The Complete Guide to Windows System Restore (It’s Better than You Remember) Carey Frisch

I am attempting to familiarize myself more with the Windows 7 version of System Restore and am coming across what I define to be inconsistencies with the feature. If you go into Task Manager and drill down to <Microsoft\Windows\System Restore>, you will see a task named "SR" that is set by default to trigger both at system startup and also daily at 12:00 am. The description of this task is to "create regular system protection points". This seems consistent with the XP iteration of System Restore (where you can access a daily System Checkpoint from which to restore an earlier state of the PC). However, when I actually access System Restore on a Windows 7 box, I do not see/am not given the choice of every daily system restore point (instead seeing by default only the restore points that are created when an actual "perceptible" change is made to the system. I would prefer to be able to utilize System Restore in Windows 7 in the same manner that I am currently using it in an XP environment. That is to say, when I can roll back the state of a PC to a certain date, not just roll back changes that are detected by the system (what if malware-related changes are not "officially" picked up?). In one sense I am being led to believe that Win7 System Restore either works the same way as XP or can be made to, but in another area I am seeing a fundamental difference. How can I get the left-hand to talk to the right-hand here? -Brian McKnight

Hi, Does the information which Carey provided help? If anything is unclear, please let me know. It is my pleasure to be of assistance. Regards, Sabrina TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.comThis posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees, and confers no rights. |Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

I read the article but I am still not clear as to how (or if) I can configure System Restore within Windows 7 to work in the same manner that it operates natively within XP. In XP, I can go into System Restore, select the option to <Restore my computer to an earlier time>, and am presented with an interface that contains a representation of a calendar. Within this calendar interface I can go back and choose a "System Checkpoint" for any given day. In Windows 7, this is not the case. I only see restore points for when some sort of significant event occurs (such as the installation/uninstallation of software or updates). To me, the lack of options within System Restore within 7, in addition to not being consistent with the XP behavior, is also not consistent with the fact that this "SR" task fires daily at 12:00 by default within <Task Manager\Microsoft\Windows\System Restore>. As far as I can tell, the link provided did not address this inconsistency. Bottom line. . .is there a way that I can tweak System Restore within 7 to work the way that it does in XP (where I can see and utilitze daily system checkpoints as opposed to only restore points that were either manually created or as a result of an actual change to the system) or am I stuck with the reality that Windows 7 by design is not able to provide this? -Brian McKnight

Hi Brian, I think we cannot achieve this goal as it is by design. Regards, Sabrina TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees, and confers no rights. |Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

With Windows 7 they decided to do weekly Restore Points. See my thread for the detective work. Planned System Restore not working

Becoming frustrated myself with the way Windows 7 handles restore point creation, I did some research on line and came across a very simple solution: http://www.nirmaltv.com/2010/03/06/how-to-schedule-creating-system-restore-point-in-windows-7/ You'll have to download the System Restore Point Creation tool linked in the first step, then follow the relatively easy instructions on how to set it up in Task Scheduler to run on whatever schedule you'd like. The example has it creating a restore point weekly; I have mine set up to run every other day. The tool will create the RP on schedule and will be available from System Restore within Windows. It does not do away with any system created RP's such as the ones created when installing new programs or Windows updates. Any other points that were normally created will still be there; this tool just gives you some added protection. Hope this works as well for you as it does for me. I have tested these restore points and they work just fine, no difference between them and a regular system-created one. SC Tom

I'll have to give that a go when I get the opportunity.-Brian McKnight

This is not really a solution. If I can download something from microsoft.com, okay, I am willing to do that and jump through the hoops, but I refuse to install a program from some bogus site in Canada that for all I know has created some viral piece of software.

See my thread, ref above, for cyanna's .VBS approach.

It was a solution for me and numerous others. But you not using it is fine by me; I just made a simple suggestion. Any particular reason why you consider it a bogus site in Canada, and why you would think that their software is viral? SC Tom

I am going to try this download. It is funny because every time I download a MS update, I encounter new unimaginable issues with Win 7.(I spend way too much time searching for answers than being productive.) When I try to use the Win 7 system restore, it shows the MS "Critical Update" as a restore point!! I laugh because I want to restore prior to the "Critical Update" that caused the mess in the first place. Sheesh. Daily updates have been my savior on XP for sure. Thanks for your suggestion and link.

You're welcome. Hope it works as well for you as it does for me. The RP that shows as "Critical Update" actually is BEFORE the update was installed. If you restore to that point, it will be before that particular update was installed. Not always the best way to get around an update installation, though. The better option is to uninstall the update through Control Panel. SC Tom