Really LONG System Restore Times on Two Computers

A

Alan

Hi JS,

Yes, I have SpyBot S&D, AVG Free 7.5, SuperAntispyware, AVG Rootkit
detection, a-squared Free, WinPatrol, Ad Aware AND Windows Defender
installed.

And, all scans I run shows that my and my son's machines are 'clean.'

Alan
 
J

JS

Please check and post back the size of the following file on your PC.
C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\filelist.xml

JS
 
J

JS

That normal and matches what is on my PC, I still would like to turn off
Automatic Updates and see what happens.
Also the default name for restore points is 'System Checkpoint' and restore
points created by Windows Updates are named
'Software Distribution Service 3.0'.

JS
 
A

Alan

JS,

Since I first posted about this situation a few days ago, I already have had
my Automatic Updates completely turned off.

Just now I also turned off WD and its auto-update feature.

I'm going to get rid of the few existing RPs that have been made since the
other day and see what happens with the size of my RPs with WD off.

I'll let you know.

Alan
 
B

Bert Kinney

Hi Alan,

Zone Alarm has has a bug that creates very large .rdb files within the
system. These .rdb files are monitored by System Restore and thus end up in
the restore points located in the System Volume Information folder, along
with other locations on the system. The best advise is to revert to an
earlier version of Zone Alarm. Then disable System Restore which will purge
all existing restore points, then turn it back on. For more information on
this subject please visit the Zone Labs User Forum.

ZA Free bloats System Restore - Beware - General - ZoneAlarm User Forum
http://forum.zonelabs.org/zonelabs/board/message?board.id=gen&message.id=34871

Now the question arises, is ZA really necessary. How does this machine
connect to the internet, DSL/Cable or Dial-up, and is there a router involved?

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

JS

The version of Zone Alarm (free) that I am using (6.5.737.000 installed in
Oct. of last year) which is two updates past the initial release of version
6.5 has caused me no problems with system restore. What version are you
using Alan?

JS
 
A

Alan

Hi JS and Bert,

I might as well answer you both in a single post.

JS, I'm using Zone Alarm version 7.0.408.000. But being the pack rat that I
am, I still have the Z/A Free version 6.5 setup file in my backups. :>

And, Bert, thanks for that link about Zone Alarm. I'm using a wireless
adapter behind a Linksys router and a Cable modem.

Alan
 
J

JS

Bert, Alan
Well I guess it can't hurt to try the latest version of Zone Alarm (free)
available on their web site. I'll report back any findings.

JS
 
Z

Zilbandy

Well I guess it can't hurt to try the latest version of Zone Alarm (free)
available on their web site. I'll report back any findings.
Click to expand...

I stopped udgrading ZA free at 6.5.737.000 because all the newer
versions are huge in size. I'm not sure there's any real advantage to
the newer versions if all you're using is the firewall.
 
A

Alan

JS and Bert,

Is there a later version of Z/A Free than the one I'm using?

In the meantime while YOU try things out, ( :> ) I think I'm going to take
Bert's advice and turn off/uninstall Z/A for now and just use the native SP2
firewall.

I'll let you both know what's happening to my RP sizes, and please let me
know what you find, JS.

Alan
 
B

Bert Kinney

Hi Alan,

Once ZA is uninstalled, disable System Restore to delete all the existing
restore points. Enable System Restore and set it to use 1-2 GB's of disk
space and set to monitor only the Windows partitions. You should not see
those large restore points any more.

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

Alan

Hi again Bert,

Okay, I moved the slider down to 2 % of my hard drive -- which is about 6
GB. It's already monitoring just the Windows partition, as I have only the
C:\ drive.

I'll continue to check the size of the RPs each day, and I'll keep you all
posted about the results.

Thanks to all for your help and advice.

Alan
 
J

JS

You are correct, that's the first thing I notice during the download prior
to installing, the download file size jumped from 13.4MB to 40.4MB in size.

JS
 
J

JS

Created a restore point prior to installing the latest version (7.0.408.000)
of Zone Alarm and then another restore point after the upgrade install.
Nothing significant to report as both RPs where nearly the same size. I'll
monitor Restore Points for the next few days and see if they grow
significantly in size and report back periodically.

Bert: Note that Zone Alarm is installed on my D partition and not C: where
Windows resides.

JS
 
W

witan

Created a restore point prior to installing the latest version (7.0.408.000)
of Zone Alarm and then another restore point after the upgrade install.
Nothing significant to report as both RPs where nearly the same size. I'll
monitor Restore Points for the next few days and see if they grow
significantly in size and report back periodically.

Bert: Note that Zone Alarm is installed on my D partition and not C: where
Windows resides.

JS
Click to expand...


I have ZA installed on the C: drive, where Win-XP Pro is also
installed. Some or all the files created by ZA are in the folder "C:
\WINDOWS\Internet Logs". Even if ZA is installed on the D: drive, my
guess is ZA will continue to use the same folder ("C:\WINDOWS\Internet
Logs") for files created by it. PI check this in your computer.
 

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