System Restore No Longer Working In Vista.

Unable even to create manual restore points.

 

Have you tried using SR in 'Safe Mode'?

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-check-system-restore-working/

 

Doesn't work in safe mode either.
Catastrophic failure Ox8000FFFF.

 

The information you give and your answers are a bit minimal so it doesn't enable much clearer help.
That link had a clear guide on how to resolve an SR problem.
But of you have tried all the suggestions in that link with no luck, then it's likely to be a system files fault, and you can scan and possibly repair them doing an sfc scannow:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/929833

 

Sorry to report that sfc /scannow or disk check did not provide any resolution.
sfc /scannow did not find any integrity violations.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/973558
Method 2

I'll do some searching and see if there is any more info that worked for someone.

 

Have set disk check to run on next start up.
Thanks for offering to serch further, too.

 

Hey Novice22, what version of Windows are you using ?

 

Vista.

 

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2009533

I believe that this is the solution but it sounds too complex for me.
Have never even done a registry back up.
If someone - with a lot of patience - could take me through this step by step
I believe that the problem could be resolved.

 

I'm not sure why you picked 2009533 but Vista is not listed as something it applies to. No way would I try something that is for Server 2008 as the OS.

 

Thanks plodr.
I thought that it described the problem.
Didn't realise that Vista wasn't mentioned.
I was very nervous about it and I very much appreciate your comments.
Thanks again.

 

What results did you get by following method 2 here exactly as shown:

Method 2: Run the disk check at the command prompt

1. Click Start, click All Program, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
2. At the command prompt, type chkdsk system_volume:/f, and then press ENTER.
   
   For example, type chkdsk c:/f.
3. If you receive the following message, type Y, and then press ENTER:
   Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N)
4. Restart the computer to start the disk check.

 

It didn't find anything.
Had run it a couple of times recently and it did not find anything either.
Also ran sfc /scannow a few times in recent weeks.
Didn't find any integrity violations either.

 

Sorry, it was just chkdsk that I ran.
Will have to do chkdsk system_volume:/f
Apologies.
Will run it at the first opportunity - hopefully tomorrow.

 

Hi MaxTurner
I spent a considerable time trying to get various options to work
but without success.
The only one that looked like it was going to work was chkdsk c:/f
but on restart nothing happened.

As a last resort I tried chkdsk on its own.
The following information came up:
Type of file system is NTFS
Volume label is Boot
Warning: F parameter not specified
Running chkdsk in read only mode.

It then when through the process but no final report was produced.

Was earlier unable to click Command Prompt from Accessories.
Just wouldn't work.

Another earlier result returned was
_ /f Invalid parameter.

Seems that Boot C is NTFS and
Boot D is FAT32?

 

The command should be:

Code:

chkdsk c: /f

Note the spaces in the command line.

 

Has anyone yet recommended Tweaking.com Windows Repair:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/tweaking_com_windows_repair.html

This program fixes many problems. Google and see how many have been helped. It's a huge number...

 

Tried that.

 

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>chkdsk c: /f
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cannot lock current drive.

Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another
process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be
checked the next time the system restarts? (Y/N) Y

Tried numerous times.
Just does not run on start up or restart.

 

This sounds like the old problems with chkdsk when a chkdsk is sceduled twice. It used to lead to big boot hangups in Win 98 I think it was. Don't know if it has anything to do with this looking over previous posts, since unusual behavior seems to be happening with chkdsk on your PC.

You mentioned D is in FAT32. I see your main drive is C, the NTFS drive. Any idea how D ended up FAT32?...

BTW, were you running the chkdsk commands from an Admininstrators Command Prompt. I think it requires this to function fully. If you have a standard account you work from, this could be a problem if I am right about chkdsk...

 

Yes, I was running as administrator.
No idea how the FAT32 came about.
Someone pointed it out to me one time and said it could lead to problems.
The machine is quite old now, in it's 9th year, and probably starting to fall
apart now - like myself.
It has other problems, too, like not being able to open Thunderbird mail links
in web browser.
I get around that by forwarding mails to my Hotmail account - just the odd one.
It seems like it is going to be difficult to continue without a System Restore facility.

 

You're not getting any integrity problems in sfc and chkdsk isn't reporting problems.

I would suggest this one thing. How about downloading Hard Disk Sentinel from here at MGs? It's shareware, but it will tell you alot about the drives with what works for free. Here is the link:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/hard_disk_sentinel.html

Download and install it and give it a few hours to run its various diagnostics and gather some info. Then take a look at the overview for the drives on your PC and see what HDS has to say about them. Under the report tab, create a .txt report and then zip it with a zip utility and attach it to your next post. Maybe the SMART data can point to a problem with your drive. The chkdsk scans seem strange, so I feels it's worth a look...

 

Many thanks.
I will have to leave it until after Christmas at this stage.
Not sure what shareware means but I am looking forward to trying it out and to maybe learning
something about the machine.
Not sure what the HDS is or what a zip utility is but keen to find out about all of these things.

A Happy Christmas to you and yours and sincere thanks for all your help.

 

No problem.

Shareware in the case of HDS means free to use with certain restrictions. No worries. It will tell you what you need to know about the drives. Just save the report .txt to the desktop when you create it, but do wait a few hours before grabbing it.

To zip the file, right click on it and look at Send to on the menu. There should be an option to zip the file. It creates a sort of folder and compresses the file a little bit. You can use the attach feature at MGs to attach it to your next message...

Same to you. Merry Christmas and to everyone else while I am at it...

 

Just ran chkdsk:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>chkdsk
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is BOOT.

WARNING! F parameter not specified.
Running CHKDSK in read-only mode.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 3)...
399360 file records processed.
File verification completed.
2021 large file records processed.
0 bad file records processed.
0 EA records processed.
77 reparse records processed.
CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 3)...
488002 index entries processed.
Index verification completed.
0 unindexed files processed.
CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 3)...
399360 security descriptors processed.
Security descriptor verification completed.
44322 data files processed.
CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
34507376 USN bytes processed.
Usn Journal verification completed.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

93795470 KB total disk space.
74948100 KB in 284785 files.
142652 KB in 44323 indexes.
20 KB in bad sectors.
516294 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
18188404 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
23448867 total allocation units on disk.
4547101 allocation units available on disk.

C:\Windows\system32>

Does this give any useful information?
Best wishes.

 

Hard Disc Sentinel performed well.
Performance 100% excellent
Health 96% excellent.
Estimated Remaining Lifetime More than 698 Days.
No actions needed.

Still trying to figure how to send report.
Right clicking doesn't seem to do anything.

 

Download Tweaking.Com - Windows Repair to your Desktop and extract the folder from the zip archive.
Open the folder and run Repair_Windows.exe. Select the Repairs tab and then click on the 'Open Repairs' button.
Select the following Repairs:

• 03 - Reset Service Permissions
• 04 - Register System Files
• 05 - Repair WMI
• 19 - Repair Volume Shadow Copy Service
• 26 - Restore Important Windows Services
• 27 - Set Windows Services to Default Startup

Press the 'Start Repairs' button. When all repairs have completed, you'll receive a prompt to reboot.
Reboot the PC and see if you are able to create a restore point.

 

Yes!!!
Can't believe it.
At long last.
You are a genius!
Sincere thanks.
Also to all who helped, many thanks.

Things are running a bit slowly since restart so I may have to
come back later but delighted to have System Restore working.

Have to go out now.
Thanks again.

 

You're most welcome. We'll all have to keep our fingers crossed.

 

Yeah, but enjoying it while it is still working.
Manually created restore point from earlier today still working.
Great!

 

Sad to say did not hold restore point overnight but at least
I am able to create Manual Restore Points.
Getting there!

 

Up to date position is that I can manually create Restore Points but they disappear
within a few hours.
The "Catastrophic Failure" notification no longer appears.