Why do people not have any System Restore points

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  1. Posts : 6,285
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Thread Starter
       #41

    Wandered far from my original question


    As usual, this topic (System Restore) ends up wandering far away from my original question. I also use other backup methods (Acronis (external HD and online) and Mirror Folder), but that has nothng to do with my question.

    I think another of Shawn's (Brink) excellent tutorials on setting up System Restore, either after installing Windows 7 or initial use of a purchased system would be an excellent idea.

    Whether people here use or don't use SR is irrelevant to the initial question. People do depend on it and it's often one of the first things recommended to correct a problem, here and on other forums.

    So, back to my initial question. Why does Windows 7 create so few, or no, System Restore points. Why is none created after the successful install of Win 7?

    I just looked at a Home Premium system that was installed 12/1/09 and there are only 6 restore points, all in 2010.

    3/4, 3/31, 4/12, 4/13 (2) and 4/14.

    The last 4 are labeled Critical Update, so it does not look like Win 7 creates restore points on any kind of a regular basis.
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  2. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #42

    Let me try to answer your question:

    1. It would make little sense for the system to make a restore point when initially setup - unless it was done into a dedicated space. The current shadowstorage setup is a round robin system and the initial restore point would very quickly disappear from the radar screen.
    If you want something permanent from the initial setup, you have to image to an external device (external disk or DVD).
    2. The frequency of the restore points in Win7 has changed. In Vista it was quasi every day, but now it is supposed to be every week plus when system updates and program installations are being made. But your example suggests that the "every week" theory does not work.
    3. I found windows system restore to be very unreliable in all aspects and therefore do not use it for the system any more. I do imaging instead. I do, however, write restore points (shadows) on my data disks/partition. Reason is that this is an additional resource to recover lost files - with Shadow Explorer.
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  3. Posts : 1,117
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #43

    Ztruker said:
    As usual, this topic (System Restore) ends up wandering far away from my original question. I also use other backup methods (Acronis (external HD and online) and Mirror Folder), but that has nothng to do with my question.

    I think another of Shawn's (Brink) excellent tutorials on setting up System Restore, either after installing Windows 7 or initial use of a purchased system would be an excellent idea.

    Whether people here use or don't use SR is irrelevant to the initial question. People do depend on it and it's often one of the first things recommended to correct a problem, here and on other forums.

    So, back to my initial question. Why does Windows 7 create so few, or no, System Restore points. Why is none created after the successful install of Win 7?

    I just looked at a Home Premium system that was installed 12/1/09 and there are only 6 restore points, all in 2010.

    3/4, 3/31, 4/12, 4/13 (2) and 4/14.

    The last 4 are labeled Critical Update, so it does not look like Win 7 creates restore points on any kind of a regular basis.
    I'm sure I'll be corrected, but it initially sets itself up as a percent in proportion to your hard drive space -- just like the recycle bin space. I don't know what the default setting is, but let's say 3% -- 3% of 1TB is greater than 3% of 160GB, thus on the 160GB drive, there would be less save spots than on a TB drive.

    But, you can use the slider to increase the amount of saves if you so desire.

    As far as creating one after an installation, I don't know why it doesn't.
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  4. Posts : 3,300
    Win7 Home Premium 64x
       #44

    It, as shown by so many posters here, is not trusted as a valuable tool by power users.

    Unexperienced users dont even know it exists and only find out what it is when some critical failure happens.

    Between these two, no-one is using it as it is designed.

    It makes a restore point automatically each week by default to cover your but incase you need it. Unless it is disabled which leads me to:

    The Triple Threat. Power users who are unexperienced who disable it on anyone's machine they sit down at (because all it does is eat up RAM and CPU power). <thats my favorite :)

    Most people are also prone to procrastinate or not jump in and fix something the first day (or even call thier techy friend to ask for help). If System Restore made a restore point everyday, by the time the user tries to resolve the problem, all the good restore points might be overwritten. So weekly restore points are better than none.

    Also one is created each time there is a critical update so if MS messes up your system, their butt is covered as well. But no one is advised that one is created or what to do when an update messes up your system.
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  5. Posts : 8,870
    Windows 7 Ult, Windows 8.1 Pro,
       #45

    I don't trust images at all either. I've seen way too many strange problems occur after using a restore point. I can reinstall Windows in ten minutes and I have everything backed up on five different machines so a clean install is a better option for me.
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  6. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #46

    I don't know what the default setting is, but let's say 3%
    I think the default setting is variable between 3 and 15% depending on the size of the disk - But I do not know the slices.

    If System Restore made a restore point everyday, by the time the user tries to resolve the problem, all the good restore points might be overwritten
    That is a valid point. In Vista, they were too quickly overwritten and one could usually only go back a few days.
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  7. Posts : 3,300
    Win7 Home Premium 64x
       #47

    Trying to help a user right now and he has no restore points. Dont know if it would have solved his problem, but it might have. just sayin
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  8. Posts : 214
    Windows 7 64x
       #48

    Thorsen said:

    The Triple Threat. Power users who are unexperienced who disable it on anyone's machine they sit down at (because all it does is eat up RAM and CPU power). <thats my favorite :)
    I only disable on my machine. I would never do this on anyone's machine other than my own.
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  9. Posts : 214
    Windows 7 64x
       #49

    Thorsen said:
    Trying to help a user right now and he has no restore points. Dont know if it would have solved his problem, but it might have. just sayin
    The same could be said about the user not having any images as well. If you are not going to create images then I would recommend using restore points.
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  10. Posts : 3,300
    Win7 Home Premium 64x
       #50

    I agree antharr. Unfortunately, most people dont know how to create backup images or even use system restore. I think it is great to have as default on the machine. I think it should be replaced with a better backup option if you know what you are doing, but for the general public it is great. Again, just my opinion.

    I also in no way meant to insult anyone or say anyone here is a Triple Threat. I probably have been in my younger years learning the system and thinking I knew everything.
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