System Restore not saved when closing Windows

damiana · Oct 31, 2010

Hi,

I have an Acer Laptop running the 32bit version of Vista. When I create a Restore point the system confirms the successful creation. Next time I boot the system and try to use System Restore I'm told a restore point has not yet been created. The system has two hard drives designated C: D: and a partition designated as PDQ (presumably where the original factory Vista and other programs installation resides for use in a clean install, this is Acers own recovery solution but to factory settings only thus losing all other data in the event you need to recover the system from a serious error).

When I set a Restore point I check all three boxes PDQ C: D: then when complete all three options show the successful creation of a Restore Point marked against each. However when I next boot the system and check the Restore Points it only shows Restore Points created against PDQ and D: The system does confirm that Sytem Restore is switched on for the C: drive.

Since the active operating system resides on C: along with all my files and Programs I'm therefore unable to recover to an earlier system time to fix any problems.

I currently get round this by creating a mirror image of the entire system on an external drive but it's time consuming to restore from this and vexing that I cannot simply keep a restore point on the laptop itself.

Can anyone tell me where I'm going wrong please.

Thanks

richc46 · Oct 31, 2010

The first step would be to

Make sure that you have enough free space for the SR
Then report back.

For both 7 and Vista
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/335-system-protection-change-disk-space-usage.html

Pay attention to the question about required space
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/System-Restore-frequently-asked-questions
Turn off the SR for that drive then reboot, and turn on. It may work

Disable the Anti Virus for test purposes.

damiana · Oct 31, 2010

89gb free of the 141gb drive

richc46 · Oct 31, 2010

I have added to the post, see prior post.

Lorien · Oct 31, 2010

If the above excellent recommendations from Richard don't resolve the problem, try these options:

Boot into Safe mode with networking and see if the problem occurs there (if you can't create and retain restore points). Either result helps us narrow down the search for the cause. Also, if this doesn't work, try disabling any security software you are using and attempt creating a restore point in Safe mode again. This time select only C:\ drive and uncheck all the others.

Do a Startup Repair by booting to the genuine Windows Vista Installation Disk (or one you can borrow from ANYONE) or from a Recovery Disk with recovery options included on it. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/91467-startup-repair.html. To boot to the CD you may need to change the BIOS to make the CD-drive first in the boot sequence. To do that, wait for the screen that tells you the F key to push to access the boot menu or boot setup. Push it quickly. Make the changes, save your work, and exit. Put the CD in the drive and reboot. When prompted, push any key to boot from the CD.

If you don't have either disk, you can make a bootable Recovery Disk using http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vista-recovery-disc-download/ along with burning software like: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/active-isoburner.html and, of course, a blank CD (perhaps made on a different computer or perhaps in safe mode with networking if that is working).

If that doesn't work, try to boot into safe mode (repeatedly click the F8 key while booting and go to safe mode with networking – or do so from the command prompt on the disk). Then let's check some of your system files:

Go to Start / All Programs / Accessories / Command prompt and right click on command prompt and click run as Administrator (you can skip this step if using the disk).

If using the disk, cd to C:\Windows\System32. Type sfc /scannow and enter and let it run. It will scan and try to fix some of your system files. Hopefully it will complete with no corruption it could not repair (if there is such corruption post back here or try to analyze it to find the problem file(s) using http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228. Try to attach the report (you may need to copy it to your desktop before it will permit you to attach it) here so we can see if they can be repaired with good copies from the installation disk (unless there are too many).

While in Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f /r and enter and let it run. It will want to schedule itself to run at the next restart. Answer yes and then reboot to run the program. It will scan and try to fix any corruption or bad sectors on your hard drive and mostly remove that as a potential cause.

If that doesn't work, then please post any error messages from the Event Viewer concerning system restore (Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Event Viewer). Here's how to use Event Viewer: http://www.petri.co.il/vista-event-viewer.htm. Look in the System section.

You may be infected with malware. Try to run anti-malware programs (in safe mode with networking if necessary). To fix this problem (if it is a problem) download, install, and run the following two programs: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php and http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html. You may also want to try the new, free Microsoft Security Essentials http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Microsoft-Security-Essentials-Download-131683.html (with the caveat that only ONE AV program can be installed and running on your system at any one time). Use removal tools when appropriate http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/05/05/comprehensive-list-of-uninstallers-or-removal-tools-for-antivirus-software/. You may also want to try the free Avira at: http://www.free-av.com/ and Avast at: http://www.avast.com/index. Reboot after completing all the scans. You may also want to try the free OneCare at http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/whatsnew.htm and let it run all the options (except the registry cleaner) because that’s good maintenance (it will take some time to complete but can be done in the background).

If that doesn't work, try a clean boot http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135. If the problem goes away then it's just a matter of tracking down the culprit causing the problem. Follow the procedures in the article. Once found, delete, remove, deactivate, or uninstall it. Once done be sure to reset Vista back to normal status as explained in the procedures. If the problem occurs in clean mode then just restore the system to normal status and reboot - this solution is not going to work.

I hope this helps. If not, post back with results, reports, requested attachments, and answers to any questions. Then we'll decide how best to proceed from there.

Good luck!

niemiro · Oct 31, 2010

Long shot: Do you use any cleaning programs, which may just be "cleaning" your system of useful System Restore points, if set to too high a purge level. Otherwise, I would be thinking along the same lines as Rich, in that it may be a SR volume restriction.

damiana · Oct 31, 2010

Thans for your detailed responses. It's a lot to take in. I'll report back when I've worked through the suggestions.

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