What Does System Restore Do? - Comments Page 1

So, if I have a malware virus such as Antivirus 2009 I can simply use System Restore to remove all traces of the malware?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Possibly... if you know for sure WHEN the virus first appeared on your computer, you can restore to a point prior. But I would recommend something like MalwareBytes Anti-Malware instead.

To make sure that I have at least one restore point for each calendar day, I found a little vb-script that does it for me. I put the script in my startup folder so it runs on every boot.

Set SRP=GetObject("winmgmts:\\.\root\default:Systemrestore")

CSRP=SRP.CreateRestorePoint("Hacked the registry", 0, 100)

copy the above two lines into wordpad and save the file as "SetRestore.vbs".

then put the file into your startup folder where it can run on each boot.

I just copied this ad verbatim. The "hacked the registry" bit is the name of the restore point, so I presume this could be anything!

Works fine, as it puts in a restore point at every boot-up.

System restore doesn't work on my computer anymore. I have Windows XP Home Edition. Why might that be?

EDITOR'S NOTE: What might be happening when you try it?

I experienced twice what Doug went through. Dell then sells me more "bug" control that doesn't seem to prevent the malicious crowd from playing havoc with my system. Why can't I get my Windows XP to restore when "stuff" gets by my "bug" control. It would save me $$ as I would be able to restore my own system and not have to buy more "bug" control. Perhaps Dell and Microsoft do not want me to have control??

Like Doug, my system restore stopped working some time ago. I think some download from Microsoft caused the problem same as Standby no longer works.
I just live without it. I'm buying a new computer with Windows 7 next year.

I quit using System Restore a long while back. I use ERUNT. IMHO a much better way. Check it out. It's free and it works.

I don't like System Restore. Each Restore point is valid only if the previous Restore point is valid. ERUNT creates a stand-alone 'save the bacon' copy per schedule or on request.

Ruth Brown:

Aahh Ruth, Ruth, Ruth.

Why not give Ubuntu a spin? It's free it will revitalise your existing PC, costs nothing to try it, and did I mention it won't cost you anything?

My system restore never, ever seems to work if run from the full working desk-top on both my machines. Always comes up with "your computer cannot be restored" etc; "no changes have been made". Tried it a few days ago from safe mode and it worked fine. I gather that some security software may stop it working. Can anyone enlighten me further on that?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, it's quite possible that your restore point contains a file that's infected. So your anti-virus may be preventing System Restore from restoring that file.

I like your site BUT the very annoying pop up of your pic and its ad that hits every page is a real pain. How do I disable this?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Good question! If that popup appears on every page, then you have either disabled cookies, or you have an overly restrictive cookies setting. It's only supposed to appear once every 14 days, and never again if you subscribe to the newsletter. Try resetting your cookies setting to the defaults and I think the problem will go away.

BTW, there's a lot of misinformation about the "danger" of cookies. See http://askbobrankin.com/eat_your_cookies.html

I found my "System Restore" did not work and using trial and error I discovered it was my Norton antivirus that was blocking it.
Open Norton, Click on Settings (at top), untick "Norton Tamper Protection" Ignore any protests from Norton but remember to restore Norton's setting.