System restore starts and restores every time at startup

KurtW · 22 May 2011

Hi, recently I had a problem removing some software and had to do a system restore to a point a day before. When my computer had to restart to finish performing the restore it was unable to as my computer has always had a problem restarting, it starts beeping and won't start up at all so I have to turn it off manually then start it back up, but that's a different problem that I'm not concerned with right now. My computer started up fine and the system restore had fixed my problem with removing the software, but now I'm assuming since my computer did not restart properly there was a problem with it thinking it was done, as now every time I restart my computer it thinks it has to perform the restore again, and it does.

This is problematic because I do not wish to have to reinstall something each time I restart my computer. I disabled system restore and all of the restore points were deleted, however it still somehow performs the system restore even though the restore point that is wants to restore from is gone. I get a message each time my desktop loads after rebooting that the restore was completed successfully, and my event viewer confirms that it did in fact somehow restore to the previous state.

My antivirus's start-up shield shows that the rstrui.exe is set to run at start up, and I'm afraid to block it as I don't want it to mess anything up. I ran scans just incase although it seemed unlikely any malware or anything was causing the problem and it came up clean.

It just seems that the 1 time run registry file for the system restore isn't going away maybe because my computer did not restart successfully. I'm kinda of scared to modify the registry or delete anything so if anyone can tell me what I need to do or if it's even actually restoring even though it says it does, but like I said I deleted every restore point.

I can't install anything and turn off my computer until this is fixed, so if anyone can offer a solution I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks

EDIT: I should also note when shutting down my computer it does not go through the normal process of a system restore or show anything other than "shutting down" and when I go to my system restore it does not show the normal undo option that it normally creates after a normal system restore, just that there are no restore points and I need to create one. I wasn't sure if this would help to debunk that it's not actually doing anything or not, or if I should still be concerned.

marsmimar · 23 May 2011

Hello Kurt and welcome to Seven Forums.

From what you've described it sounds like some system files might have gotten damaged or corrupted in some way. First thing I'd try is running System File Checker. If it finds any issues run it 3 - 4 times. It may not be able to repair/replace all problem files on the first or even second scan.

SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

If this doesn't get your computer where it needs to be you might consider a Repair Install. It won't do anything to change your user accounts, data, programs, and system drivers.

Repair Install

If a repair install doesn't fix things you might have to wipe everything off your hard dirve and start from scratch. But that's a last resort option. Let us know how SFC and/or repair install went.

KurtW · 23 May 2011

Thanks for the welcome.

I do not think a repair install would be too wise for my computer as it has the problems properly restarting and I'm not sure if having to shut it off during the restarts from the repair process would damage anything any further. I will try running the file checker later when I have access to my home computer but I would hope nothing is damaged or corrupted. I know that the registry file is still there and has the system restore set to run at start up, even though I'm not sure if it actually is restoring or just saying it is and doing nothing. Still I hope this works and if anyone else has any suggestions in the meantime I'd really like to hear them.

mjf · 23 May 2011

rstrui doesn't appear in my startup list. It may have its place in yours but apparently malware can disguise themselves here.

Try safe mode booting and see what happens. Also, I don't know what anti-virus software you are using. You could download Malwarebytes and run it.

Edit: removed the link - could be a sales pitch but run malwarebytes. Rstrui is required by windows.

marsmimar · 23 May 2011

Just for my own curiosity, you say your computer "...always had a problem restarting, it starts beeping and won't start up at all so I have to turn it off manually then start it back up, but that's a different problem that I'm not concerned with right now."

Were you able to determine that it's a hardware problem with your computer rather than a software problem with Windows 7? Was there a different operating system on this machine and you upgraded to 7 and the starting problem tagged along? Reason I ask is if a computer has a shutdown/startup problem it can affect many system files, not just those associated with system restore.

Improper Shutdown May Affect System Restore

Another possible area of concern is if the computer was upgraded from an earlier OS to 7 does it have all updates from the manufacturer like latest BIOS, chipset drivers, etc. This related forum article discusses some other things to check.

Windows 7 Shutdown problem

KurtW · 23 May 2011

I use Webroot Antivirus with Spysweeper. It works very well. rstrui.exe isn't supposed to run at startup normally unless of course you've started a system restore. I know it's the legitimate rstrui.exe as the signature for it is shown and its path, and that it indicates that it real file did run at start up. The reason it's stuck in my start up is because of the registry runonce key to make the system restore run at start up didn't get deleted properly so it still makes rstrui.exe run at startup, but I'm beginning to think it isn't actually doing anything other than saying it made a system restore.

I know that the normal process of a restore is prepared before the computer has even begun the process of shutting down, and during the shut down is when it shows the process of doing the restore, but for me when I hit the shut down button it does none of this and shuts down completely normally. When I boot up it displays the window saying that the restore completed successfully at the date of the restore point (which is now deleted and STILL says it restored to that point) and my system restore window doesn't indicate an actual restore. The only other indication is that in my event viewer there's a system restore message indicating it completed successfully, but that may just be automated from the program thinking it was complete without actually doing anything.

Anyway, sorry for repeating things and maybe being a bit confusing. I'm just really tired and am hoping the fix for this is really simple (and that it's nothing but a message appearing at startup) as I have seem to have lost my windows disks.

KurtW · 23 May 2011

marsmimar said:

Just for my own curiosity, you say your computer "...always had a problem restarting, it starts beeping and won't start up at all so I have to turn it off manually then start it back up, but that's a different problem that I'm not concerned with right now."

Were you able to determine that it's a hardware problem with your computer rather than a software problem with Windows 7? Was there a different operating system on this machine and you upgraded to 7 and the starting problem tagged along? Reason I ask is if a computer has a shutdown/startup problem it can affect many system files, not just those associated with system restore.

Improper Shutdown May Affect System Restore

Another possible area of concern is if the computer was upgraded from an earlier OS to 7 does it have all updates from the manufacturer like latest BIOS, chipset drivers, etc. This related forum article discusses some other things to check.

Windows 7 Shutdown problem

I'm pretty sure it's just hardware. I got my computer brand new with windows 7 pre installed over a year ago. I've had absolutely no problems with it other than it's inability to do a normal restart and needing to do a shut down instead, and it's had this problem from day 1. During the system restore itself there were no problems, I only had to shut down my computer after the system restore had forced my computer to restart, the actual restore itself was not interrupted, it was only when the computer was trying to start back up that I had to shut it down manually because it just stays on a black screen otherwise. After I booted back up everything loaded fine and the restore was successful, there were no error messages or anything in my logs indicating anything went wrong.

marsmimar · 23 May 2011

One other thing to try is msconfig. Click start orb > type msconfig in start menu search box > enter. The msconfig dialog box should open. Click startup tab and you should see everything that runs at startup. If rstrui.exe is listed, uncheck it and see what happens at your next startup. (You can always go back to msconfig and re-check it.)

KurtW · 23 May 2011

I have done that, for some reason it is not listed in the msconfig start up list, only my antivirus's. I know that makes it sound a bit sketchy but my antivirus's start up shield indicates that it is the legitimate file and what it does, as well as the registry run key for it. I CAN block it in there, but I've read to be very careful with blocking windows tasks from running at start up as it could cause problems and in some cases I may not even be able to start up at all if there are any errors. And if it really is trying to do a system restore then blocking it from trying could cause issues. If I did block it and nothing went wrong with start up or any other errors of course that would be a simple fix, I'm just kind of scared to try.

marsmimar · 23 May 2011

Can you make a system image of your computer exactly as it is right now along with the companion system repair disk? Then you could experiment as much as you want. If you did have to use your system image you wouldn't be any worse off than you already are.

Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup