Numerous restore points problems

[Guest]

Hi All,
Had to disable system restore while getting rid of a trojan, all was clean
but when I turned back on S/R, numerous restore points were being created
making me defrag every 3 days or so. Turned it back off again, today put it
back and it has created 4 since early this evening. They show 'Windows
Defender Check Point' and when I move my mouse curser over one it
shows"Restores your computer to a point before this programme was removed"? I
am running XP Prof. Def Beta 2 with no problems. Any ideas folks.

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

It is possible to stop this activity, but it takes some care and registry
editing.

Important This message contains information about how to modify the
registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure
that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more
information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click
the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
256986 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986/) Description of the
Microsoft Windows registry

Start, run, Regedit <enter>

Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan

Right click that folder in the left tree view, and choose "Permissions"
With your username highlighted, click Full Control in the Allow column, and
"Apply"

With the Scan folder highlighted choose:

Edit, New, DWORD value, and type in "DisableRestorePoint"
and hit enter.

Double-click DisableRestorePoint in the right column, and set the Value to
1, hexadecimal.

Right-click Scan in the left tree view, and choose "Permissions"
With your username highlighted, Uncheck "Full Control" in the Allow column,
and "Apply"

Close the registry editor by hitting the X in the upper right corner, or
File, Exit.

(Unprofessional aside follows:
by golly, I'm gonna get to write a KB article yet!)

 

[Guest]

Thanks Bill,
I can do lots on the computer but one thing I am not confident with is
editing the Reg'y. I think I will just have to uninstall Defender to stop
this problem which is a shame as it was working fine. One thought though,
what if after I uninstall, I do a complete new download, might this not sort
it?

 

[Bill Sanderson MVP]

I don't have a full understanding of the root cause of these restore
points--I don't see them on the systems I work with so far. My impression
is that it is an interaction with other software. I suspect that
reinstalling won't change things, and I believe that a registry edit will
always be necessary for this particular change to functionality.

(And I don't blame you a bit for not wanting to try that--it's stickier than
the average registry edit!)

--

 

[Guest]

I will uninstall it then and wait to see if an updated version comes out in
the future which maybe fixes this particular issue. I would certainly try it
again as it is a good piece of kit with lots of potential. Many thanks for
your help.