Why doesn't a restore point work?

I struggled for a long time to get a home network working between two computers with XP.

I thought, as a safeguard, I would create a restore point on both machines as soon as I was satisifed that everything was working correctly - which was a couple of weeks ago.

For reasons unknown, the network stopped working yesterday.

I tried restoring to the point I created immediately after establishing the network, but was successful on only one of the two machines, the other one displaying the message that the system was unable to restore, etc, etc.

Why? What can happen which makes a restore point unavailable?

 

Restore points have a very limited life, the oldest being discarded to make room for the latest. Had the restore point you wanted simply disappeared, or did the restore fail?

Restore points do not fully restore a computer either, just selected files. You need to use an imaging program to fully 'go backl'.

 

My experience with failed restore points tells me two things:

1) Its most likely related to the Registry - when the restore point points to an area that no longer exists in the Registry, there's nothing left to restore the item to; and,

2) use an imaging program (as Earthling points out). I use Keriver 1-Click Restore Free (Keriver.com); it backs up your system drive and restores it exactly as it was when you did the backup.

Like any imaging program, its only as good as your latest backup, and it does a complete re-write of your system drive or partition, another good reason to keep programs and data separate.

Hope this helps you out.

 

Restore points are fragile. You can have a bad shutdown and restore points can be corrupted. If you change certain hardware, restore points can be broken. If you mess with your paging file, your restore points can be broken. If you have a bad restore point created, obviously it is broken.

 

I'll add that after several bouts with missing Microsoft restore points, I no longer consider them reliable. Third party solutions work much better.

 

I neglected to say that I erased all existing restore points before creating the one after being satisfied with the network. So no, it hadn't disappeared, it just didn't work. The system was unable to restore to this point.

That's interesting.

I also made a registry back-up at the same time. I don't really understand the significance of registry back-ups but it just happened to cross my mind so I did it.

Would it help to restore the the registry back-up and then try to restore again?

How does one keep programs and data separate?

I tried imaging a couple of times, without any success. I have found so many explanations which do little to properly explain for one reason or another, (poor grammar, use of jargon instead of plain English, assumption of prior knowledge) that I have given up.

I don't understand or know anything about the page file so I never, as far as I know, touch it.

What understandable, properly explained, 3rd party alternative/s do you suggest?

 

@dmb06851: Would it help to do a Registry restore? It might, with the following caveats: 1) If you added or changed any programs since you did the Registry backup, restoring the system back to that point in time, might render your programs and/or system completely unusable. 2) If the restore point failed for some other reason, restoring the Registry might not have any impact at all.

How do keep programs and data separate? Either by using a 3rd party program to partition your system drive into two or more partitions, or by adding a second hard drive either internally or externally using an USB port. Outlining the process goes something like this:

If you don't want to add a second drive, you can take a 3rd party application and split, or partition, your system drive into 2 (or more) parts. I use and recommend easeUS Partition Master Home Edition (freeware).

How it all works: on my laptop, I took my single internal hard drive and told easeUS Partition Master to split my single internal hard drive into 2 separate partitions. The first for my system drive (C:\Drive) of about 47 GB, and the balance for my data drive (D:\Drive). When I then click "apply" the program shuts down Windows, and splits the partition as instructed, then restarts Windows. Format the new partition and add your data back in.

The caveats for this operation are 1) back up your data to an external source (CD, DVD, USB flash drive); 2) follow all the directions about running chkdsk first, and defragmenting the hard drive before you start; and 3) make sure you have your Windows system disk and program disks handy (along with your serial keys) just in case something goes wrong.

Adding an external drive is the easiest, and only marginally more expensive than adding an additional internal drive. External drives can be bought as self-contained units (see http://www.newegg.com/External-Hard-Drives/SubCategory/ID-414?Tpk=external hard drives&Order=PRICE or http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...omputer&lowprice=0&highprice=0&sort=1&recs=10). They can also be put together as 'kits' by taking an internal hard drive and placing it into an external enclosure. In either case you'll need an USB port to plug the external drive into. They are inherently slower than internal drives (unless you have access to an USB 3.0 port).

These are bare outlines of what's involved, and frankly, its more complicated to write out and explain than it is to do the actual work! If you want detailed instructions for one or the other methods, post here and I'll help you out.

 

@dmb06851: Re: Imaging programs. Some are complicated; sometimes people aren't clear. Keriver is simple. And its freeware.

You install the program. It offers to run it that first time (say yes). It creates a Baseline Snapshot (image) of your system drive (C:\Drive). That's it. Then decide upon your backup strategy. I take a new Baseline Snapshot once a week (every Sunday morning as I watch futbol), and whenever I make a basic or fundamental change to my C:\Drive (add a new program, change an existing program, change system settings, reconfigure my web browser, etc.).

Their website has full documentation, though there isn't much to it. No complicated settings or program options to deal with. If you want help with it, post here, and I'll work with you on it

 

I suggest the paid for Acronis software. There is a learning curve, but it isn't too steep.

First have a read here:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=27238

The Acronis link will take you to some screenshots at:

http://www.acronis.com/promo/majorgeeks/01/index.html?1

Also see:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/#overview

And for more detail:

http://www.acronis.eu/support/documentation/ATIH2013/#22735.html

 

Thank you, both BearPup and cipher, for your replies.

They are of great help.

 

Third party I use is Registry Backup by Tweaking.com: http://majorgeeks.com/Tweaking.com_-_Registry_Backup_d7786.html I haven't had the need to restore yet though.

 

Good point on registry backup, it can save your bacon in many situations.

:cool Great tutorial video on this too, no fluff, just how to use it in plain language...