final method that you can try is to update the disk driver for shadow backup.

  1. In the search bar near Windows Icon, type Device Manager and open it.device manager
  2. Navigate to the Disk drives option and right-click on your hard disk.
  3. Select the Update driver option from the list of options.update driver
  4. Next, you need to select the Search automatically for drivers option from the prompt.search automatically for driver
  5. Now Windows will start updating your disk drivers.

FAQs

How much space is needed for shadow copies?

By default it is 10% of the drive but this is a variable amount depending on the size of the drive or volume.

Where are volume shadow copies on the system?

Volume shared copies can be found locally at the root of the Windows volume in the System Volume Information folder.

Is it safe to disable or delete volume shadow copies?

It is the user's choice, you can delete the volume shadow copy if you don't need the back ups and your system is in good shape. It is not recommended to disable them as they are backup safety nets.

Conclusion

All these resolutions are applicable to the error message “there is not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy on the storage location.” Try another fix if the previous one couldn’t solve the issue. One of them will definitely help you take system image backup.

Another simple solution is to use trusted free backup software. It will save you a lot of time spent fixing the error. Your data will be safe, and you do not need to worry about losing anything.

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