Shadow Storage Space

B

BluePeter

Member
Hi forum,
I am very careful about keeping an eye on System Restore points but I think I may have made an incorrect move.

I recently made a "vssadmin" alteration to storage space on my main drive (C) to 3GB. I now appear to have a lost a restore point which backdated to 3 weeks ago when the PC was running perfectly. This only occured after the change. I know this point is now lost forever.
However to avoid this happening in future at what figure should this be set in future.? Some recommend 30% of free space on the drive which, in my case, would be around 50GB. All the other recommendations say 3GB. Very puzzled by all this and would appreciate assistance. I like to keep points dating back a while as a precaution.
 

My Computer

System One

Welcome
You are very wise system restore is the best feature of Vista. I always keep as many as possible.
System Restore: frequently asked questions
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76227-system-restore-disk-space.html

As long as you meet the minimum required space you can make the space used as large as your needs require.

See post by our leader and very respected member regarding the OS
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76227-system-restore-disk-space.html
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

Again meet these requirements then you can make as large as you want to be comfortable

Reading your post indicates that you are like me, very conservative with your computer. Why not download the free Macrium Reflect and make a copy of your hard drive, then update once a month
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
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    6 gig
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    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
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Hello Richard,
Happy 2011 to you. Thanks for your reply but most of the threads proved a little difficult to understand being non too technical.

My basic question is: what level should I set Shadow Storage at in order NOT TO LOSE earlier points ? Does a 3GB setting prove inadequate in this regard as opposed to one higher e.g. 39GB ? Surely the larger value would retain these earlier points better. I cannot grasp the principle. By the way the Macrium idea seems a good deal and updating once a month would get round this whole Vista restore thing.
Peter
 

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System One

Happy New Year Peter
This is what the links say
They tell you how to change space used
The minimum requirements
They also say that if you have the minimum space after enough time goes by you will begin to lose points
Points take up space. Make enough and you will begin to lose the oldest to make room for the new
You have to decide how far back you want to go with the points. If you want to go back, lets say 3 months and points begin to delete at 2 months you have to increase the space.
AT most you need 8 weeks worth of points and even that my be overkill.
Make 8 weeks
Download and use macrium reflect, which makes a copy of the entire hard drive for a big emergency.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
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    6 gig
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    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
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    Hard Drives
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Thanks, Richard, that seems to be about it though I am still not fully understanding of the matter..my fault. However, the Macrium seems to be a very good idea making a full back up of the complete system and updating from time to time. To me this is preferable to System Restore. I did try Paragon on one occasion but found it a little unwieldy so maybe this new system will work. Many thanks..hope the snow is not too bad where you are... we have just lost ours in Ireland. Peter
 

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20 inches just got done
Any questions just ask; dont be shy.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
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    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
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    Dell USB
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    DSL provided by ATT
Restore and Image of Hard drive are not the same
You do not want to fix problems with a HD image
You will lose documents etc
Trust me
Make the restore for the little things, just the OS change
Save Image for major problems that need a reinstall.
Any further questions about my post just ask.

Make the image and update once a month
In emergency you will have an up to date image

These are the short answers, trying not to cofuse you more, ask if you need to.
sometimes too much information all at once can be a bad thing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
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    Dell USB
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    DSL provided by ATT
Hi BluePeter,

IMHO, a full image restore makes sense once you reach a certain point (and that can vary - I'd say 8 weeks is certainly a maximum but possibly if not probably somewhat sooner). It also depends on how well you keep it updated and current - but that's your responsibility.

On the other hand, if you make a simple mistake and hose the system somehow, a System Restore is a much better option to recover from that error. The same holds true if you go back a week or two or maybe even more (whatever you set as the cutoff between the two procedures).

I suggest you set a timeframe where you will do a System Restore and one where you will do an image restore and set your system restore space to match that decision. Keep in mind that System Restore doesn't always work, so you may need to image restore earlier than planned in the event of some very serious problem (like an infection by something extremely nasty). Until the process is defined and in place, then go with Richard's suggestion of 8 weeks just to be on the safe side (assuming you have the space for that). Also remember that the image restore is only as good as its last update - anything after that will be lost (INCLUDING documents - which a System Restore does not affect and that can be good or bad depending on the problem).

I hope this helps.

Good luck!
 

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  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
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    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
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    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
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    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
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    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
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    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
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As you see Peter no right and wrong just subjective. Do what makes you comfortable

Allow me to give you my back up system.
Right now make an image on Macrium and put it away.
Make SRs at an interval that makes you comfortable
After a month make a separate image and update once a month

If you ever have a problem
you have
A current system restore
A curren image
and the original image which can be used in a real emergency like a virus.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Hi Peter,

Here's how I handle backups and restores:

I make a System Restore point before any installation or update and otherwise daily and keep enough room to give me about 6 weeks worth of restore points.

I do a complete image backup monthly - that I store in a different place than everything else (actually, in my safe).

I do a full backup weekly and incremental backups every other day or so (depends on how much I did that day and whether or not I'm concerned about losing it). I do this constantly - replacing the full backup and the incremental backups every week (as I don't have enough space to store many) and do so regardless of whether or not I just did a complete image backup even that same day.

Unlike Richard, I do not have an image backup of the initial system tucked away for a dire emergency. If I find the money for another external HDD, I may very well consider doing so (at least from where I am now) as it's a good idea.

And that's my process. In some ways, it's more conservative and in some ways it's less conservative. But I'm comfortable with it and it hasn't failed me (well, to be honest, I've never needed to restore from backup on any of my own systems - knock on wood).

As Richard said, there are many alternatives but the main points are that the process is safe enough to offer real protection, that you are comfortable with it, that you have the equipment to do the plan you choose, and that whatever you choose you will follow-through with it (because if you choose one that requires more effort than you're willing to put into it, then you'll skip steps and that can defeat the purpose of the plan).

I hope this helps.

Good luck!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inc. MP061 Inspiron E1705
    CPU
    2.00 gigahertz Intel Core 2 Duo 64 kilobyte primary memory
    Motherboard
    Board: Dell Inc. 0YD479 Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
    Memory
    2046 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon X1400 (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM) [Di
    Sound Card
    SigmaTel High Definition Audio CODEC
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (17.2"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 [Hard drive] (160.04 GB) -- drive 0, s/n SB2411SJGLLRMB, rev SB4OC74P, SMART Status: Healthy
    Case
    Chassis Serial Number: 5YK95C1
    Mouse
    Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1958 Kbps download ; 754.8 Kbps upload
    Other Info
    Optiarc DVD+-RW AD-5540A ATA Device [CD-ROM drive] Dell AIO Printer A940 Conexant HDA D110 MDC V.92 Modem 6TO4 Adapter Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller Broadcom 802.11n Network Adapter Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Router Linksys / WRT54G -01

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I think restore size is all about preference. On my system, I wanted to be able to choose from a good range of restore points but not have an insane amount so i set to 20gb.
 

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    Corsair XMS2 8gb @ 5-4-4-12 833mhz
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    EVGA Geforce GTX470 SC+
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    X-Fi Extreme Gamer Fatlity Edition
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    Samsung T200
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    WD 1TB RE3
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    NZXT Lexa Silver
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    Zalman CNPS10x Extreme
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    Razer Deathadder 3500dpi
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    Razer Lycosa Mirror
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    24Mb/s
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    My massive wifi antenna is in the post!
There is no safe way to protect the shadowstorage. Many events can wipe it, regardless how big it is. 10% is usually enough of a size.

But as Richard said, a safe bet is imaging to an external drive. The images you can keep forever and you manage them, not the system. I have made a video tutorial about Macrium which shows you not only the setup and imaging part, but also the recovery part that most tutorials do not show. It is in the Win7 forum, but it works exactly the same for Vista.

And here is a quick start guide I made for this forum: http://www.vistax64.com/software/261727-image-your-system-free-macrium.html
 

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System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs 1x60GB OCZ SSD 6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
Another consideration is older versions of files. Even though you have Home Premium, you can use Shadow Explorer to dig out old versions of files saved when you make a restore point. You'll have to experiment with size to see what works for you. I have a 750 GB system drive and set my allocation to 24 GB. But I also make frequent Macrium images.

I usually only go about 3 or 4 restore points deep because I defrag and optimize my system disk frequently. If you keep a lot of restore points that really slows it down. By keeping only a couple I can typically do a Puran defrag with optimize in less than 1/2 hour. Of course it also helps that I cut my system disk usage down to 30% or less just before defragging and park most of my big files on drives in docking stations.

A lot depends on how you have things set up.
 

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  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion m9515y
    CPU
    Phenom X4 9850
    Memory
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