diff --git a/beets/config_default.yaml b/beets/config_default.yaml
index a466a63ef..2ed50127c 100644
--- a/beets/config_default.yaml
+++ b/beets/config_default.yaml
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import:
     default_action: apply
 
 clutter: ["Thumbs.DB", ".DS_Store"]
-ignore: [".*", "*~"]
+ignore: [".*", "*~", "System Volume Information"]
 replace:
     '[\\/]': _
     '^\.': _
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index d839e09e9..858790d4d 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ Changelog
 * When the importer encounters an error (insufficient permissions, for
   example) when walking a directory tree, it now logs an error instead of
   crashing.
+* Add "System Volume Information" (an internal directory found on some
+  Windows filesystems) to the default ignore list.
 * Fix a crash when iTunes Sound Check tags contained invalid data.
 * Fix an error when the configuration file (``config.yaml``) is completely
   empty.
diff --git a/docs/reference/config.rst b/docs/reference/config.rst
index 9417692de..655179637 100644
--- a/docs/reference/config.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/config.rst
@@ -68,9 +68,10 @@ so::
 ignore
 ~~~~~~
 
-A space-separated list of glob patterns specifying file and directory names
-to be ignored when importing. Defaults to ``.* *~`` (i.e., ignore
-Unix-style hidden files and backup files).
+A list of glob patterns specifying file and directory names to be ignored when
+importing. By default, this consists of ``.*``,  ``*~``, and ``System Volume
+Information`` (i.e., beets ignores Unix-style hidden files, backup files, and
+a directory that appears at the root of some Windows filesystems).
 
 .. _replace: