How to Retain Restore Points?

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Is there a way to keep restore points past 30 days in Windows 10 version 1903?  I have increased the amount of space alloted for restore points, but it doesn’t seem to help.

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Linda2019 wrote:

Is there a way to keep restore points past 30 days in Windows 10 version 1903?  I have increased the amount of space alloted for restore points, but it doesn’t seem to help.

Restore points on Windows 10 are retained for 90 days unless there in not enough space, you ran disk cleanup, you have update a feature update…

Have you selected ‘show more restore points’ ?

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I have clicked on “show more restore points”.  My system isn’t keeping them for 90 days, only 30 days.  No feature updates.  but … if my Dell does it’s system cleanup.. comes with the warranty I purchased from Dell this software (it examines for health and cleans disk) … would that delete the restore points?

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The downside with restore points is they may not work if Windows is in a real mess, or the disk crashes, etc. Combine them with a backup to external disk and you are covered.

cheers, Paul

2 users thanked author for this post.

cmptrgy, Linda2019

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Linda2019 wrote:

this software (it examines for health and cleans disk) … would that delete the restore points?

It may delete restore point to gain free space.
Try disabling the app and check after some time.

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I’ve had System Restore set up to use 10% of my 1TB HDD. My earliest restore point also only goes back one month. This has been the behaviour on my computer since I turned System Restore on (and made sure it was on) since being on version 1511. It never retains them for any longer than that, even though it has ample storage space. No idea why. I’m using Windows 10 Home if that makes any difference. I don’t rely on restore points as a backup, only as one method of safeguarding against botched updates or any sort of funnies Windows tries to pull on me.

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Since converting to win10(ver 1703),  I have never been able to complete restoring from a restore point. It would get almost to completion then error. I do not create restore points and use macrium reflect- this seems to be a better alternative.

DriftyDonN

1 user thanked author for this post.

Charlie

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Hey Y’all,

Just a follow up on this thread. When it was first posted I created a restore point and set a reminder in my calendar to check it in 3o days. Well it hasn’t been thirty days yet but I saw the entry on my calendar this morning and decided to check anyway. Well this is what I got:

PS> G:\BEKDocs\Scripts\RestorePoints\Dev2-Get-RestorePoints.ps1

Type Restore Point Type  
---- ------------------  
  18 Windows Update      
  16 Manually Created    
  13 Cancelled Operation 
  12 Modify Settings     
  10 Device Driver Inst  
   6 System Restore      
   1 Uninstall           
   0 Installation        


Enter the Type number for the desired
Restore Point type or * for all.: *

   Creation   Creation Restore Point                                           
 # Date       Time     Type               Description                          
-- ---------- -------- ------------------ ------------                         
43 2020/04/05 11:31                       Scheduled Checkpoint                 

Currently my system is configured with restore points enabled for C: only at 2.08Gb with 522.61Mb used. So where is the restore point I created on 3/20/2020? Looks like a bug in the system to me.

HTH 😎

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

2 users thanked author for this post.

Charlie, Cybertooth

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[rd23]

Where is that PowerShell script posted?

I have your Version No: 1.4  from July 2011, but don’t know where to look for updates.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by rd23.

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RetiredGeek wrote:

Looks like a bug in the system to me.

Hmm… on an old Win 10 Pro 1809 build I installed the latest LibreOffice package on 04/04/2020; followed immediately by the installation of LibreOffice’s separate Help system.

PowerShell‘s Get-ComputerRestorePoint only shows the installation of Help, not the main program moments before.

I tried an alternative method, i.e. vssadmin list shadows (from an elevated command prompt). It returned the same result as PowerShell.

Triple-checked with the System Restore GUI (rstrui.exe). Same result.

I checked and I have loads of free SSD space and haven’t amended System Restore’s default storage value (I still have 10GB free of 11.87GB set aside).

Something strange is going on which I don’t undertand. Tried Googling the issue but couldn’t find anything quickly.

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[RetiredGeek]

RD,

Here’s the latest, just updated today!

Get-RestorePointsV1-5: Get-RestorePointsV1-5
.zip MD5 Hash: 62B53D093DB37A4A04BDEADEDF3E2AD1
.ps1 MD5 Hash: 4CB1D572958F4F945DAEB201B14ACBDD

HTH 😎

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by RetiredGeek.
• This reply was modified 5 years ago by RetiredGeek.

3 users thanked author for this post.

rd23, Elly, wavy

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[Linda2019]

Well, to follow up .. I come to find out .. with Windows 10 ..  if you create a restore point within 24 hours of, let’s say .. a quality update .. the operating system won’t automatically create another restore point with the quality update.  I always like to create a restore point before a Windows update.  that could explain why I am not seeing any automatic restore points after my monthly quality updates.  Here I am thinking my restore points are disappearing .. when .. they may not being created to begin with.  With Windows 7 the restore points upon updates were always there.

Then, I investigated creating automatic restore points on a schedule, say .. upon startup.  Adding a line item in the registry with a DWord of 0 didn’t bother me .. but in the instructions there was a descriptor that had to be typed into the task scheduler.  I went to Ten Forums and Windows Central, etc etc .. and there was not a consensus as to what to type in.  So I am leaving it alone for now.

The instructions I read to create automatic restore points in task scheduler did not include modifying the registry.  When I saw it didn’t work correctly I dug a little deeper and read the registry had to be modified.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by Linda2019.

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[rd23]

To @Linda2019, my question about your original question, is why you would want restore points that are 30 days old?

By that time, so much would’ve happened to the computer, that they would be useless to restore from.

In other words, if one has close to daily restore points, only the last few would be useful for a recovery from some problem. (Sort of like that joke about how fast one has to run to outrun a bear.)

E.g., right now, on 4-18, I have restore points for 4-1, 4-7, 4-8, 4-9, 4-10, 4-13, 4-14, 4-16, 4-17. And that is far enough back for me. Anything older wouldn’t be of any use.

 

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by rd23.

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Well rd23, that’s what I am learning about Windows 10.  The restore points beyond the last updates are not useful – compared to Windows 7.  Because after an update  its a new build number.

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Linda,

The default time between Restore Points is 24 hours. (1440 minutes {24×60}).

This value is found at:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
Under the key: SystemRestorePointCreationFrequency

Changing this value to 0 will allow you to create restore points at will.

HTH 😎

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

3 users thanked author for this post.

Linda2019, ScotchJohn, Mr. Austin

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An if the key labeled “SystemRestorePointCreationFrequency” (without the quotes) isn’t there, just create it as a DWORD (32 bit) value and enter zero (0).

2 users thanked author for this post.

Linda2019, RetiredGeek

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Linda2019 wrote:

I have clicked on “show more restore points”.  My system isn’t keeping them for 90 days, only 30 days.  No feature updates.  but … if my Dell does it’s system cleanup.. comes with the warranty I purchased from Dell this software (it examines for health and cleans disk) … would that delete the restore points?

The next time Dell wants to check your system, check your restore points. Compare them after Dell has done its checkup.

I don’t know if Dell interferes with the following, but here are a few notes

Automatic restore points are created every 7 days unless a restore point has been created in which case, the 7 day cycle starts over from there.
— I just checked mine and on this month April on the 14th, a Windows Update entry is there and that’s the date my Cumulative (Quality) up date was installed.
— If I think of it I’ll check May’s Cumulative (Quality) up date and note whether or not April’s will still be there.

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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@linda2019 post #2251527
“if you create a restore point within 24 hours of, let’s say .. a quality update .. the operating system won’t automatically create another restore point with the quality update. I always like to create a restore point before a Windows update.”

That’s interesting information I wasn’t aware of.

Since you like creating restore points before a quality update, consider creating a restore point at least 8 days ahead of Patch Tuesday. In May create the restore point on May 3rd or 4th.
— Patch Tuesday is May 12. When the quality update installs either on Tuesday evening or Wednesday, it will be recorded as an Automatic Restore point.
— Let the following Automatic Restore points be created every 7-days the rest of the month.
— Follow that plan to your convenience.
— That way you are covered if you agree with that.
— With the research you have done, you probably have read that system restore points are not always reliable and is not equal to system image backups.

HP EliteBook 8540w laptop Windows 10 Pro (x64)

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Hey Y’all,

Here’s the much improved version 2.0 of my Get-RestorePoints.ps1 program. It now has a GUI and I also squashed a couple of bugs.

Note: It will NOT run in PS7 since PS7 does not support the Get-ComputerRestorePoint cmdlet!

Selection Dialog:

Output:

2256082: Get-RestorePointsV2-0-1
.zip MD5 Hash: 0204863C8C847500A08A99106742C2F3
.ps1 MD5 Hash: 468FACF8DC11B3044D7AA52FA4114864

HTH 😎

 

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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RetiredGeek wrote:

PS7 does not support the Get-ComputerRestorePoint

Is there an alternative?

On your GUI you could have “leave blank for all”. One less keystroke.

cheers, Paul

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The GUI is clipped on a screen with non-standard settings.
I.e., the last row does not show.

I have a “custom scale factor” and also I just noticed that Windows 10 has a “Let Windows try to fix apps so they’re not blurry” setting on “On” so something unusual is happening.

The custom scale factor was carried over from my upgrade from Windows 7 in February, and I didn’t know about this other setting until just now, so don’t know what it really affects.

 

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@Paul T, Good suggestion, done!

@rd23, not too much I can do about that! I did tighten up the screen display a bit so maybe that will help.

2258145: Get-RestorePointsV2-10
.zip MD5 Hash: 30F474CD8072BBC567FB8D45B7FF7FEF
.ps1 MD5 Hash: 9439D471045F39B176092EAD67C0FA5D

HTH 😎

 

 

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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I don’t want updates automatically installed by MS without my consent.  So I’ve taken comfort in knowing that programs modified or replaced by MS could be brought back via Restore Points:  Programs that came with the purchase of Windows, Office and related apps such as Outlook and the photo editor/manager program.  In other words, good, reliable, easy-to-use, familiar programs purchased several years ago or more.  But now I have just learned that restore points only work for the last 90 days–or perhaps even less than that.  Also I have just learned that restore points may not work if they are set just before an MS update.  So I guess the only way to guard against the MS intrusion is to back up the OS and related Office programs on a flash drive.  Then when MS invades and destroys, a user can repair the damage.  <span style=”text-decoration: underline;”>Is that right?</span>  –Jeff

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Jeff Bogart wrote:

So I guess the only way to guard against the MS intrusion is to back up the OS and related Office programs on a flash drive.

The best way is to create full PC image copies to an external drive before any changes made to the system.
You can than restore the whole system, folders or files.

https://www.askwoody.com/forums/forum/askwoody-support/backup/

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