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DADDY BOB'S COMPUTER Q & A
March 28, 2010
Q.
Should I delete the old outdated System
Restore points and if yes, how is the best
way to do this?
A.
Yes, it is a good idea to occasionally
delete old, outdated restore points for
several reasons. Although old system restore
points will be automatically deleted as the
space designated for their storage becomes
full, there are also good reasons to do this
manually; primarily because they could
contain viruses, malware or corrupt files.
First, a little on what a System Restore
Point is.
System
Restore first appeared in Windows ME and
continues in a somewhat modified form
through Windows 7. It provides a way to
backup the registry, installed programs,
system and other files so they can be used
to restore the computer to a previous state.
Normally a system restore point is created
when a new application or update is
installed, and if it is not turned off,
automatically usually once every 24 hours by
the system.
If the
system contains a contaminated file when the
restore point is created, it is probable
that the corrupt file will be backed up.
Should the restore be initialed, then the
corrupt file will be returned to being
active. Therefore anytime an infection,
virus, malware or of any kind has been
successfully removed, it is a good idea to
create a new restore point and purge all
previous ones. Fortunately, Windows provides
an easy way to accomplish this.
What is
backed up in a restore point for XP varies
from what is backed up in Vista and Windows
7. In XP, files are backed up only
from certain directories. On Windows Vista
and Windows 7, this set of files is defined
by monitored extensions outside of the
Windows folder, and everything under the
Windows folder.
XP
excludes from the backup, any file types
used for users' personal data files, such as
documents, pictures music and e-mail.
It also excludes the "My" folders like My
Documents, My Music etc. When a rollback is
performed, the files that were being
monitored by System Restore are restored and
newly created folders are removed.
In Vista
and Windows 7, it is more inclusive and
discriminatory and excludes only certain
documented file types. It does not exclude
any file based on its location alone.
In XP,
the system can be restored using a system
restore point so long as Windows can be
booted up normally or in Safe mode. It is
not possible to restore the system if
Windows is unbootable. Under Windows Vista
and Windows 7, something called the Windows
Recovery Environment is run from a CD or DVD
and can be used to launch System Restore and
restore the system, even if the system is
unbootable.
In all
operating systems from XP and up, there is
way to automatically delete all restore
points except for the most recent one. This
allows the user to create a new restore
point and then delete all previous ones.
First, create the new restore point.
In XP,
click Start, All Programs, Accessories,
System Tools and then System Restore. Check
Create Restore Point and click Next. Give
the restore point a short, descriptive name
and click the Create button.
In Vista
and Windows 7, press Pause key while holding
down the Windows logo key. Click on Advanced
system settings the left pane, then the
System Protection tab. At the bottom of the
dialog, click on the Create button, enter a
name for the restore point, click the
Restore button and the restore point will be
created.
To delete
all the restore points except for the one
you just created, the Disk Cleanup feature
is used. In XP, click My Computer, right
click on the C drive and select Properties.
Click the Disk Cleanup button, and wait for
the space that can be saved to be
calculated. Uncheck all items in the
displayed list, and then click the More
Options tab.
In the
bottom section, titled System Restore, click
the CleanUp button. Click Yes to the are you
sure message, Now click the OK button, and
it will appear that nothing is happening and
the computer is locked up. Be patient and
wait for the old restore points to be
removed. This could take some time. When
this has finished, you will be presented
with a message asking if you want to perform
these actions. Click Yes and operation will
be completed.
In Vista
and Windows 7, click the Start Orb, and
enter Disk cleanup. Click on Disk Cleanup at
the top of the list, and choose the drive
you want to use. Click OK. Wait for the
space to be saved to be calculated, uncheck
all the items in the list and click on the
More Options tab. Click the Clean Up button,
and when the "are you sure" message is
displayed, click the Delete Button. Now
click the OK button and it will appear that
nothing is happening and the computer is
locked up. Be patient. This could take some
time. When the "Are you sure" message
appears, click the Delete Files button and
the operation will be completed. |
