Finding Restore Point

[E/B]

How do I locate (for info purposes only) the details of the last Restore
Point I created?

MS KB article 301224 implies I need to actually proceed as tho' doing a
restore at Sys Tools/Sys Restore/ "restore my computer to an earlier time"
before I can view the information. Correct? (Wouldn't want to commit to an
unintended/unneeded Restore).

Is my memory correct when I remember seeing a reference to default time
limit of 90 days on a Restore Point at which time it goes up in smoke? If
correct some of we aged need to record the date (somewhere) to ensure the
existence of an active point.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

What details are you looking for?

Yes, SR checkpoints - by default - are automatically deleted after 90 days.

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Rock]

How do I locate (for info purposes only) the details of the last Restore
Point I created?

MS KB article 301224 implies I need to actually proceed as tho' doing a
restore at Sys Tools/Sys Restore/ "restore my computer to an earlier time"
before I can view the information. Correct? (Wouldn't want to commit to an
unintended/unneeded Restore).

Is my memory correct when I remember seeing a reference to default time
limit of 90 days on a Restore Point at which time it goes up in smoke? If
correct some of we aged need to record the date (somewhere) to ensure the
existence of an active point.

Thanks in advance.

As a matter of practicality there is no point in having restore points
that go back 90 days. You would have made so many changes in the
interim that it is next to useless, and the chance of corruption is that
much more so it won't work at all. You know SR is not a backup
solution, so it doesn't restore your system to where it was 90 days ago.
Only certain files are monitored. SR is good for the short term, 2 -
3 weeks at most, to correct an oops or reverse a bad software install or
registry tweak, etc. You should decrease the amount of space allocated
to SR so it holds only 2-3 weeks worth, say about 1024 MB.

 

[Will Denny]

As a matter of practicality there is no point in having restore points
that go back 90 days. You would have made so many changes in the interim
that it is next to useless, and the chance of corruption is that much more
so it won't work at all. You know SR is not a backup solution, so it
doesn't restore your system to where it was 90 days ago. Only certain
files are monitored. SR is good for the short term, 2 - 3 weeks at most,
to correct an oops or reverse a bad software install or registry tweak,
etc. You should decrease the amount of space allocated to SR so it holds
only 2-3 weeks worth, say about 1024 MB.

Rock, the 90 day limit can be altered up/down via the Registry if needed.

The amount of disk space allocated to SR doesn't determine the amount of SR
checkpoints that are created, nor for how long they may go back. Different
systems will have different size checkpoints created, depending on what is
installed on that particular system - also how much installing/uninstalling
is done. I set SR to 500 MBs here - that may give me one day of checkpoints
or it may give me three days - depending.



--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Rock]

Rock, the 90 day limit can be altered up/down via the Registry if needed.

The amount of disk space allocated to SR doesn't determine the amount of SR
checkpoints that are created, nor for how long they may go back. Different
systems will have different size checkpoints created, depending on what is
installed on that particular system - also how much installing/uninstalling
is done. I set SR to 500 MBs here - that may give me one day of checkpoints
or it may give me three days - depending.

Thanks - I had forgotten about the registry setting for # of days kept.
But in practice the amount of allocated space does directly impact how
far back SR goes. You can't set it for a specific # of days, for sure,
-but the less space allocated the fewer # of points it will retain.
It's a ball park based on one's average activity of install/uninstall.
The size of the restore points on my system varies anywhere from 30+ MB
to 70+ MB, on average closer to the 40-50 MB range. At 1000 MB that's
20 points or there abouts.

 

[Will Denny]

Thanks - I had forgotten about the registry setting for # of days kept.
But in practice the amount of allocated space does directly impact how far
back SR goes. You can't set it for a specific # of days, for sure, -but
the less space allocated the fewer # of points it will retain. It's a ball
park based on one's average activity of install/uninstall. The size of the
restore points on my system varies anywhere from 30+ MB to 70+ MB, on
average closer to the 40-50 MB range. At 1000 MB that's 20 points or
there abouts.

That's the point. SR checkpoints can be different sizes - therefore you
can't say how far back those checkpoints will go. Allocating a certain
amount of disk space to SR will allow X number of checkpoints - not how far
back they will go. One day, two days, a month - it all depends.

Again the number of checkpoints can't be accessed as that will depend on how
many files/folders are being monitored in 'filelist.xml'.


--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Alex Nichol]

How do I locate (for info purposes only) the details of the last Restore
Point I created?

MS KB article 301224 implies I need to actually proceed as tho' doing a
restore at Sys Tools/Sys Restore/ "restore my computer to an earlier time"
before I can view the information. Correct? (Wouldn't want to commit to an
unintended/unneeded Restore).

Is my memory correct when I remember seeing a reference to default time
limit of 90 days on a Restore Point at which time it goes up in smoke?

System Restore is a short term matter, used to unwind problems over a
few days - up to maybe three weeks at the most. 90 days is the point at
which they will finally be dropped, but with them being made every day
automatically it is unlikely that space will allow so many to be
retained. If you run
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore
and take the option to Restore to a previous time (you need not go
through with it) the calendar there will show the days in bold for which
points are available, and highlighting such a date will give more
details on the points made that day (eg with Hotfixes or software
installations as well as the auto ones)

 

[Rock]

Will Denny wrote:

That's the point. SR checkpoints can be different sizes - therefore you
can't say how far back those checkpoints will go. Allocating a certain
amount of disk space to SR will allow X number of checkpoints - not how far
back they will go. One day, two days, a month - it all depends.

Again the number of checkpoints can't be accessed as that will depend on how
many files/folders are being monitored in 'filelist.xml'.

But it can be used as a rough guide, and as long as you're not cutting
is so short that you save just one or two points, then it doesn't make
much difference if you can go back 2 weeks vs 3 weeks.

 

[E/B]

Thanks, Alex, for the specifics about being able to access without
activating a Restore point; I have seen the calendar and all is well. Didn't
have a grasp of how SR really functions.
Guess I was looking at Sys Restore as a twin to the GoBack available with my
Norton Sys Wks (altho I choose not to install it due to a bad prior
experience that resulted in this non-tech type having to format - a chore
for the technically-challenged!).
Was particularly interested in Sys Restore as I am trying to dream-up any
possible solutions to grand daughter's computer that receives email but will
not send; dial-up ISP denies any problem at their end. (And I'm 1500 miles
away).
Thought if great-grandkids (in teens) had modified settings the Restore
would allow a return to a point prior to modifications (if they were, in
fact, really made). Hoping to point daughter toward resolution when next she
visits from nearby.
And thanks also to Rock and Will for coming to the aid.

 

[Rock]

Thanks, Alex, for the specifics about being able to access without
activating a Restore point; I have seen the calendar and all is well. Didn't
have a grasp of how SR really functions.
Guess I was looking at Sys Restore as a twin to the GoBack available with my
Norton Sys Wks (altho I choose not to install it due to a bad prior
experience that resulted in this non-tech type having to format - a chore
for the technically-challenged!).
Was particularly interested in Sys Restore as I am trying to dream-up any
possible solutions to grand daughter's computer that receives email but will
not send; dial-up ISP denies any problem at their end. (And I'm 1500 miles
away).
Thought if great-grandkids (in teens) had modified settings the Restore
would allow a return to a point prior to modifications (if they were, in
fact, really made). Hoping to point daughter toward resolution when next she
visits from nearby.
And thanks also to Rock and Will for coming to the aid.

You're welcome and good luck.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Guess I was looking at Sys Restore as a twin to the GoBack available with my
Norton Sys Wks (altho I choose not to install it due to a bad prior
experience that resulted in this non-tech type having to format - a chore
for the technically-challenged!).

They are complementary. SR is more economical in storage space, but
only deals in system components including to an extent application
components, and settings

Was particularly interested in Sys Restore as I am trying to dream-up any
possible solutions to grand daughter's computer that receives email but will
not send; dial-up ISP denies any problem at their end. (And I'm 1500 miles
away).
Thought if great-grandkids (in teens) had modified settings the Restore
would allow a return to a point prior to modifications (if they were, in
fact, really made). Hoping to point daughter toward resolution when next she
visits from nearby.

That is where it comes in very useful, especially when it makes an
'unrestore' so you can go back to the original state. The classic was
the intro video in Windows MR - 'Mom unwinds the havoc little Johnny
wreaked this morning'. And when you have installed a program for
evaluation and decided against it, uninstall and then an SR back to
before you tried it will ensure all settings are back as they should be
- including File Associations etc