Solved Anyone figured out the disappearing restore points problem

[David Bailey]

My size just jumped from 130 MBs to 156 MBs without my doing anything.

Still had 6 points though.

Thats ok.
It can only get so big.
Something is working in the background automatically.

What, I don't know.

Someone else will have to help with this background process.

Edit--- Microsoft Product Support Customer Phone Number | Shortest Wait | Best Support | GetHuman.com

 

[Clint]

JeffL, I don't know if this has anything to do with your problem or not. I have discovered that if you go to Device Manager and click on View and select show hidden devices, you see Storage Volume Shadow Copies. Under that I have 36 Generic storages volumes. Most are grayed out. I only have 3 restore points. I have no idea what this means. Maybe it will have some effect on what you are trying to do.

 

[JeffL]

JeffL, I don't know if this has anything to do with your problem or not. I have discovered that if you go to Device Manager and click on View and select show hidden devices, you see Storage Volume Shadow Copies. Under that I have 36 Generic storages volumes. Most are grayed out. I only have 3 restore points. I have no idea what this means. Maybe it will have some effect on what you are trying to do.

I have no idea what that is. I have 11 Generic volumes. I opened the Storage Volume Shadow Copies (above Generic storage volumes), and I have 255 Generic Volume Shadow Copies. I don't see anything greyed out.

Edit, I take that back, 40 are greyed out, it's very subtle. Checking the properties, I see, if not greyed out: "This device is working properly", if greyed out: "Currently, this hardware device is not connected to the computer. (Code 45) To fix this problem, reconnect this hardware device to the computer".

 

[Clint]

I wonder if you remove the grayed out ones, if your restore points size would get smaller.

 

[lumbco]

Looks like the problem has mostly been solved, however I have just had a setback.
I used System Restore to go back to a saved restore point, and got the following messages:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
“System Restore did not complete successfully.

System Restore could not access a file.

This is probably because an anti virus programme is running on this computer. Temporarily disable your anti virus programme and retrySystem Restore. An unexpected error occurred during System Restore (0x80070005)

You can try System Restore again and select a different restore point. If you continue to see this error you can try an advanced recovery method.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use Microsoft Defender which comes with Win8, did not expect one MS programme to be incompatible with another. Anyway, switching Defender off did not cure the issue. Also, there is no reference on the error message as to what the “advanced recovery method” is.

Has anyone any ideas?

 

[SIW2]

Advanced recovery means refresh or reset the machine instead of system restore.

Both are quite traumatic.

As a workaround, you could use the free shadow explorer and fish out what you want from your shadow copies.


ShadowExplorer.com - Manual

 

[JeffL]

Looks like the problem has mostly been solved, however I have just had a setback.
I used System Restore to go back to a saved restore point, and got the following messages:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
“System Restore did not complete successfully.

System Restore could not access a file.

This is probably because an anti virus programme is running on this computer. Temporarily disable your anti virus programme and retrySystem Restore. An unexpected error occurred during System Restore (0x80070005)

You can try System Restore again and select a different restore point. If you continue to see this error you can try an advanced recovery method.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use Microsoft Defender which comes with Win8, did not expect one MS programme to be incompatible with another. Anyway, switching Defender off did not cure the issue. Also, there is no reference on the error message as to what the “advanced recovery method” is.

Has anyone any ideas?

If you don't already know this... If you are running Norton A/V, you must turn off Product Tamper Protection. It's one of the misc. settings. I'm no longer running Norton, since Windows Defender does the job now.

 

[JeffL]

Just reread your message and see you are using Windows Defender. FWIW, As I said, I'm also using Window Defender, and I did a restore a few days ago. I didn't turn anything off. I got a message saying that it was successful, for for some reason, it didn't fix what I wanted to fix *, so I did an unrestore.

* Somehow, in a moment of confusion, I turned on system protection for the PRB Image partition. I turned if off as soon as I realized what I'd done, but from that point on, the command VSSADMIN LIST ShadowStorage, shows the stats for that partition. I can't get rid of it with VSSADMIN DELETE ShadowStorage because that's not a valid command on my system. It doesn't do any harm, but I'm very anal, and just didn't want to see it I thought a SR to before I did it would get rid of it, but it didn't.

 

[MisterMike]

If you do want more system restore points this will do it

Hi Guys,
I have posted this elsewhere on this forum but it does fit well here.
After many hours of trial and error I finally found a way to automatically create system restore points in Windows 8 using the task scheduler. All of this information was gathered from web posts by others but this is the combination which works for me.

You must first create a .vbs script file.

To create the script just cut and paste the text below into notepad. Then save the file as SR.vbs in C:\Users\Mike (Of course you must substitute "your user name" for "Mike")


If WScript.Arguments.Count = 0 Then
Set oShell = CreateObject("Shell.Application")
oShell.ShellExecute "wscript.exe", """" & WScript.ScriptFullName & """ Run", , "runas", 1
Else
Set oWshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
oWshShell.Popup "Creating a SystemRestore point. Please wait.", 2, "System Restore", 0
swinmgmts = "winmgmts:\\.\root\default:Systemrestore"
GetObject(swinmgmts).CreateRestorePoint "Scheduled Restore Point", 0, 100
'MsgBox "System Restore Point created", 0, "System Restore"
End If


Then you have to create a registry DWORD (32 bit) VALUE entry (using regedit.exe by way of RUN) with the text
SystemRestorePointCreationFrequency
under the registry key
HKeyLocalMachine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
The DWORD (32 bit) VALUE needs to be typed into the "System Restore" folder itself (not in any of it's sub folders). I then set the value of SystemRestorePointCreationFrequency to 0 ( I think 0 is the default anyway). When you exit the registry by clicking "X" the changes you have made are automatically saved.

Now you need to program your task scheduler to run the SR.vbs script at the desired intervals. Create a "Basic Task" in the task scheduler to do this.
On the General tab type in a name and description of your choice for the task. Make sure you check only the "run whether user is logged on or not" and "Run with highest privileges" options.
On the Triggers tab select new and set the time you want to use and check only the "Enabled" option.
On the Actions tab select new and then select "Start a program" in the drop-down box. Under "Program/script" type in C:\Windows\System32\wscript.exe Then in the "Add arguments (optional): box type in C:\Users\Mike\SR.vbs
In the Conditions tab just make sure that none of the options are checked.
In the Settings tab you want only "Allow task to be run on demand" and "Run task as soon as possible after a scheduled start is missed" options to be checked. In the drop-down box at the bottom select "Run a new instance in parallel".
The History tab has no adjustments so you are done.

I know this sounds like a lot to do but is really not that complicated and, to me at least, was well worth the effort.
I now get two system restore points created automatically for me each and every day.
Hope this is of some use to someone out there.
Mike Blevins

 

[XweAponX]

I finally was able to do a successful System Restore, one my Main Internet/Business/Blogging PC. This was the one I updated from Windows 7 which was dot-nethosed.

My Media computer was a fresh install to a drive that had no OS, I had Windows 7 on another drive. I was not sure of it when I first posted a while back, but now I am - That Windows 8 on that machine spans all of the drives, while the Windows 8 on the machine I upgraded from 7 resides only in the drive that contained the OS I Upgraded.

This is why, I believe my System Restore Points vanished on the Media System: Because all of the original restore points had been made while the system was monitoring ALL of the drives. Later, I had shut off System Restore on all but the main Windows 8 drive. and so the only restore point which was available continually failed to properly finalize because all of the backup data it was looking for was on the now-removed D and E Drives. On that machine, I now have all of the restore points I have made since the last time I tried it- I was able to repair whatever my problem was when I was trying to do that restore. I think if I am seeing my points and they are not vanishing, it will probably work, because now it is isolating all of the restore data on one drive.

 

[JeffL]

Here's my progress report:

I'm still unable to verify that the way the system is originally set up, an automatic RP is created after 7 days of no other restore point being created. Every time I got close to 7 days, I'd do something (like install a program) that would add a restore point, so still no 7 day dry spell.

I'm still watching the used space growing by about 2 GB a day, however, I increased the allocated space to 4%, about 36 GB. This morning with 4 restore points, the used space got close to the allocated space, and knocked out the oldest restore point from 4/17. So I've gone 17 days before I lost a restore point. After the oldest restore point was dropped, the usage went down to 22 GB. It should take another 6 days before I lose another RP, by then I should have an automatic RP added. I think what I'll see is that 36 GB will let me retain 3 - 4 restore points.

 

[Vadikan]

JeffL, although I don't see much point in verifying the 7 day span apart from curiosity, the easiest way is to install Windows on a virtual machine. There you can turn off windows update, delete RPs in the system protection options and run a scheduled task that creates RPs twice. The first time it should create an RP, but not the second time. Turn off the machine and run the scheduled task in 7 days.

For figuring out the "RP count / space" ratio, you need to experiment on your main system, because it depends on the volume of files covered by RP (this includes your personal files as well). [DEL]Just keep creating RPs manually from the control panel until the oldest RP disappears from the list.[/DEL] (strike-through explained below)

 

[JeffL]

Vadikan- I'm trying to verify the 7 day waiting period, because I've seen so many posts from people that say they are not getting automatic updates.

Regarding your test for RPs per allocated space, my experience has shown that that wouldn't work, because the oldest restore points have not been falling off of the list until the displayed used gets space gets close to the allocated space, and no matter how many RPs I've had at one time, the displayed used space (from a clean start) is only increasing at 2 GB a day, instead of appearing all at once for the total amount of space needed for the RP. I think that was the basis of my original post.

 

[Vadikan]

Regarding your test for RPs per allocated space, my experience has shown that that wouldn't work, because the oldest restore points have not been falling off of the list until the displayed used gets space gets close to the allocated space

That's correct. When where's not enough space in shadow copies to save the next restore point, the oldest point gets deleted. You control the space in the system protection options.

and no matter how many RPs I've had at one time, the displayed used space (from a clean start) is only increasing at 2 GB a day, instead of appearing all at once for the total amount of space needed for the RP. I think that was the basis of my original post.

In the hindsight, my suggestion to create a bunch of points would be an inaccurate experiment. Shadow copies are incremental, so if there are no changes to the files covered by system protection, the space used by restore points won't grow by much.

This also means that there's no exact or even approximate figure for the amount of space taken by a single restore point. It all depends on the total volume of covered files as well the as on how much they change between snapshots. It could be 2GB for you or 250MB for someone with a tablet used for web surfing

 

[XweAponX]

So, one of the problems is that the System Volume Information folder keeps increasing with size despite vanishing restore points?

I just checked this system, my Reseved area is 14 and a half Gigs, and right now there is 7 and a half gigs of that being used: and eight available restore points. Does this sound right?

My guess on the machines which seem to be gobbling up the reserved area, that the earlier points are actually still there, but not being shown. This was indeed happening to me on the machine that was monitoring three drives, Four if my My Book was attached. Once I set System Restore to only maintain one drive, that all stopped.

 

[Vadikan]

My guess on the machines which seem to be gobbling up the reserved area, that the earlier points are actually still there, but not being shown.

I don't see how this is possible. Don't forget about the earlier restore points checkbox in rstrui.

If you want to get another view, run in the command prompt

vssadmin list shadows

Compare the dates of shadow copies with RP dates in rstrui, and you'll see the match.

This was indeed happening to me on the machine that was monitoring three drives, Four if my My Book was attached. Once I set System Restore to only maintain one drive, that all stopped.

Again, this doesn't sound right. Shadow copies are saved per volume. This means that RPs from drive C are saved on drive C, RPs from drive D are saved on drive D. The above command shows that precisely.

System protection is not a black box, although posts in this thread kind of give this impression

 

[JeffL]

So, one of the problems is that the System Volume Information folder keeps increasing with size despite vanishing restore points?

Not quite. Using the language you would see if you run VSSADMIN LIST SHADOWSTORAGE, my "Used Shadow Copy Storage space" increases at the rate of about 2GB a day. Once it gets close to the "Maximum Shadow Copy Storage space" (which is the amount you set by choosing a percentage), the oldest restore point goes away, and the amount of "Used Shadow Copy Storage space" goes back down (and starts growing again).

In the example I posted a few posts back, I had 4 restore points. The oldest dated 4/17, the newest dated 4/20. When my used space (growing at 2GB/day) grew close to my max space (36 GB), the 4/17 RP fell off the list, and the used space went back to around 22 GB. Right now, it's grown back to 23.3 GB, but it will keep growing.

I would have thought that when the newest RP was added on 4/20, the RP from 4/17 would have fallen of the list right away, but that isn't what happens. I could add many more RPs, but the oldest ones don't go away until they are pushed off the list by the slow growing "Used Shadow Copy Storage space" number getting close to the Max space number.

 

[XweAponX]

I know the last part does not sound right, but in my case, the affected machine is not exactly running the OS from only one drive, it's spanned across all of the installed drives. I can boot from all three drives and it opens up the Windows 8 OS choice menu. My other machine, it'a all on one drive.

I don't know how or why that happened, but that is the case on my Media Machine - if I remove any of the drives, it will not boot. They all have to be there. There is something in my Event Viewer that refers to a "JBOD" array. I have Windows 7 on one drive when I choose it, it reboots, when it comes back up it is the old dos Boot Options menu, from there I can boot to 7. the Windows 7 drive is the first one in the chain, and it is the only IDE drive in the system, the rest are SATA.

On this machine here, if I choose the D drive from the BIOS, it boots straight to Windows 7.

I don't even know if there is a way I can print up a system report and show you, and its been bothering me ever since I installed 8 on that machine.

 

[JeffL]

Finally! I have the proof that it works the way Microsoft said it works in Windows 8. After 7 days of no new restore points being created, an automatic restore point was created. I checked my shadow storage usage before and after the RP was created, and there was not a significant increase, it just continues its steady growth at about 2 GB a day. It's at about 26GB right now with 36GB allocated, so if I don't increase my allocated space, I should see the oldest RP fall off the list in 4 to 5 days, leaving me 3 restore points, and a new restore automatic restore point created a few days after that giving me 4 again. Of course as I start using more disk space, more space will be needed for RP shadow storage.
[h=3]Whoomp! There It Is:[/h]

 

[XweAponX]

I just checked mine - My Usage DROPPED to 6.8 Gig from, 7 and a half gig with 14 and a half total. But my very oldest restore point has vanished- But Evernote installed an update which created a new restore point.