System Restore points NOT made at startup

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Windows 7 64-bit SP1
System Restore Points Disk Space Usage set at 10%

Problem:
Windows 7 built-in default settings for System Restore Points, Task Scheduler/Microsoft/Windows/System Restore will not create more than ONE system restore point.

I have to manually delete system restore points, then ONE system restore point will be made.

I’ve used cleanmgr.exe and ccleaner to delete ALL restore points, they both do this properly.

I’ve also tried right-clicking on Task Scheduler/Microsoft/Windows/System Restore and choosing “run”, it shows the task as completed, but NO additional restore points are made once the first is made.

I’ve also changed the default settings for this task to UNcheck “start task if computer is idle from 30 minutes” And, I’ve checked “run with highest privileges” and configure for Windows 7

None of these change made a difference. Only ONE system restore point will be made automatically by this task.

There is something wrong with this task as it came installed with windows 7 to get it to run properly.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

FYI: I can MANUALLY create several restore points by System Properties/System Protection/Create

System restore points are also made automatically when drivers are updated, etc. The problem is with system restore points being AUTOMATICALLY created by this task scheduler event that came pre-configured with Windows 7. I’ve also created a new task event for system restore points, but still have the same problem.

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Hi ip45ywre,

Windows 7 uses the default scheduled task to check at each startup and at midnight every day (if your PC is powered up at midnight) to see when the last restore point was made. Only if more than seven days have passed will will the system automatically create a new restore point.

As you mentioned, system restore will also create new restore points when a new or updated program is installed, a new or updated device driver is installed, or when a Windows Update is applied.

There are three other ways to trigger a new system restore. You can manually trigger one for each drive that has system protection enabled. You could also schedule a daily backup including a system image, or you can run a script using task scheduler.

If you want to try the script route, create a text file using the following code:

Set oRP = getobject(“winmgmts:\.rootdefault:Systemrestore”)
newRestore = oRP.createrestorepoint (“Created by my scheduled task” , 0, 100)

This script is courtesy of “Windows 7 Inside Out” by Ed Bott, Carl Siechert, and Craig Stinson, published by Microsoft Press, p.398.

You can save the script using a file name such as Instant_RP with a file name extension of .vbs. Then use a scheduled task to run the script at the frequency you desire.

I have not tested the script, but it comes from a good source.

How to Geek has an excellent tutorial to tweak the Restore Point Scheduled Task to create a daily restore point.

Microsoft Answers also has some good information on creating daily Restore Points. Also uses a script.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks for your quick reply!

I did not know seven days had to pass before a NEW restore point would be created by task scheduler event built into windows 7. How did you learn this?

As a fall-back, I probably use the script approach and create a new restore point each day. It worked successfully by creating new restore points at start up and manually by right-clicking.

The How-to Geek told me some useful things to look for in task scheduler default configuration — very helpful.

The Microsoft answers provides another script to try. I will.

Thanks again!

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Before going ahead and using a script to create a restore point each day think about restore points. Restore points do NOT take the place of a backup plan. Restore points backup the registry and important system files only. Restore points do not backup user files. So, why create restore points that often if you are not changing data that the restore point backs up? If it gives you a sense of security go ahead but there is no system safety reason to do it.

See this Restore Points discussion in the MSDN library.

Joe

--Joe

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All good info above. I would like to add that if you use the free Microsoft Security Essentials for your virus scanner,
your daily restore points are made when MSE updates every day.
Another good reason to have restore points is if you’re in need to restore individual files.
Say you want a document back you were working on the other day but you made many changes, more than the program
allows you to backtrack.
Right click the file to bring up properties and click on the tab Previous Versions. Those versions are stored in your
restore points and they will disappear when those points are deleted. A quick view but you can search further for more details
Of course, just another tool if you use it or useless if you don’t.

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Good advice both, thanks.

I read a recent Windowssecrets newsletter about restoring individual files. While I run regular backups and disk imaging, I thought a multiple version file restore could be a useful feature. Unfortunately, the automatic creation of system restore points was not being made daily. This led me to this forum. Now I know with Windows 7 only one restore point will be made each week, even though the task scheduler is set to run each day. (Thanks for the link to the MSDN library)

Well, I’m re-thinking the daily creating of restore points using a script. I’ve reduced the disk space to 1%.

Again, thanks for the great feedback!

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Well, I’m re-thinking the daily creating of restore points using a script. I’ve reduced the disk space to 1%.

Not quite sure what you meant by this, but if you’ve reduced the space available for system protection to only 1%, you’re really short-changing yourself (unless you have a really small hard drive, are running out of space, and just can’t afford to buy a larger/second hard drive).

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I hate to sound like a broken record, but for restoration of your entire system, including customizations you have made and installed apps, Imaging seems to be the gold standard. As Joe points out System Restore will backup and restore the system registry and system files, but does nothing for the remainder of your system. Imaging creates a backup (a digital photo if you will) of your entire system just the way it presently is when you make the Image. it usually takes about 10 minutes to restore from your Image. Read the many discussions about Imaging in the Security and Backup Froum.

I see you do regular Images, but many out there have no clue about Imaging and believe that System Restore is all they need. Just ain’t so.

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As Joe points out System Restore will backup and restore the system registry and system files, but does nothing for the remainder of your system.

Actually, that’s not correct for Windows 7. While System Restore will only restore the registry and system files, it does so from a “shadow copy” (what’s made when a restore point is created). The shadow copy is an image of the entire protected partition, and is available to other services/apps that can be used to restore the other files in the shadow copy. For example, the “Restore previous versions” feature uses this same shadow copy (one reason why you want to create restore points more often than just once a week). Further, any existing shadow copy can be browsed using a utility like ShadowExplorer, allowing you to restore groups of files or entire folders (including subfolders).

While the shadow copy doesn’t replace a system image backup or data backup on a separate physical drive (to guard against a drive failure), it can function for as a backup for all other purposes. The keys to making this work for any logical partition are:

[*]Protect the partition (via the System Protection tab of the System Properties control panel).
.
[*] Allow sufficient space in the partition to store multiple shadow copies (via the button on the System Protection tab of the System Properties control panel; I’ve found the default 15% to be adequate).
.
[*]Create a restore point (which will save a shadow copy for each protected partition) at least daily. I create 3-4 restore points a day, and still get more than a week’s worth of shadow copies on my data partition.

As a long-time Acronis True Image Home user on XP, I find that Windows 7’s system protection features are actually easier to manage and easier to use for restoring files. This doesn’t mean that I don’t keep long-term backups (I do), but those are for real disasters–most of the time, I find myself needing nothing more than to restore a file from the past week, which is a snap with “Restore previous versions” or ShadowExplorer.

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System Restore has another issue, IMHO – reliability. Browse around the Lounge a bit and you will find several issues with System Restore, not all of them sorted in a satisfactory manner.

I agree that imaging needs a complement in terms of backup strategy. In my own strategy that complement is a file synch approach between my laptop and desktop. I use Windows Live Mesh for that. In a scenario with a single computer, Live Mesh is not of use, but SyncToy is a valid alternative, since it can synch any two folders you wish (say, between your pc and folders in your backup drive). You can downloand SyncToy from here, if you are interested.

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System Restore has another issue, IMHO – reliability. Browse around the Lounge a bit and you will find several issues with System Restore, not all of them sorted in a satisfactory manner.

I agree that imaging needs a complement in terms of backup strategy. In my own strategy that complement is a file synch approach between my laptop and desktop. I use Windows Live Mesh for that. In a scenario with a single computer, Live Mesh is not of use, but SyncToy is a valid alternative, since it can synch any two folders you wish (say, between your pc and folders in your backup drive). You can downloand SyncToy from here, if you are interested.

Live Mesh will work in a single computer environment for a small amount of data. You get 5GB of space on SkyDrive you can use to back up data. Not much but can help in a pinch.

Joe

--Joe

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Live Mesh will work in a single computer environment for a small amount of data. You get 5GB of space on SkyDrive you can use to back up data. Not much but can help in a pinch.

Joe

Indeed. I tend to overlook that, as I synch a lot more than 5 GB.

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Indeed. I tend to overlook that, as I synch a lot more than 5 GB.

Yeah, 5GB just does not seem like much today.

Joe

--Joe

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Windows 7 built-in default settings for System Restore Points, Task Scheduler/Microsoft/Windows/System Restore will not create more than ONE system restore point.

Before going any further, I’d strongly recommend that you read the Lounge thread “Daily Restore Points — NOT” which provides a thorough treatment of this topic.

FYI, you may not be able to get Window’s System Restore task to cooperate–there seems to be a bug in the command-line program it uses. I recommend using The Windows Club’s Quick Restore Point Maker utility, instead–just set it up in a Task Scheduler job.

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I just don’t think the average user will do this. It is just not as simple as pushing a button and won’t get done. The average user hasn’t even heard of shadow copy let alone know what it is or how to use it.

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