remove System Restore points individually?

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

  1. Posts : 141
    Windows 10 Home 64-bit
       #1

    remove System Restore points individually?


    Hi, I just used System Restore a couple days ago to recover from a bad Windows Update install. It has saved my hide a few times.

    These 'points' have accumulated over time and are about to reach its capacity (75GB). After it reaches this threshold, I fear my manual updates are going to be eaten away. Is there any way to keep the manual points I've made, but remove the points Windows has automatically generated?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 640
    Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit
       #2
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #3

    Double said:
    Hi, I just used System Restore a couple days ago to recover from a bad Windows Update install. It has saved my hide a few times.

    These 'points' have accumulated over time and are about to reach its capacity (75GB). After it reaches this threshold, I fear my manual updates are going to be eaten away. Is there any way to keep the manual points I've made, but remove the points Windows has automatically generated?
    "restore points" are actually the "old state" of blocks on disk. They are used to be able to rollback the disk to an earlier state. So "restore points" are incremental!!

    So you cannot delete restore points somewhere in the middle... it is only possible if you merge them together. But that won't give you any extra space (only blocks that are rewritten in both restore points).
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #4

    Double said:
    Hi, I just used System Restore a couple days ago to recover from a bad Windows Update install. It has saved my hide a few times.

    These 'points' have accumulated over time and are about to reach its capacity (75GB). After it reaches this threshold, I fear my manual updates are going to be eaten away. Is there any way to keep the manual points I've made, but remove the points Windows has automatically generated?
    System Restore Explorer - View, Delete and Browse Inside System Restore Points
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 141
    Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #5

    Kaktussoft said:
    "restore points" are actually the "old state" of blocks on disk. They are used to be able to rollback the disk to an earlier state. So "restore points" are incremental!!

    So you cannot delete restore points somewhere in the middle... it is only possible if you merge them together. But that won't give you any extra space (only blocks that are rewritten in both restore points).
    Wow, thanks for the link! But umm.. didn't you just contradict yourself? You said that deleting restore points in the middle wasn't possible? ...that they can only be merged together?

    I thought creating a restore point just took a snapshot of the registry and took note of any changed installs?
    Last edited by Double; 18 Dec 2013 at 16:48.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #6

    Double said:
    Kaktussoft said:
    "restore points" are actually the "old state" of blocks on disk. They are used to be able to rollback the disk to an earlier state. So "restore points" are incremental!!

    So you cannot delete restore points somewhere in the middle... it is only possible if you merge them together. But that won't give you any extra space (only blocks that are rewritten in both restore points).
    Wow, thanks for the link! But umm.. didn't you just contradict yourself? You said that deleting restore points in the middle wasn't possible? ...that they can only be merged together?

    I thought creating a restore point just took a snapshot of the registry and took note of any changed installs?
    I "restore point" is a snapshot of registry and files.... just everything on disk volume. Actually it's the OLD contents of disk blocks.

    You can delete a restore point... just like creating it never happened. But if it never happened... the previous restore point would be larger. Larger because it is kind of a merge.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 141
    Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Kaktussoft said:
    I "restore point" is a snapshot of registry and files.... just everything on disk volume. Actually it's the OLD contents of disk blocks.

    You can delete a restore point... just like creating it never happened. But if it never happened... the previous restore point would be larger. Larger because it is kind of a merge.
    What do you mean the previous restore point would be larger? It almost sounds like a restore point would be corrupt if it were "merged" with another? These restore points will still function as they always have, won't they?

    For example.. lets say I encounter a virus, System Restore, and a month later decide to remove the restore point containing the virus. Are you saying that removing the point would actually merge that point with an adjacent point, potentially resurrecting the virus if the adjacent point was chosen as a restore point at a later time? I hope that makes sense.

    I installed and tried the freeware you mentioned and it worked well. It seems that removing the auto-generated points freed up less gigabyte space than I expected. Are manual points any larger than auto-generated ones?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #8

    I also use Ccleaner to remove unwanted restore points. Exactly how it does it I don't know.
    After removing a infection I use Windows to remove all restore points and create a new one.
    Infection can and do get into restore points.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 141
    Windows 10 Home 64-bit
    Thread Starter
       #9

    Layback Bear said:
    Infection can and do get into restore points.
    errr.. they do? you've made me paranoid before, but this..
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 2,497
    Windows 7 Pro 64 bit
       #10

    System Restore was designed as a means of quickly restoring the system to normal operation after a problem develops. It is best used as soon as possible after the problem occurs. It is not a long term solution. The further back you go the more likely that the restore will fail or cause more problems than it solves. On the few occasions I have used system restore it was always the most recent restore point.

    If you want a long term backup you need an image backup. System Restore is not it.
      My Computer


 
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:18.
Find Us