System Restore ? Why Have It On

[delphin460]

Im just wondering , does anyone or has anyone actualy used system restore and got there comp workin the way it was, as far as i can see all it will let you do is let you get back in so you can backup you file b4 you format again , because the reg always seems so screwed up after a system restore

also a lot of viruses inbed them selves in system restore, so should it just be left off all the time

[Mïcrösöül°V³]

i agree, system restore only seems to give you the false impression of PC happiness, only to find you got a bunch of shit piled in your registry, and leftover folders everywhere. I dont like it, as i have never had a good experience with it. ALSO A GOOD IDEA>.........turn off monitoring on all drives other than the drive with windows on it.

[zapjb]

I use sys restore. But I realize it's limits. At least how it responds for me. Example on preparing to install a new program. I get everything cleared away using various diagnostic tools. Then I set a SRP (system restore point). Call it like Before Program X. Then I delete all other SRP's. SR works best for me when I have only 1 SRP. Then I install the new program. Play with a couple hours or days. If the new program messes up my system I choose SRP Before Program X. Rinse & repeat. Never fails unless I mess up the steps. This does not work if I remove the offending program through add/remove or uninstall.

[Xero Grid]

System restore is useless if you know what you are doing. It stores viruses and spyware and takes a big chunk out of the hard drive by default. Not to mention it slowing down your computer. But, I have to admit, it works a hell of a lot better in XP than it did in ME.

I say, shut down the service completely along with all the other vulnerabilities. I've seen no better guide than Black Viper's guide... or any other guide period, for that matter.

-- Xero Grid --

[Keikan]

Ya black viper has some pretty good tips

and system restore blows you should only keep it on if you have a crappy brand name pc and can't reformat

[Rip The Jacker]

Right now I'm using Win2000 Pro, and it doesn't have System Restore for all I know. But when I had Windows ME (yuck) a long time ago, I've tried the System Restore many times. The stupid thing didn't work a single time, I would always get a "Windows was unable to restore your system blah blah, no changes were made to your computer" message.

I found System Restore to be horribly unreliable.

[nostalgia]

I'm using it (Windows XP home SP1) because my kids occasionally mesh with the pc. Every week I throw away the restorepoints by disabling the feature. After that scanning for viruses, adware/spyware/trojans and defrag and make a fresh new restorepoint. Had to use it twice and it worked.

[djweiser]

It seems to be OK for home users and general people. But people who know what there doing with computers to a higher level, do not like it.

Generally.

[Robert00000]

System Restore is very useful if you know how to use it. It can solve so many problems in minutes that otherwise would take hours, if not days, to solve.

It is true that it has limitations, you should always delete all restore points and turn off restore on all drives if you get infected by a virus and then turn it back on to start from fresh. Another problem is that when you use SR it deletes all the executables you have installed and downloaded after the restore point, its wise to zip up applications so you don't lose them.

System Restore can solve problems that are very difficult to resolve manually, for example with damaged partition tables, this seems strange because i didnt think it was able to do this before. One of my friends (a PC expert) had problems with IE that took him days to figure out, but when he used restore it solved the problem in 5 mins.

The conclusion: System Restore is very useful but you need to know how it works to properly understand how to use it.

EDIT: By the way i've never had any problems with it and i use XP Pro (Corp).

[zapjb]

I concur Robert00000. Well said.