Will System Restore affect my personal files?

[Guest]

Hi,

In the windows help and support, it says that System Restore won't affect
personal files when restoring to that point of time. But let me give you a
scenario and hopefully someone can answer me correctly.

Scenario 1:

I just have the Crive right now to contain my files (music, movies,
documents)
Let's say I obtained all the music files I want on my laptop. And my windows
Crash and I have to reformat or "Restore" my computer to the point in time
where I didn't have the music files. Will I still have my Music Files that I
downloaded before that restore point. Or do I have to manually create the
restore point to when I have all my music downloaded so when I have to
restore it will be at that state?

Scenario 2:
I want to create a 2nd partition to have all my music files etc so when I
have to reformat the C Drive where the OS is installed, My second partition
will be left alone just like on my PC/Desktop with XP installed.

 

[Guest]

hi there
if you need to restore your c drive it will not affect your
files, system restore only restores software to a given point it should not
affect your files in docs'pictures,music ect.You would only use restore if
you have a bad problem and want to get rid of software installed that is
causing a problem.I would still be tempted to backup your files to disc
anyway to be on the safe side and also it is worthwhile creating a restore
point manualy because most restore points are created at preset time
intervals or when some programs are installed.Hope this helps

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Hi,

In the windows help and support, it says that System Restore won't affect
personal files when restoring to that point of time. But let me give you a
scenario and hopefully someone can answer me correctly.

Scenario 1:

I just have the Crive right now to contain my files (music, movies,
documents)
Let's say I obtained all the music files I want on my laptop. And my windows
Crash and I have to reformat or "Restore" my computer to the point in time
where I didn't have the music files. Will I still have my Music Files that I
downloaded before that restore point.

You say "reformat or 'Restore,' " as if they are equivalent, but they
are two very different things. If you reformat, everything, including
your music files, will be gone. If you do a System Restore, they will
still be there.

Or do I have to manually create the
restore point to when I have all my music downloaded so when I have to
restore it will be at that state?

Scenario 2:
I want to create a 2nd partition to have all my music files etc so when I
have to reformat the C Drive where the OS is installed, My second partition
will be left alone just like on my PC/Desktop with XP installed.

Yes, you can reformat the C drive and reinstall Windows, while leaving
all you music files on another partition intact.

*However* that sounds to me like you are treating that separation into
two partitions as a substitute for backing up your files. If that's
the case you are kidding yourself. Such partition separation is *not*
a substitute for backup and if the files are important to you, you
need to back them up.

It is always possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby
lightning strike, virus attack, even theft of the computer, can cause
the loss of everything on your drive, regardless of how you have it
partitioned. As has often been said, it's not a matter of whether you
will have such a problem, but when.

With adequate backup, there is no need to create such a separation of
partitions to provide the kind of protection you are looking for.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

Formating the partition Windows is installed on will erase all files on the
partition including restore points.

In scenario 2, some OEM recovery tools may re-partition the entire drive,
leaving you with no files.

The best advise it backup to removal media, in particular a set of CD/DVD's
and store them in a safe place(s).

Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.org

 

[Michael Solomon]

Hi,

In the windows help and support, it says that System Restore won't affect
personal files when restoring to that point of time. But let me give you a
scenario and hopefully someone can answer me correctly.

Scenario 1:

I just have the Crive right now to contain my files (music, movies,
documents)
Let's say I obtained all the music files I want on my laptop. And my
windows
Crash and I have to reformat or "Restore" my computer to the point in time
where I didn't have the music files. Will I still have my Music Files that
I
downloaded before that restore point. Or do I have to manually create the
restore point to when I have all my music downloaded so when I have to
restore it will be at that state?

Scenario 2:
I want to create a 2nd partition to have all my music files etc so when I
have to reformat the C Drive where the OS is installed, My second
partition
will be left alone just like on my PC/Desktop with XP installed.

Let's Start with your subject:
"Will System Restore affect my personal Files?"

It's not supposed to but it can happen so your personal files should always
be well backed up to media separate from your hard drive in case your hard
drive dies. Backing up to a separate partition is for convenience only.

Scenario 1:

If you reformat, you lose everything. If you reformat and reinstall, there
are no usable restore points to apply to this scenario. Now, if you crash
and do a System Restore back to a time prior to when you received or
otherwise created the files, it should leave them untouched and in the past,
it was best to keep them in My Documents, now, Documents or some sub-folder
of that folder to help ensure that. However, you can't be sure if you crash
that such files won't be corrupted or otherwise destroyed so regardless of
System Restore, such files should always be well backed up. It's your best
insurance against the possibility a crash will destroy the files or that
some system function such as System Restore might cause such issues.

Yes, it would be a good idea to create a manual restore point as further
protection but if you run without backup of these files, you are still at
risk of losing them.

Scenario 2:
Pretty much the same as scenario 1, running without a backup puts you at
risk. Again, System Restore might not even be the issue. Rather, the issue
that causes you to use System Restore may be the problem that actually
causes you to lose or end up with corrupted files. Nonetheless, regardless
of the source of the issue, running without a backup puts you those files at
risk.

Hence, you should always make sure your data, personal files or whatever you
wish to call them are well backed up not only to protect you in the event of
problems the might occur with System Restore but any issues you might have.

System Restore is a good first line of defense when you have a problem, it's
quick, easy and usually painless but it is a recovery tool, it is not a
backup and restore tool and it is not insurance to protect your data. It's
designed to quickly overcome a glitch that might have been caused by
something you installed, some update, an installation that has gone bad,
etc. Our responses in this thread notwithstanding, regardless of any
reassurances, if you run System Restore or any other function on your
computer or simply turn your computer on without having your personal data
backed up, you do so at your own risk.