Unable to Change Permissions on a Volume with 0 Bytes of Free Space (4378142)

If a volume has no free space left, you might encounter difficulties modifying permissions on certain folders, such as the System Volume Information folder. This folder is essential for system operations and may need access for specific tasks, like deleting Rapid Recovery change logs (AALogs) or other metadata. For details, refer to How to Delete AALogs (4033577).

The file system cannot update metadata, such as Access Control Lists (ACLs) when there is no free space on a volume. As a result, modifying permissions becomes impossible. Additionally, the System Volume Information folder is typically owned by the SYSTEM account, which restricts access to it by default, even for administrators.

You can bypass permission changes and access the folder directly as the SYSTEM user by using PsExec. Follow these steps:

1. Download PsExec:

   • Visit the official Sysinternals page to download PsExec.

   • Extract the PsExec executable to a folder on your local machine.

2. Prepare PsExec:

   • Unblock the file by right-clicking, selecting Properties, and checking Unblock if the file is blocked.

3. Open an Elevated Command Prompt:

   • Launch the command prompt as an administrator.

   • Navigate to the folder containing PsExec using the cd command. For example:

     cd C:\Users\YourUsername\Downloads\PsTools

4. Run PsExec as SYSTEM:

   • Enter the following command to open a new command prompt with SYSTEM privileges:

     psexec -i -s cmd.exe

   • Agree to the license terms if prompted.

5. Access the System Volume Information Folder:

   • In the SYSTEM-level command prompt, navigate to the folder by typing:

     cd <Drive_Letter>\System Volume Information

6. Perform Necessary Actions:

   • Remove unwanted files, such as AALogs or other unneeded items.

7. Free Up Space:

   • Delete additional unnecessary files from the volume to prevent similar issues in the future.

References

• How to Delete AALogs (4033577)

• Download PsExec from Sysinternals