Help - Restore Point File Location \ Cleaning

  • Thread starter Thread starter WillW
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WillW

At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the size of your
Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file. Could someone
please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP and the best way to
clean it out. Is it possible to clean everything out but the last month of
restore points?
 
Go to Disk Cleanup then more options, one of the choices is remove all but
most recent restore point.
Hope that is what you are looking for.
Chris
 
Yes, no, sorta. ;)

Here's the simple way...

Start > all Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup, when it
loads, chose "More Options."

Here, you can choose to delete all but the most recent restore points, it
says, but it seems to leave only the most recent, though perhaps this
depends on the size of your restore points.

You can also limit the number of restore points saved, by right clicking MY
COMPUTER, choosing PROPERTIES, choose SYSTEM RESTORE , then sliding the bar
to the left or right.

The actual restore points are in a hidden, protected area (c:\system volume
information) that is not easily accessible --especially if you chose the
default ntfs file system (kind of redundant that).

You could actually do it manually, but it's more trouble than its worth.
Simply reduce the space allocated, and windows will clear the older ones for
you. Experiment until you get a happy place. You can check how many restore
points you have by going to Start > Help and Support, and choosing UNDO
CHANGES TO YOUR COMPUTER....
 
Thanks for all the great input.

Here is some additional input that I received for Microsoft Online Support.

Yes. The Restore Point files are in the System Volume
Information\_Restore{GUID} folder. Because System Restore will purge the
Restore Point files Automat ally, it appears that it is not necessary to
clean out the file periodically. If needed, you may refer to the following
MS KB article to get access the System Volume Information folder if the
file system is NTFS.

309531 How to Gain Access to the System Volume Information Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=309531

After opening the System Volume Information\_restore{GUID} folder, you may
notice that there may be one or more folders starting with RP<x> under this
folder. These are the restore points. From the Modified Date of each
folder, you will know the date the Restore Points were created. You can
then delete the Restore Points which you think that it is too old.


Also, by setting the RPLifeInterval registry value under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRes,
you may request the system to delete the Restore Points which are older
than 30 days. This value specifies, in seconds, the restore points Time to
Live (TTL). When a restore point reaches this time and it is still on the
system, it gets deleted. The default value is (7776000), which will be 90
days. You can change the value data from Hex 0076a700 = 7776000 seconds =
90 days to Hex: 00278d00 = 2592000 seconds = 30 days.

For more information, please refer to the following MS KB article:

295659 The Registry Keys and Values for the System Restore Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=295659


Hope the suggestion is useful!
 
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