Windows 7 deletes all restore points Help!

A friend here fixed system restore problem by uninstalling grimefighter of Avast. Remove it and see if it will solve your problem.

Also run vssadmin list shadowstorage in a command prompt and copy/paste or post screenshot here please.

I do not have Grimefighter because it comes with the paid version of Avast and I have the freebie.
Below is the screenshot you requested......


Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>vssadmin list shadowstorage
vssadmin 1.1 - Volume Shadow Copy Service administrative command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2001-2005 Microsoft Corp.

Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (E:)\\?\Volume{20839213-6949-11e4-af26-0021700078fd}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (E:)\\?\Volume{20839213-6949-11e4-af26-0021700078
fd}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 725.109 MB (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 3.536 GB (0%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 116.44 GB (25%)

Shadow Copy Storage association
For volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{d332e21d-920d-11e3-aa90-806e6f6e6963}\
Shadow Copy Storage volume: (C:)\\?\Volume{d332e21d-920d-11e3-aa90-806e6f6e69
63}\
Used Shadow Copy Storage space: 4.207 GB (0%)
Allocated Shadow Copy Storage space: 6.399 GB (1%)
Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space: 116.416 GB (25%)


C:\Windows\system32>

Allocated and actual seem logical but did you set that 25% maximum? That's a bit high. 10% is the default.

Also did you look for NG in avast? That is the virtual machine portion, maybe you have missed. No idea if it is available in free version.

If all fails uninstall avast and get MSE or some other AV, run for a few days and see if the problem corrects.

GrimeFighter is available in the free version, i think it's a "limited" version.
Just because a tool should not be available in the free version doesn't mean it might not be installed.
Secure Virtual Machines (aka NG, sandbox) is not available in the free version.
But a recent Avast program update installed it for me ...
Is it a buggy updater/installer ??? I think so.
I now check after any program update to make sure something didn't sneak in that i don't want.
Double check and make sure of what you really have installed, and it is what you want.

GokAy has a good suggestion, to uninstall Avast and use MSE at least temporarily to see if that fixes the problem.
@GokAy - I didn't know about the problem with GrimeFighter, thanks for that info !

When I change AV's i like to have everything downloaded before starting to make a change.
I like to keep my time without an AV to a minimum when making changes.
That way I don't have to go online to find and download files if something goes wrong.

Download the Avast uninstaller and know how to use it.
https://www.avast.com/en-gb/uninstall-utility

Download the MSE installer:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/down...s.aspx?id=5201

I would rather have files downloaded beforehand and never use them, than run into a problem and need them.
If i don't need them later, i can delete them.
I also always use the AV uninstaller to make sure everything possible is uninstalled and cleaned.

Some other things that might cause your issue:
Dual booting can delete restore points, do you dual-boot ?
Do you run any system cleaners, system optimizers, registry cleaners, etc. ?
Some of these programs might delete restore points.

For better "backup protection" consider using a program to create System Backup Images.
Then you have full control of what, when, where, how long, ... is backed up.
And, it is a complete backup of the "OS" drive, restore points are not a complete backup.

Macrium Reflect free is the most reliable/recommended program that i know of.
I use it, it works reliably for me.
Macrium Reflect Free

How important is backup/restore ?
If the HD crashes all restore points are lost, recovery is not possible.
If malware gets on the PC, restore points can be infected, they are always online.

With System Imaging (Macrium), full backups can be stored on an external/offline device.
If the "OS" HD crashes, recovery is possible.
If malware gets on the PC, it can't infect offline backup images ...

For me, Backup/Restore is #1 most important followed by security protection.
Hope you don't mind my long-winded reply ... it's my opinion from what i've learned ...

DavidE said:

@GokAy - I didn't know about the problem with GrimeFighter, thanks for that info !

You can check post #4 how to get back unaccessible space of 139GB on C drive

After we directed him towards Avast, he did get a hunch and it worked for him :)

GokAy said:

Allocated and actual seem logical but did you set that 25% maximum? That's a bit high. 10% is the default.

Also did you look for NG in avast? That is the virtual machine portion, maybe you have missed. No idea if it is available in free version.

If all fails uninstall avast and get MSE or some other AV, run for a few days and see if the problem corrects.

I did lower it down to 10% but I cannot find NG in the free version.

There is a reason why over the life of Win7 we have stopped suggesting Avast for AV. I would uninstall it using its special tool needed for uninstalling the bloatware AV's then install free lightweight MSE to test the difference.

Avast Uninstall Utility | Download aswClear for Avast Removal
Microsoft Security Essentials

The other suggestions are also good to check your disk space apportioned to restore points and save regular backup images using Macrium, or scheduling Win7 image and file backups regulalry.

Make sure you're using a VSS-compatible defragger.