How Can I Make Restore Useful?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jim evans
  • Start date Start date
J

jim evans

Every time I need to use the restore function it doesn't work.

First, I've created several restore points in the past, but after a
couple of weeks pass they disappear. Just now I went to the restore
function and there were only restore points going back about 10 days.
I tried the oldest and after it ground away and did all its stuff and
rebooted the said "Couldn't use that restore point. No changes were
made. Try another." I tried a couple of others, but I knew there was
no point, because every time I get one of those restore failures
(which is virtually every time I need them) none of the other restore
points work either.

Is there a way to make it keep a restore point I want to save for a
couple of months?

How can make the automatically saved restore points work when I need
them?

jim
 
System restore may only be asigned a small amount of your hard disk space,
how big is your drive? Each restore takes up a significant amount of disk
space, so xp will automatically delete older restore points as the preset
limit is reached. Right click 'my computer' and choose 'properties' and
click the 'system restore' tab and click 'settings'. Providing you've got a
larger HD, you should set this as max (12%) and xp will hold on to your
restore points a little longer, if it's already set at 12%, then you can't do
very much, consider using a back up routine instead
 
Jim,

SR is a nice feature, but doesn’t work very well – it’s just the way it is.
Just like Active Desktop, Hibernation, etc.
So, don’t count on it very much. :(
 
jim said:
Every time I need to use the restore function it doesn't work.

First, I've created several restore points in the past, but after a
couple of weeks pass they disappear. Just now I went to the restore
function and there were only restore points going back about 10 days.
I tried the oldest and after it ground away and did all its stuff and
rebooted the said "Couldn't use that restore point. No changes were
made. Try another." I tried a couple of others, but I knew there was
no point, because every time I get one of those restore failures
(which is virtually every time I need them) none of the other restore
points work either.

Is there a way to make it keep a restore point I want to save for a
couple of months?

How can make the automatically saved restore points work when I need
them?

jim
Click to expand...

System restore has limited usefulness beyond about two weeks. You do
know it does not restore all the files on your system and it does
nothing with data files. It saves the registry and certain system
files. It's primary use is when a _recent_ change to the system causes
problems. It does not replace a good reliable and current backup.
 
Hi Jim,

Those answers were sound advice.

To answer your other question, no, you cannot make a fixed restore point, or
save one. You should create a full backup if you want that functionality.

One reason your system volume information files might become corrupt is the
computer locking up and/or you powering it off without going through
shut-down while it's in the middle of setting a system restore point.
Unfortunately the only way to tell is to go all the way through what appears
to be a restore until you get "restore failed .. no changes were made..."

Whenever I have a power failure or have to power off without shutdown I
assume that it's corrupt until I go check the date of the most recent restore
point, about every three months more or less, I use it to restore to the most
recent point, to assure myself that it's there and it's storing usable
restore points.
I'm sure there are other ways that it gets corrupted, too.
hope this helps,
Liz
 
r said:
Jim,

SR is a nice feature, but doesn’t work very well – it’s just
the way it is. Just like Active Desktop, Hibernation, etc.
So, don’t count on it very much. :(
Click to expand...

Will you *PLEASE* stop advertising that website. The 'advice' it contains is
dangerous, misleading and just plain *WRONG*!!

If it's your site - then you have a lot to learn.
 
Rock said:
System restore has limited usefulness beyond about two weeks.
Click to expand...

Not true. I have restore points going back three months. It all depends on
the amount of space you have allocated to it. I have a 150GB hard drive, so
I've left it at the maximum (18GB). Each restore point takes about 150MB,
therefore there should be enough space for around 123 points before the
older ones are deleted. Do they work - well I recently restored back to one
at the beginning of June and had no problems. I've had this system a little
over three months.


You do
know it does not restore all the files on your system and it does
nothing with data files. It saves the registry and certain system
files. It's primary use is when a _recent_ change to the system
causes problems. It does not replace a good reliable and current
backup.
Click to expand...


This of course is completely true. That's why I have Drive Image.
 
Miss Perspicacia Tick said:
Not true. I have restore points going back three months. It all depends on
the amount of space you have allocated to it. I have a 150GB hard drive, so
I've left it at the maximum (18GB). Each restore point takes about 150MB,
therefore there should be enough space for around 123 points before the
older ones are deleted. Do they work - well I recently restored back to one
at the beginning of June and had no problems. I've had this system a little
over three months.


You do


This of course is completely true. That's why I have Drive Image.
Click to expand...

Actually each restore point's size is primarily determined by to the amount
of system changes since the last restore point was set, and the size of the
system: more programs, or changes, the bigger the registry and system folders
which are copied (called a snapshot.)

I would expect that if Jim needs to use system restore, he has made a change
to his system which has necessitated it. Although he might not have been
clear on the differences between a full backup, and using system restore, I
believe he had a valid reason to ask whether he can set a fixed restore
point, I wondered that myself the first time I needed it and my points were
corrupted. A full backup takes hours on my computer, I would rather have a
set restore point if it were feasible.

You can manually set restore points, but if you rarely add or remove
programs or change the registry, you will have many more, smaller, going back
further in history.

On my 120g hd I have 45 restore points going back 10 weeks totalling 5.24 gb
compressed to 3.03 gb actual disk space. The oldest are automatically
overwritten, and each new one is essentially an update to the previous one.
Each one has the whole registry, and any changes since the previous point.
Most of my points are between 45mb and 60mb, about once a month a large full
system shot is stored about 500mb, and the points stored after that are
updates to it. This is why when one point gets corrupted by a power failure
in the middle of setting it, all points must be purged in order to create a
new large first one again.

If a restore doesn't have the desired result of undoing recent changes deep
enough in the system, you keep going back far enough and you'll hit the large
restore point which might reset the corruption that the smaller ones didn't.
Or find it's date in the folder and pick it out of the calendar like I've
learned to do.

Liz Murphy
 
I would expect that if Jim needs to use system restore, he has made a change
to his system which has necessitated it. Although he might not have been
clear on the differences between a full backup, and using system restore, I
believe he had a valid reason to ask whether he can set a fixed restore
point, I wondered that myself the first time I needed it and my points were
corrupted. A full backup takes hours on my computer, I would rather have a
set restore point if it were feasible.
Click to expand...

Actually my reason is if restore points could be kept for longer
periods or trusted to work they can reach back further than the latest
backup. That's the problem, I backup regularly and made the latest
backup before realizing I have a problem and need to revert to a state
before the backup. I can't keep multiple complete backups of 50 gigs
of disk space.

Thanks to all who replied. I did restart the restore system but I
don't know why it was corrupted in the first place. I have a battery
backup so the system has never shutdown based on loss of power, yet
essentially every time I've needed to use a restore point they won't
work.

jim
 
Every time I need to use the restore function it doesn't work.

First, I've created several restore points in the past, but after a
couple of weeks pass they disappear. Just now I went to the restore
function and there were only restore points going back about 10 days.
I tried the oldest and after it ground away and did all its stuff and
rebooted the said "Couldn't use that restore point. No changes were
made. Try another." I tried a couple of others, but I knew there was
no point, because every time I get one of those restore failures
(which is virtually every time I need them) none of the other restore
points work either.

Is there a way to make it keep a restore point I want to save for a
couple of months?

How can make the automatically saved restore points work when I need
them?
Click to expand...

You need to increase the amount of disk space for System Restore to
work. You can do this via the System control panel, click on 'System
Restore' select a drive and then Settings, you can allocate more
space. But if you ask me this is pointless as its a waste of disk
space.

If you don`t have enough disk space then you won`t have enough restore
points.

System restore should only be used in emergencies when a normal
uninstall or removal does not work via ADd/Remove Programs or Device
Manager.

Peter Hutchison
 
Is that Elgin, Oregon?
Liz Murphy said:
Actually each restore point's size is primarily determined by to the
amount
of system changes since the last restore point was set, and the size of
the
system: more programs, or changes, the bigger the registry and system
folders
which are copied (called a snapshot.)

I would expect that if Jim needs to use system restore, he has made a
change
to his system which has necessitated it. Although he might not have been
clear on the differences between a full backup, and using system restore,
I
believe he had a valid reason to ask whether he can set a fixed restore
point, I wondered that myself the first time I needed it and my points
were
corrupted. A full backup takes hours on my computer, I would rather have a
set restore point if it were feasible.

You can manually set restore points, but if you rarely add or remove
programs or change the registry, you will have many more, smaller, going
back
further in history.

On my 120g hd I have 45 restore points going back 10 weeks totalling 5.24
gb
compressed to 3.03 gb actual disk space. The oldest are automatically
overwritten, and each new one is essentially an update to the previous
one.
Each one has the whole registry, and any changes since the previous point.
Most of my points are between 45mb and 60mb, about once a month a large
full
system shot is stored about 500mb, and the points stored after that are
updates to it. This is why when one point gets corrupted by a power
failure
in the middle of setting it, all points must be purged in order to create
a
new large first one again.

If a restore doesn't have the desired result of undoing recent changes
deep
enough in the system, you keep going back far enough and you'll hit the
large
restore point which might reset the corruption that the smaller ones
didn't.
Or find it's date in the folder and pick it out of the calendar like I've
learned to do.

Liz Murphy
Click to expand...
 
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