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Last post Author Topic: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.  (Read 33338 times)

tinyvillager

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I think i borked my system with some registry cleaning (never again) anyhow....
I'd hate do a complete reformat,does the system restore leave the machine sluggish after it "fixes" things?

Grorgy

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2007, 03:28 AM »
when its worked for me its worked ok, usually doesnt work at all tho lol

app103

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2007, 04:08 AM »
I haven't used it in XP yet, but it has saved my butt quite a few times in WinME.

If you have the restore points to work with, it can work well...but if you don't, you are out of luck.

It won't leave your machine sluggish when it's done...at least not any more than it was when the restore point was made.

But any software you installed after the restore point was made, you may have to reinstall. And any settings changes you have made in some programs may be lost, if they were done after the restore point.

What this does is replace the registry and system files with a copy of what was made as a backup when the restore point was made.

It can take quite a while to do, sometimes. So be prepared to have to wait.

tinyvillager

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #3 on: July 29, 2007, 04:31 AM »
Thanks guys,i've been pounding away at a few problems with Dial-a-fix,and massive data mining of the internet,i've said it before and i'll say it again,this has to be one of the more educated and polite forums,not to be smug or snobbish but in my research,one of which problems being a taskbar that would not keep my settings (now resolved) i must of come across twenty or so forums that was baked in spam and ads so obnoxious,i know ya gotta turn a buck for the bandwidth,but don't make something pop up every time i drag my mouse accross the screen.

I've also been medicating a migraine that actually put me in the emergency room.A cat scan and an i.v. of dilaudid later they wanted to do a spinal tap,went with the drug treatment instead,Oxycodone is a fun little pain killer.
Kills the pain,and gives you that nice warm feeling like being buzzed on beer without the bloat.

Once again thanks for responses.

Carol Haynes

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #4 on: July 29, 2007, 03:04 PM »
If you have been messing with the registry System Restore may well work as it takes a snapshot of the registry as a restore point. I'm not sure though if it snapshots the whole registry as it seems a bit quick for that.

For future reference:

* Don't bother with registry cleaners (esp. in automatic mode) they always cause more problems than they solve. Automatic registry cleaning absolutely WILL hose your system - even on a clean install of windows it will find hundreds of registry errors to correct simply because MS does things in non standard ways in Windows - and if you install MS Office you get hundreds of errors more. Correct any of those MS errors and problems will come back to haunt you in the future - long after you forgot you did a registry cleanup ... by that time the only solution is a complete fresh install.

* If you must clean up the registry take a backup of the registry before you do it and manually work though all the errors found to find the right correction! You can do that easily using the built in backup utility unser Start > Accessories > System Tools or use a better reg backup application.

The only thing I do these days to the registry (apart from the odd manual edit) is to occasionally compress/defrag it using Resplendent Registry Manager. I'm not sure it does a huge amount of good but it does seem to make startup a bit quicker (briefly).

jmurr

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #5 on: July 29, 2007, 03:51 PM »
System Restore has saved me on numerous occasions.  I usually set a restore point before I donanything that I think may hose my system.  So far, so good.  I have recently started using a program called "RegCure" to find and fix errors.  It seems to work very well and has high marks from 3rd party reviewers.. Worth a look www.regcure.com

Curt

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2007, 10:03 AM »
tinyvillager; Though I have tried to use it many times (because I installed so many different programs and did not understand how to do a proper backup) System Restore has never worked for me; not even once! Today I use TotalUninstall.

If it is important to you to clean your registry   I will dare to recommend the FREE / $15 Eusing Registry Cleaner because it has proven itself to be gentle and safe to run - so safe that "we" are using it in DC member wreckedcarzz's CompuTech EasyInstall:

OK, here it is; EasyInstall.exe
-wreckedcarzz (July 27, 2007, 11:10 AM)

Edit: it is of course also the one I use myself
« Last Edit: July 30, 2007, 10:09 AM by Curt »

tide

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2007, 01:57 PM »
I have used XP's system restore several times usually after some software installation messes things up quite badly. I was rather amazed that it worked but most relieved that it did work!

wraith808

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2007, 02:57 PM »
Same here.  System restore has saved my bacon too many times to count!  Even with backups, it's still a pain to get to the exact point that you are with your system.  Being able to recover without having to resort to a backup has been a lifesaver.

justice

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2007, 03:34 PM »
Adobe acrobat 8 was until shortly not compatible with vista, vista would only boot in safe mode. my printer devices were borked. With safe mode i restored vista and all has worked fine since.

mikiem

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2007, 06:49 PM »
Restore in XP grabs a snapshot of your registry, I think limited, and a fairly limited snapshot of your files on hdd. If you set a restore point, install software, uninstall software, and do system restore you're probably very close to where you started. Anything beyond that can be iffy -- it may or may not delete added files/folders/reg entries. Vista uses a shadow copy of existing files, like a backup, so restoring the system is dramatically better -- however the shadow copies disappear if the hdd is opened in another OS, like XP, so dual boot folks beware.

Darwin

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2007, 07:14 PM »
My experience with System Restore was not good - usually wound up messing things up more than helping... I've long since gone with a combo of Acronis True Image and Genie Backup Manager Pro to get me out of jams... Doesn't help the OP much, though. I'd suggest (late as I am to the discussion) setting a Restore Point before restoring and backing the file up somewhere so that if things are even more messed up than before the restore you can get back to your original starting point. I realize that the above is the textual equivalent of me mumbling with a mouth full of dry oats but hope the overall message made it through... I'm not too erudite at the best of times; today is a particularly bad day (up since 3 am)!

Dirhael

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2007, 07:41 PM »
My experience with it in the past have been that while it can help, it also creates just as many problems as it solves. Why? Simply because it isn't a complete backup/restore system. Because of this, it can leave lots of broken applications on your system it you don't install them in the default Windows folders (program files etc.).
However, if you did a restore point just before the cleaning and have made no changes to your system after that I think you should be just fine.

Personally, I'm using Rollback Rx and I'd recommend it or something like it in the future :)
Registered nurse by day, hobby programmer by night.

Darwin

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #13 on: August 09, 2007, 07:54 PM »
On my Win2k machine I ran Winalysis 3 before switching to Acronis and Genie. It's more configurable than System Restore, provides you with the option of complete file backups, and is more reliable than SysRestore. I haven't tried it under XP so can't comment on its effectiveness on more recent versions of Windows, but I never had a problem with it.

[edit: link fixed]
« Last Edit: November 19, 2009, 09:12 PM by mouser »

CleverCat

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #14 on: August 10, 2007, 01:11 AM »
It always tells me I've made no changes!  :o

But I have..... >:(

ares09x

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #15 on: August 11, 2007, 06:17 PM »
I've had a few different experiences with System Restore on XP:

  • I had a laptop that was plugged in, but not turned on, and apparently a power surge did something to the registry or one of the system files, and it would not boot into XP.  Trying to boot into the "last known good" configuration didn't help.  I was able to get into safemode and use System Restore to go back to the last time that the system worked OK (it's set up to do a System Restore point every night), and everything worked great.  :Thmbsup:
  • Other times, on a different PC, I've tried to go back to an earlier restore point, only to have System Restore tell me that it could not successfully go back to that point (after trying and even going through the required system reboot)!  That was definitely discouraging.  Sometimes it works on that PC, other times it doesn't, and I don't know why.  :huh:

Regarding registry cleaning, I have Norton SystemWorks, which I have set up to periodically analyze my registry, and it always finds things to clean up; something annoying that it will sometimes do is to remove shortcuts from my desktop, even though they worked fine before - it happens randomly, both which shortcuts are affected, and how often any are removed.  It seems to do this to "older" shortcuts, or those not used very frequently, because I usually can't remember what the shortcut was that it removed (otherwise I could just put it back).  >:(

Oh, well, the wonders of XP ...

wreckedcarzz

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #16 on: August 11, 2007, 07:40 PM »
System restore on Windows XP quite frankly sucks... I have had it work, but about...10-15% of the time. As far as I can tell, for some reason it seems to depend on the install (if you install XP and it won't restore right, and 6 months later you reinstall it may work again... :huh:). I have done it on Vista and it is a lot better, but it takes FOREVER... >:(


And also...
* Don't bother with registry cleaners (esp. in automatic mode) they always cause more problems than they solve. Automatic registry cleaning absolutely WILL hose your system - even on a clean install of windows...
-Carol Haynes (July 29, 2007, 03:04 PM)

I have tried and used several (at least 5 off the top of my head) registry cleaners with no problems at all. Strange.

mwang

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #17 on: August 11, 2007, 09:16 PM »
In XP I tried it a few times before buying a disk imaging tool. Didn't work as I expected (returning the whole system partition--or the boot partition as MS calls it--to the exact state when the Restore Point was set). It would leave some things unchanged. It's by design (according to Help) but I didn't like it.

In Vista the ability of System Restore has been expanded. By utilizing volume shadow copy it could now restore individual files to a previous version (see the Previous Versions tab in a file's properties). I thought it's great, so I turned on System Restore for my data partitions (I still use an imager for the system partition). Ended up turning it off again a few days ago, for I never could find a previous version of any file, even files I change daily (my system setup diary, e.g.). The System Restore setting dialog suggested it did take snapshots of the designated partitions, and I even took some manual snapshots, but still couldn't get it working. I gave up for I didn't have time to investigate it further.

Carol Haynes

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #18 on: August 12, 2007, 04:07 AM »
* Don't bother with registry cleaners (esp. in automatic mode) they always cause more problems than they solve. Automatic registry cleaning absolutely WILL hose your system - even on a clean install of windows...
-Carol Haynes (July 29, 2007, 03:04 PM)

I have tried and used several (at least 5 off the top of my head) registry cleaners with no problems at all. Strange.

Very strange indeed - I would suggest that you haven't noticed problems ... yet. The biggest problem with registry cleaners is that unless you manually check every change that will be made (in most cases impossible because you will find hundreds on a freshly installed version of Windows) you will be changing intentional behaviour - especially in the case of Windows itself and MS Office if you use it. MS set the rules for use of the registry but break them all the time - if nothing else they install hooks in the registry when you install their software that allows their programs to use extensions and addons. Normally they are empty registry values but if you delete them (and all registry cleaners will flag them as pointless registry values unless they are explicitly excluded) and consequently you lose the ability to install those extensions. That is a simple example.

Othere examples of where automatic registry cleaning doesn't work are things like file assoications can get screwed up, you lose intentional blank values (where the existence of registry key alone acts as a flag to the software that installed it).

The biggest problem is that most consequences of registry cleaning are not immediately obvious - you only find out weeks or  months later and then blame something else for the problem.

biox

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #19 on: August 12, 2007, 04:58 AM »
I've given up on system restore and disabled it (XP).
Like others I've tried a few registry cleaners and some of them messed things up quite nicely. However, system restore didn't bring anything, or much, back. I've since used the "R" install and it works like a charm. Takes much longer but isn't like the old re-install that put another million user accounts plus settings on the disk.

Darwin

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #20 on: August 12, 2007, 08:02 AM »
Ehtyar and Carol are right - registry cleaners, even if used VERY carefully, tend to mess things up. I find that the ONLY registry cleaning that I can do without something goig pear-shaped is MRU's, history, start menu shortcuts, and general shortcuts. I get anymore cheeky than that and I can guarantee that something will have to be reinstalled and reactivated. 

anrika411

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #21 on: August 18, 2007, 10:39 AM »
It's the best feature of XP.

biox

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #22 on: August 18, 2007, 06:48 PM »
It's the best feature of XP.
Care to expand on this a bit?


terrawarra

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #23 on: August 19, 2007, 01:27 AM »
I stopped using XP system restore many moons ago,.. I've been using the excellent freebie "ERUNT" since then.  It's quick, clean, simple to use and works every time.  It's saved my PC's life many times.  I make it a habit of creating a restore point almost every day,.. it may sound a little "over the top" but it works for me.  I usually delete any restore points more than a few weeks old to avoid cluttering up the system with junk.

tomos

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Re: Anyone actually use windows system restore if so,does it work.
« Reply #24 on: October 10, 2007, 10:22 AM »
System Restore backs up system files of certain extensions (.exe, .dll, etc.), with the exception of files in My Documents folders, and saves them in a large compressed block for later recovery and use. It backs up the registry and most drivers. It does not back up or restore user data
-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Restore

Windows XP periodically records a snapshot of your computer. These snapshots are called restore points. Windows XP also creates restore points at the time of significant system events (such as when an application or driver is installed) or you can create and name your own restore points at any time. If you’ve installed a program that has made your computer unstable, you can open system restore, choose a restore point, and return your computer to its previous stable state.
-http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/systemrestore.mspx

now does that mean a system restore from 2 weeks ago remove all the changes you've made to a system since -
i.e. any programmes installed in those 2 weeks get "uninstalled" ?
Tom