Why does System Restore no longer work?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lawrence G. Mayka
  • Start date Start date
L

Lawrence G. Mayka

I rarely use System Restore, but when I do, I expect it to work. I had not
used it for months, but today I installed a program that refuses to
uninstall, and so I decided to try a System Restore to get rid of it.

But after choosing a restore point and rebooting, System Restore declared
that "no files have been changed" and hence did nothing at all. The
undesired program was still present.

I have plenty of space on my drives, and I did not alter any System Restore
parameters. (It is still monitoring all local disk drives.) I have no idea
why it falsely claims that "no files have been changed." What do I do now?
 
I rarely use System Restore, but when I do, I expect it to work. I had not
used it for months, but today I installed a program that refuses to
uninstall, and so I decided to try a System Restore to get rid of it.

But after choosing a restore point and rebooting, System Restore declared
that "no files have been changed" and hence did nothing at all. The
undesired program was still present.

I have plenty of space on my drives, and I did not alter any System Restore
parameters. (It is still monitoring all local disk drives.) I have no idea
why it falsely claims that "no files have been changed." What do I do now?
Click to expand...

Did you disable task scheduler in the services?
 
Lawrence;
There may be corrupted data in system Restore.
Turn off/on System Restore to delete corrupted files:
Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Restore.
Click System Restore Settings on left side.
Check "Turn off System Restore", click OK, follow prompts and reboot.
This deletes ALL Restore Points including corruption.
Then go back and turn on system Restore and create a Restore Point.
Otherwise:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/newsgroups/faqsrwxp.mspx

As for the program, try installing again and then attempt uninstallation.
Otherwise contact the program manufacturer.
 
Lawrence G. Mayka said:
I rarely use System Restore, but when I do, I expect it to work. I had not
used it for months, but today I installed a program that refuses to
uninstall, and so I decided to try a System Restore to get rid of it.

But after choosing a restore point and rebooting, System Restore declared
that "no files have been changed" and hence did nothing at all. The
undesired program was still present.

I have plenty of space on my drives, and I did not alter any System Restore
parameters. (It is still monitoring all local disk drives.) I have no idea
why it falsely claims that "no files have been changed." What do I do now?
Click to expand...

See MVP Bert Kinney's System Restore pages:
http://home.earthlink.net/~mvp_bert/index.html

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
Lawrence G. Mayka said:
I rarely use System Restore, but when I do, I expect it to work. I had not
used it for months, but today I installed a program that refuses to
uninstall, and so I decided to try a System Restore to get rid of it.

But after choosing a restore point and rebooting, System Restore declared
that "no files have been changed" and hence did nothing at all. The
undesired program was still present.

I have plenty of space on my drives, and I did not alter any System
Restore parameters. (It is still monitoring all local disk drives.) I
have no idea why it falsely claims that "no files have been changed."
What do I do now?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately 'System Restore' is at best unreliable and as you have
discovered, when you come to use it, it doesn't function. While
statistically this may be the exception it is sufficiently common to render
the program useless as a reliable backup/safety device. The excellent
Registry backup program ERUNT is a far better and provides a guranteed
backup as each backup is standalone.

There is no way to 'repair' System Restore to allow previously created
Restore Poionts to be used. The standard 'recovery' method is to disable
System Restore, reboot and enable System Restore. This normally fixes any
problem you may have but unfortunately all previously created Restore Points
are deleted.
 
Edward W. Thompson said:
The excellent
Registry backup program ERUNT is a far better and provides a guranteed
backup as each backup is standalone.
Click to expand...

.... and ERUNT can be configured to run at system startup, so you are
assured of a current backup of your registry. There is an excellent
'readme' file with all the options. No more System Restore function on
any of my XP computers. :)
 
Edward W. Thompson said:
Unfortunately 'System Restore' is at best unreliable and as you have
discovered, when you come to use it, it doesn't function.
Click to expand...

Balderdash. System Restore has proven itself both reliable and
valuable for many thousands of users.

While
statistically this may be the exception it is sufficiently common to render
the program useless as a reliable backup/safety device. The excellent
Registry backup program ERUNT is a far better and provides a guranteed
backup as each backup is standalone.
Click to expand...

System Restore does far more than just a registry backup. If that is
all you need then fine. But a first aid kit is not an adequate
replacement for a hospital emergency ward.

There is no way to 'repair' System Restore to allow previously created
Restore Poionts to be used. The standard 'recovery' method is to disable
System Restore, reboot and enable System Restore. This normally fixes any
problem you may have but unfortunately all previously created Restore Points
are deleted.
Click to expand...

That part is correct.


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
Ron Martell said:
Balderdash. System Restore has proven itself both reliable and
valuable for many thousands of users.



System Restore does far more than just a registry backup. If that is
all you need then fine. But a first aid kit is not an adequate
replacement for a hospital emergency ward.



That part is correct.


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
Click to expand...
I don't know what world you are living in but the number of posts here and
in other newsgroups indicate System Restore is far from reliable. It is
significant that your 'Balderdash' comment relates to a specific instance
where System Restore isn't working. How does that relate to your comment
concerning its reliability. The fact that System Restore has proven useful
to thousands of users is of little comfort to those thousands of users
where it has failed. (note: I am just as entitled to use unsubstantiated
numbers as you are). You do not enhance your credibility with such a
nonsensical response.

As far as my personal experience is concerned System Restore on one of my
machine has not 'worked' for months. Several posts in this and other MS NGs
have not produced any solutions.
 
I don't know what world you are living in but the number of posts here and
in other newsgroups indicate System Restore is far from reliable. It is
significant that your 'Balderdash' comment relates to a specific instance
where System Restore isn't working. How does that relate to your comment
concerning its reliability. The fact that System Restore has proven useful
to thousands of users is of little comfort to those thousands of users
where it has failed. (note: I am just as entitled to use unsubstantiated
numbers as you are). You do not enhance your credibility with such a
nonsensical response.
Click to expand...

If you go to the hospital emergency room you will see only people who
are sick or injured. Would you therefore conclude that everyone in
town is either sick or injured?

People who do not have problems with System Restore do not make posts
about it in the newsgroups.

As far as my personal experience is concerned System Restore on one of my
machine has not 'worked' for months. Several posts in this and other MS NGs
have not produced any solutions.
Click to expand...

See MVP Bert Kinney's System Restore web pages at
http://home.earthlink.net/~mvp_bert/index.html

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
System Restore is very useful to a great many computer users.

Your statement "is of little comfort to those thousands of users where it
has failed" is not really relevant.
The same can be said about virtually any solution for any problem that does
not work 100% of the time...that includes almost all solutions in just about
everything in and out of computing.
That is a good reason why no one thing such as System Restore should be the
sole protection for a problem.

Since System Restore has not worked for you for months, perhaps you should
get to the root of the problem which may or may not be System Restore.
The link Ron gave is a good place to start.
 
Hi Ed,

Ron's comments are right on. The amount of System Restore problems we
see in these newsgroups and forums are a very very small percentage of
the install base. The problem you are experiencing with System Restore
is fairly unique. Most of the problems with System Restore that we see
are cause by malicious or poorly written software that interferes with
files and folders that it has no business doing. And unlike you
particular problem most are fixable. No offence, but I think your
personnel experience is swaying you judgment.
 
Hi Bert:

I do not dispute that System Restore works for many but its reliability is
questionable, at least that is how I interpret the messages posted by those
with problem with the utility. The response by Rom Martell (Balderdash) to
my comment concerning lack of reliability is downright insulting, but
perhaps within character.

While these NGs are a small snapshot of the total installed database it does
give an insight on what is going on within that database. System Restore is
a safety system and as such should be totally reliable and it isn't. If you
compare System Restore with ERUNT there is a significant difference. Each
snapshot of the Registry taken by ERUNT is standalone and should the program
become corrupt it can be restored and the 'snapshots' used if required.
Further, the registry 'snapshots' made by ERUNT can be stored 'off site'.
None of this is possible with System Restore. ERUNT is, in my opinion, what
System Restore should be.

Of course I am influenced by my experience, aren't we all? As for my
problem being unique, certainly my problem appears to be uncommon but from e
mail correspondence with others the problem, I am not alone. With respect
to poorly written programs being the source of my problem, you may well be
correct although I have tried deleting all programs from my machine other
than 'main stream' programs, but without success. I have a second machine
with virtually the same programs installed yet 'SR' functions normally
there.

As you know from our earlier exchanges (Restore Points Vanish et al) I have
tried all the 'standard' repair and trouble shooting steps without result. I
am tempted to do a full restore of WINXP but as ERUNT does in fact provide a
better 'registry backup' than 'SR' the disruption seems hardly justified.
It seems from a post by another that a 'simple' WINXP repair does not fix
the problem. The problem I have represents a 'intellectual challenge' and
as such is extremely irritating as I have not been able to find a solution.
 
Hi Edward,
I do not dispute that System Restore works for many but
its reliability is questionable, at least that is how I
interpret the messages posted by those with problem with
the utility. The response by Rom Martell (Balderdash) to
my comment concerning lack of reliability is downright
insulting, but perhaps within character.
Click to expand...

I have had the pleasure of meeting Ron Martell and I would have to say
his words are not intended as an insult.
While these NGs are a small snapshot of the total
installed database it does give an insight on what is
going on within that database. System Restore is a
safety system and as such should be totally reliable and it isn't.
Click to expand...

I don't know of anything in computing that is totally reliable.
If you compare System Restore with ERUNT there
is a significant difference. Each snapshot of the
Registry taken by ERUNT is standalone and should the
program become corrupt it can be restored and the
'snapshots' used if required. Further, the registry
'snapshots' made by ERUNT can be stored 'off site'. None
of this is possible with System Restore. ERUNT is, in my
opinion, what System Restore should be.
Click to expand...

This is comparing apples with oranges. Erunt is an excellent registry
backup utility. SR doesn't backup the entire registry it takes a
snapshot of only part of it. And as you know Erunt doesn't take a
snapshot of system files and setting outside of the registry. This is
where the major difference lies. Each has it's own function.
Of course I am influenced by my experience, aren't we
all? As for my problem being unique, certainly my problem
appears to be uncommon but from e mail correspondence
with others the problem, I am not alone. With respect
to poorly written programs being the source of my
problem, you may well be correct although I have tried
deleting all programs from my machine other than 'main
stream' programs, but without success. I have a second
machine with virtually the same programs installed yet
'SR' functions normally there.
As you know from our earlier exchanges (Restore Points
Vanish et al) I have tried all the 'standard' repair and
trouble shooting steps without result. I am tempted to do
a full restore of WINXP but as ERUNT does in fact provide
a better 'registry backup' than 'SR' the disruption seems
hardly justified. It seems from a post by another that a
'simple' WINXP repair does not fix the problem. The
problem I have represents a 'intellectual challenge' and
as such is extremely irritating as I have not been able
to find a solution.
Click to expand...

I share in your grief over this problem. I wish I had a solution for
you.

If you ever do a full restore please let me know the results.
 
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