No early system restore points

[Lindsay Graham]

I've had an EeePC netbook with Win XP Home SP3 for just over 2 years. A
long time ago, hibernate stopped working -- I was told to do a system
restore, but that never happened as I was then only using it
intermittently. Now that I'm using it more regularly, hibernate still
does not work and the computer is gradually but inexorably slowing down,
to the point that it is now very frustrating to use.

Is System Restore likely to provide a solution? Why do I not seem to
have any System Restore points that are older than 3 months?

Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia

 

[123Jim]

I've had an EeePC netbook with Win XP Home SP3 for just over 2 years. A
long time ago, hibernate stopped working -- I was told to do a system
restore, but that never happened as I was then only using it
intermittently. Now that I'm using it more regularly, hibernate still
does not work and the computer is gradually but inexorably slowing down,
to the point that it is now very frustrating to use.

Is System Restore likely to provide a solution? Why do I not seem to have
any System Restore points that are older than 3 months?

System restore overwrites older restore points based on the amount of disk
space allocated for the system restore points.

You say you have three months of system restore .. but you say: system
restore does not work. Do you mean you can't restore your system to any of
those three months of restore points? (I have seen this often enough - the
solution is usually to restore in safe mode).

If you can restore in safe mode but still find that your system is slow ..
You need to look at things like: 1 - is your system malware free?, 2 - Which
programs are starting when you boot up? (and which ones you don't need),
- Do you need more RAM? 4 - Have you enough free disk space?

 

[James Silverton]

123Jim wrote on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:57:07 +0100:

System restore overwrites older restore points based on the
amount of disk space allocated for the system restore points.

That is a very important consideration and you can change the allocation
if you think you don't have enough restore points.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

 

[Unknown]

When was last time you ran disk cleanup?

 

[Billns]

I've had an EeePC netbook with Win XP Home SP3 for just over 2 years. A
long time ago, hibernate stopped working -- I was told to do a system
restore, but that never happened as I was then only using it
intermittently. Now that I'm using it more regularly, hibernate still
does not work and the computer is gradually but inexorably slowing down,
to the point that it is now very frustrating to use.

Is System Restore likely to provide a solution? Why do I not seem to
have any System Restore points that are older than 3 months?

Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia

I wouldn't trust system restore points that are three months old anyway.

System Restore is not a panacea. Use a backup program, preferably to an
external hard disk.

Bill

 

[Lindsay Graham]

System restore overwrites older restore points based on the amount of disk
space allocated for the system restore points.

You say you have three months of system restore .. but you say: system
restore does not work. Do you mean you can't restore your system to any of
those three months of restore points? (I have seen this often enough - the
solution is usually to restore in safe mode).

If you can restore in safe mode but still find that your system is slow ..
You need to look at things like: 1 - is your system malware free?, 2 - Which
programs are starting when you boot up? (and which ones you don't need),
- Do you need more RAM? 4 - Have you enough free disk space?

I did not say system restore does not work -- I've never tried to do a
system restore, but I now want to. If system restore will solve the
hibernation problem, then presumably I would need a system restore point
that predates the emergence of that problem, which was much more than 3
months ago. Is there any other way of accessing system restore points
older than those shown?

1. I believe my system to be malware free.
2. No programs (at least no visible ones) start when I boot up.
3. I don't think I need more RAM (the netbook came with 1GB, and I
doubt it would be possible to install more).
4. Yes -- C:\ drive has 51GB free, D:\ drive has 22GB free.

Lindsay Graham

 

[Lindsay Graham]

123Jim wrote on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:57:07 +0100:



That is a very important consideration and you can change the allocation
if you think you don't have enough restore points.

Yes, but that does not seem to help my current problem. It's not that I
don't have enough, I don't have any that are more than 3 months ago.

Lindsay Graham

 

[Lindsay Graham]

I wouldn't trust system restore points that are three months old anyway.

System Restore is not a panacea. Use a backup program, preferably to an
external hard disk.

Bill

Why would you not trust older system restore points?

I backup regularly to an external hard disk. But how is that relevant
to my question?

Lindsay Graham

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I've had an EeePC netbook with Win XP Home SP3 for just over 2
years. A long time ago, hibernate stopped working -- I was told to
do a system restore, but that never happened as I was then only
using it intermittently. Now that I'm using it more regularly,
hibernate still does not work and the computer is gradually but
inexorably slowing down, to the point that it is now very
frustrating to use.
Is System Restore likely to provide a solution? Why do I not seem
to have any System Restore points that are older than 3 months?

Lindsay Graham
Canberra, Australia

Having read the other responses and your responses to some of them - and
knowing what a System Restore Point will have in it - I can tell you that if
you need one that is 3+ months old - it's too late and you are better off
fixing the problem as opposed to trying to restore to that point. To me -
especially in XP - a few days restore should be more than enough. Anything
beyond that it is better to diagnose and reolve the issue in another manner.

Why - you might ask - do I feel this way?

System Restore is not a cure-all and it only backs up the *system* files.
Your files - the ones that most people actually care about and truly the
only ones that matter since the others should be reproducable on a multitude
of other systems over and over without a single backup - system restore
could care less about (although it can devestate those if stored in
particular areas as well.)

So - System Restore should be used sparingly - and after 3 months - so many
changes have probably been made (applications updated, system files (DLLs
and the likes) updated by Microsoft, registry entries for applications
installed, uninstalled, updated and such modified/removed/added that a
System Restore Point that old would likely cause more stuff to fail while
trying to fix a simple (and pointless in comparison usually) issue.

Personally - I don't recommend hibernation - particularly in XP - as my
tests generally have show that a total shutdown and later power-on is about
the same time taken as a full functional recovery (network connectivity and
all) from a hibernation. Many people would argue this point - and I guess
hibernation has its place if you need to leave work open - but I have always
found that idea pretty strange as well - considering saving is the agreed
upon better option. Now this is all my experience over many different
machines (hardware-wise) - and is *just* my opinion. I still - to this
day - do not turn hibernation on any machine I setup (generally I turn it
off completely.) Not green? Possibly - but I don't think so.

In any case - System Restore is made for those "oops" moments realized in a
short period of time. Anything past a short period of time should be done
with actual system backups, disk images, etc - not System Restore. IMHO.

If your problem is your hibernation - my suggestions are:

- update all your hardware device drivers (motherboard chipset, video
device(s), network device(s), audio device(s)) and your system BIOS to the
latest version from EACH corresponding device manufacturer (or if a
third-tier product like Dell, HP, Lenovo, Gateway, etc - from the
make/model/serial number web page for your particular system.)

- Cleanup the system with the following steps - based on where you posted -
exactly:
(Seem like a lot? It is - but your system will be cleaner and may act right
afterwards. Some of it basic maintenance would prevent the need for; some
of it *is* basic maintenance. Like changing the oil in a vehicle, taking
out the trash from your home, picking up your mail...)

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Empty your recycle bin.

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

If you are comfortable with the stability of your system, you can delete the
uninstall files for the patches that Windows XP has installed...
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/spack.htm
( Particularly of interest here - #4 )
( Alternative: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_hotfix_backup.htm )

You can run Disk Cleanup - built into Windows XP - to erase all but your
latest restore point and cleanup even more "loose files"...
(You don't *have* to do the first part right now - the restore point thing
- based on your posting, you may feel uncomfortable doing this -
although it is highly unlikely you would have the ones you seem to want
and everyone is telling you you are better off not using if you did
anyway...)

How to use Disk Cleanup
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312

Clear out your Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files (all of them,
cookies, caches, etc.) (Instructions depend on IE Version. Want them?
Come back and give that information. ;-) )

You should now perform a full CHKDSK on your system drive (C...

How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time and a reboot

You should now perform a full Defragment on your system drive (C...

How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

Uninstall any and all third-party firewall applications (ZoneAlarm, etc)
and utilize the built-in Windows Firewall only.

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
(freeware version):

SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
(freeware version):

MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Fix your file/registry permissions...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under "Advanced Troubleshooting"
titled, "Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time
** Ignore the last step - you likely (hopefully) have SP3 already...

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/...6F-60B6-4412-95B9-54D056D6F9F4&displaylang=en

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Download the latest version of the Windows Update agent from here (x86):
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
.... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving it to the root
of the C:\ drive, do the following:

Close all Internet Explorer windows and other applications.

Start button --> RUN and type in:
%SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
--> Click OK.

(If asked, select "Run.) --> Click on NEXT --> Select "I agree" and click on
NEXT --> When it finishes installing, click on "Finish"...

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Visit this web page:

How do I reset Windows Update components?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

.... and click on the "Microsoft Fix it" icon. When asked, select "RUN",
both times. Check the "I agree" box and click on "Next". Check the box
for "Run aggressive options (not recommended)" and click "Next". Let
it finish up and follow the prompts until it is done. Close/exit.

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

Visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select to do a
CUSTOM scan...

Every time you are about to click on something while at these web pages -
first press and hold down the CTRL key while you click on it. You can
release the CTRL key after clicking each time.

Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high priority updates
(deselect any others) and install it.

Reboot and logon as administrative user.

If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no more than 3-5 at a
time. Rebooting as needed.

The Optional Software updates are generally safe - although I recommend
against the "Windows Search" one and any of the "Office Live" ones or
"Windows Live" ones for now. I would completely avoid the
Optional Hardware updates. Also - I do not see any urgent need to install
Internet Explorer 8 at this time. (If you already have it - so be it...)

Come back - especially if you get stuck someplace, but even if you don't -
and let everyone know how it turns out.

 

[Daave]

Why would you not trust older system restore points?

I backup regularly to an external hard disk. But how is that relevant
to my question?

The further back in time you go, the more useless System Restore is.
Even if you could go back six months or two years, you wouldn't want to.
So much has changed in your system over time -- installing new programs
and maybe drivers and so many updates. SR is really only good for a new
problem and if you go back only a short period of time. Otherwise,
instability would surely occur.

Right now, you should first address your performance problem. After
that, you can address the hibernation issue.

So to answer your original question, the answer is no, SR is not likely
to provide a solution.

If you're ready to address your performance issue, it might be best to
start a fresh thread and include all pertinent information, including:

1. the specs of your PC, especially the amount of RAM

2. the size of hard drive and amount of free space

3. the malware status of your PC (malware is the most common cause of
sluggishness)

4. list all your security programs/suites (many of these also ironically
contribute to sluggishness)

Do you merely back up *data* to an external drive or do you perhaps save
images of your hard drive to it? (If the latter, restoring an image from
a time prior to your problems would probably solve your problem -- think
of it as System Restore the way it really should be! Just make sure all
the data created after that image was made is also backed up.)

 

[Lindsay Graham]

Do you have it set up to hibernate when you close the lid? .. in any case ..
if it does not hibernate then some program is stopping it from hibernating
.. but which one? ....

Before your close the lid or leave it to hibernate check 'task manager' ..
(right click task bar > choose task manager) Look in the processes tab,
click to order the tasks on 'most active on top' by clicking CPU (once,
maybe once more) .. now observe .. Which process is using the CPU? it is
likely that this is the process that is preventing your system from
hibernating. When you discover that, you can stop that program, either from
starting at all, or before you want your system to hibernate. (I find that
some java applets in the browser can prevent my system from hibernating)

Thanks very much for your reply, 123Jim. As others have indicated, it
would have been better if I'd started different threads for the
restore/hibernate and slow system problems. So, I'll deal only with the
hibernation problem in this thread, and start another (if I need to) for
the slow system problem.

First, I should describe the hibernation problem better. If I attempt
to hibernate (either from the "Start" menu or by closing the lid), WinXP
says it is hibernating. But when I turn the netbook on again, I get the
blue screen error message "Last attempt to restart the system from its
previous location failed. Attempt to restart again?"

The 2 options provided in this error message are:
1. Delete restoration data and proceed to system boot menu.
2. Continue with system restart.

Option 1 always loops back to the same error message. Option 2 starts
the computer but does not bring up any of the programs that were open
when I attempted to hibernate.

After the restart, Windows Error Reporting says "Stop (blue screen)
error caused by a device or driver." I have followed the suggested
trouble-shooting steps in the past to no avail. However, I will do that
again now and, if necessary, check the Task Manager as 123Jim suggests
above. I'll report back on the results.

Lindsay Graham

 

[Billns]

Why would you not trust older system restore points?

I backup regularly to an external hard disk. But how is that relevant to
my question?

Lindsay Graham

Daave has pretty much answered both of your questions in detail and has
offered an excellent method to address your performance problems.

If you don't have an image disk from before you started having problems,
a clean install of Windows may be in order.

Bill

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Sheenan, FYI:

The link to the Windows installer cleanup utility you give no
longer leads to that app. It now refers to uninstalling Office,
with a fixit. It also explains that msicuu2.exe has been withdrawn
and is no longer available from MS download (though one can still
download it elsewhere).

Jeaan (*grin*):

Thanks. I see it was updated *today*. Sheesh.
(Last Review: June 29, 2010 - Revision: 12.0)

Thanks for the heads up. I guess it *could* cause issues if used
incorrectly.