Windows – is CBS.log file size 20 GB

disk-spacehard driveloggingwindows 8

Two days ago I had a full C: drive, after which I deleted 8 GB of data. The next day the hard drive was full again, so I continued with deleting another 5 GB, and once again the next day the disk was full.

After some searching for what caused the disk space to be filled so quickly, I used the windirstat tool to find which files took up the most space. I found out that the CBS.log file, which is located in c:\windows\logs\cbs\, is 20 GB large.

I am using Windows 8.

  • Should this file be this large, and if not, how can I reduce the size?
  • What is the purpose of this file?
  • Can I delete it?

Best Answer

That is a file that is generated by the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe).

No, it should not be that large. The CBS.persist.log should be generated when the CBS gets to be around 50 meg in size. CBS.log should be copied to cbs.persist.log and a new cbs.log file should be started.

You can try compressing the file:

  • If you right click on the CBS.log file
  • Then click on Properties
  • On the General tab, click Advanced
  • Check "Compress contents to save disk space" and click on OK

Or, if you are sure your system is running fine, you can delete this file. SFC.exe will create a new one, next time it is run. But, it could be useful for troubleshooting issues.

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