system restore

[Ron F.]

Does "System Restore" mirror my entire c drive and all my
programs on a virtual drive?
I was informed that everytime I install a program "System
Restore" makes a duplicate to refer back to. Are my
program files being installed twice and couldn't this
devour my hard rather quickly?
I was also told that turning it off would make my
computer run faster. If so, is it safe to disable it?
Please help!
Thanks Much!
Ron F.

 

[bronco7]

RON, You can disable system restore, it uses 18% of
harddrive. But, if worried or lacking space go to
scandisk and tell it to delete all but the latest restore
point. Personally, I would keep it whereas it has saved
my behind many times. If you are backed to the wall for
system resources, there are many options to increase RAM,
and at a fair price. GOOD LUCK

 

[Ken Blake]

In

Does "System Restore" mirror my entire c drive and all my
programs on a virtual drive?

No, just the system files (registry etc.).

I was informed that everytime I install a program "System
Restore" makes a duplicate to refer back to.

No.


Are my
program files being installed twice and couldn't this
devour my hard rather quickly?

Not the case.

I was also told that turning it off would make my
computer run faster.

It wouldn't have to take the few seconds once a day that it does
this. Any effect on performance is almost inconsequential.

If so, is it safe to disable it?

It would be foolish to disable it. It's a valuable safeguard that
costs you almost nothing but a little disk space. It's not a
substitute for backup and doesn't protect you against everything,
but it's still good to have.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

RON, You can disable system restore, it uses 18% of
harddrive.

No, by default it uses 12%. But the amount it uses can be chosen
by the user. I have mine set, for example, to use 3%.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Does "System Restore" mirror my entire c drive and all my
programs on a virtual drive?
I was informed that everytime I install a program "System
Restore" makes a duplicate to refer back to. Are my
program files being installed twice and couldn't this
devour my hard rather quickly?

It only backs up items that have been changed, and in certain categories
of files: Program and System components. It does *not* affect data
files - so that if you restore to an earlier point you do not throw away
changes you have made in them. Regard it as a way of unwinding troubles
that have arisen in software recently - but *not* as a long term backup

See http://microsoft.com/technet/itcommunity/Newsgroups/FAQSRWXP.asp