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Having the System Restore turned on is one of the most important thing as it enables to restore the Windows back in time, in case of installing any new software or some virus corrupts the Windows files. But it maybe also required to delete some of the System Restore files to gain some space in the C drive.

So how to remove or delete all system restore points except the most recent one?

This guide is explained using Windows 7 and it should be the same in the case of Windows Vista.

Click start and Enter Disk Cleanup and Choose the C drive or the drive where the OS is installed.

Or right click the C Drive and choose Properties. Click Disk Cleanup from there.

It will calculate all the files that it may cleanup and you will the following Window.

Choose Clean up System files and you will get another tab with More Options. Now click More Options.

Click Clean up under System Restore and Shadow Copies. As you can read there, you can free more disk space by removing all but the most recent restore point. If you have enabled complete PC Backup images or Shadow Copies in your PC, it will also remove them except for the latest ones. Shadow Copies refer to the Volume Snapshot service (VSS) or called as Previous Versions in Windows 7 and Vista.

You will get a screen to confirm what you are about to do. There is no use to have lots of restore points especially the old ones, so it makes sense to delete and save some space. Just click Delete.

Note: You are not done yet, now click OK on the Disk Cleanup Screen. You will get another confirmation screen and Click on Delete Files.

It will run the Disk Cleanup utility along with other selections if you have chosen any. Now if you had a lot System Restore points, you can see a significant change in the free space in C drive!