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I routinely call up System Restore to check if it's behaving and I found over the past month the system checks have gone from every other day or two making a check to almost 13 days in between checks. Why the lag? Should I be calling in the calvary?? :eek:
TeddyBear
Mine does the same, some days it does and doesn't. I just get in the habit of checking everyday and if there isn't one there them I'll manually create a restore point myself.
Mine has given up making automatic systemcheckpoints altogether. The Help file says it should make on every ten hours the computer is switched on or every 24 hours real time. But ut doesn't!
There should, surely, be a way of rectifying this. I have tried going through system>...>troubelshooting>disable restore then reboorting and enabling, but there is not improvement.
I cannot believe that there is no computer genius out there who cannot produce a cure!1
I don't run WinMe..
Can it be added as an item to your Task Scheduler?
:)
Thanks for the response.
I have often thought about that, butcannot locate whatever programme it is that creates the Restore points. I ave a feeling it is something within the OSitself and not a seperate programme.
But comments on this point would be welcome
Well, been keeping an eye on my restore points and the opposite is now true: since the 13th, my OS has made 10 restore points. Very healthy activity...must be gremlins in my pc!! Who gave them water??? :p
So for now, all is well again. I do hope COPO and GeraldXX finds a way to get around it. I didn't change any settings; problem just cleared up on its own....for now. ;)
TeddyBear
Mine has started doing it since 22nd November - four a day!
I would say, however, i think that this is coinciding with my having left the computer on longer, even when not in use. In order to save electricity, i do tend to turn it off when I go out, but, recently, have been leaving it on.
I nte that it says somewhere in help that the computer needs to be idle for a while before it will create a system checkpoint.
Let us keep our legs crossed and hope things are better.
I would be interesting to know if COPO has also had the problem resolved,
I've turned it off as it seemed so random and was using up valuable disk space.
Hi GeraldXX
Didn't realize you had a query about my ILL-advised comment.
I am not sure it can be added to Task Scheduler...
Probably doesn't require scheduling and after checking MKB it
seems the automatic setpoints depend on the activities you have
been using your computer for...
Description of the System Restore Utility for WindowsME
http://support.microsoft.com/default...5BLN%5D;267951
I run Win95 and thus have no intimate knowledge of the system.
My friend does however and your suggestion for a comment spurred me to check-it-out. May come in handy for him..
Sorry for the delay in responding...:)
Many thanks for the comment. Reading the link you suggested, it seems that MS are quite happy that the thing works and have no troubleshooting suggestions for the problem. After boasting that mine was now working, it has gone on strike again and is not producing check points at the moment.
We can only wait and see what it does (if anything) and periodically, when I remember, make a manual restore point
Leave the computer on, unattended with no screensaver, and it should set a restore point afer 15-20 minutes. Move the mouse and the timer starts over.
I do that often - but, of course, it is connected to the internet via broadband - could that be disturbing it? Next time I leave it, I shall disconnect and see what happens.
Yes, that brodband connection can interfere with defragging and scandisk too.
Have had that happen lots and lots of times.
Well, I have just had it idle for a couple of hours disconnected from the internet - but, no, no system check!
That now has me whipped. Sorry, but that is the best I can do with WinMe.
Maybe disconnect and then Ctrl+Alt+Delete and stop everything except Explorer and Systray.
GeraldXX
With Av running system is not idling..Nix caught it!
From XP site but same for WinMe
-----------------------
Symptom
By default, System Restore creates automatic Restore Points (called as "System Checkpoints") every 24 Hrs. Many users complain that "System Checkpoints" are not created or created apparently random. There are two reasons for this:
Case 1
The Automatic System Restore point depends upon Task Scheduler service, though Scheduled Tasks will not show System Restore as a job. System Restore Checkpoints may not be created if Task Scheduler service is Stopped.
Case 2
System Restore requires the machine to be in an idle state to create system check points. This is by design so that System Restore never intrudes when the user is using the machine by taking processing power to create a system checkpoint. Hence, if system restore never sees any idle time on the machine, it will not be able to create System Checkpoints. This usually occurs if an virus scan is running and the anti-virus software is running
-------------------
Teddy Bear..hope we didn't hijack your post... :cool:
Hi train...longtime no see :)
Just arrived in the forums here - so forgive the late start!!
GeraldXX - would you care to restate your problems with SR in one fell swoop?
I'll try and summarize what I've seen......
1) your System Restore only occasionally creates automatic restore points..... and that's about it!
What could behappening is that the system isn't left alone for long enough for SR to start work - it MUST have 2 minutes 'slack time' with CPU usage less than about 5%.
Frequently, small things can stop this - in the case of BB connections, one of the most common is the firewall you're using! This is because it will tend to write to the HD every so often, and start SR's clock again See if there's an option to increase the time between saves of the log, or to turn off logging altogether. (one or two Firewalls are notorious for affecting ME's SR in this and other ways - ZA for one, is particularly bad in some versions)
what's running in the background? - what is your screensaver? - an active screensaver (e.g. the 3D pipes) is enought to interfere.
Smitee
in neither Win ME, nor in Win XP does System Restore depend in any way upon the Task Scheduler - it runs totally independently (I know - I routinely disable the TS in both OS's on my PC's)
Thank you Noel for reviving my thinking on this! I have not gone to sleep but have been up to my ears with things recently.
However, you have hit the nail on the head - it is something working in the background. This morning, I closed everything except explorer and systray and, within a very few minutes I had a system checkpoint arrive. I now have to work back turning off one thing at a time until I discover which it is. I shall let you know what turns up. This will require patience on my part as, so far as I understand, a checkpoint only occurs every 10 hours that the computer is on.
So after my SR starting producing check points again, I decided to carry out a system restore. Even though the check points were there, system restore would not restore. I tried about 15 check points and none of them worked. So I disabled SR and then enabled it once again. It is happy making restore points but I haven't tried to perform a SR. I've added a few programs to my pc and will wait until next week before I restore, because I want to keep what I just installed and not have to do it again. :p
We can always do the old faithful:
Insert EBD
Restart pc
Choose #2 (without cd rom support)
Call up C:
Type: attrib -r -s -h _RESTORE
Enter
Type: ren _RESTORE oldrest
Enter
Remove EBD
Reboot
It was a sure fix for me last time. I was able to restore without any probs. Of course you'll lose all previous restore points, but if they're not working, you're not really losing anything. These steps literally restarts SR again.
Teddy :D
That was very interisting. I did what you suggested, TeddyBear, and, on the final re-boot a system check wass created. I shall now wait with interest to see if it does any more!
Don't forget to delete the c:\OLDREST folder after the reboot!!
:)
This is not really a 'fix' for anything except corruption of the control files - which usually exhibits as an overflowing archive (64K files in the /TEMP folder), or a SYstem Restore which refuses to do anything at all.
Your problem - as you've already demonstrated, is simply that you have a background process running which is preventing SR from cabbing the files at the usual time.
If you would like an opinion - post a list of the items in the MSCONFIG |Startup list, and I'll see if I can spot the beastie.
I would appreciate this - but cannot determine how to post the list from MSCONFIG. There must be a way as I have seen that others have done it in other threads.
Incidentally, another Sysyem Checkpoint has arrived this morning!
Start|Run - type "MSINFO32" & click OK (without the quotes!)
Navigate to Software Environment|Startup Programs
Hit CTRL+A, anc copy/paste into notepad or your response
I don't know how you know all these things, but it has worked. Here is my list of startup programmes
%FP%Friendly fts.exe "c:\program files\voyagertest\fts.exe" All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
*StateMgr c:\windows\system\restore\statemgr.exe All Users HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
AOLDialer c:\program files\common files\aol\acs\aoldial.exe All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
AVG7_AMSVR c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgamsvr.exe All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
AVG7_CC c:\progra~1\grisoft\avgfre~1\avgcc.exe /startup All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
BTModemProtection btmodemprotection.lnk All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
DSLAGENTEXE c:\program files\bt voyager 105 adsl modem\dslagent.exe All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
DSLSTATEXE c:\program files\bt voyager 105 adsl modem\dslstat.exe icon All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
MPFExe c:\progra~1\mcafee.com\person~1\mpftray.exe All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
PenLock All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
ScanRegistry c:\windows\scanregw.exe /autorun All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
SchedulingAgent mstask.exe All Users HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
SystemTray systray.exe All Users HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
My betting is McAfee's Firewall being the problem one - I run AVG and AOL myself and have no problems with SR points (but I am more likely to be in XP than ME)
I'm not familiar with Penlock - and can't see much on it in Google
(Quite surprised that there's only one entry for AOL there, BTW!)
SO - we're left with
DSLAGENT.EXE
DSLSTAT.EXE
BTModemProtection.lnk
mpftray.exe
Check the options in the Firewall - make sure that you either have logging switched off, or set to write to disk no more frequently than 3minutes.
(Which version of McAfee is it? - where from?). Unfortunately, I can't find any instructions on the McAfee website which tell me how to do this - they may by in your manualor Help files.
Check the options on the Voyager - AFAIK, it writes nothing back to the PC, beyond the normal uPnP stuff, so shouldn't cause a problem - it doesn't in XP, anyhow
My McAfee is the "persopnal fireware". This was the freebbee programme they make available.
The event logging was turned on, I have changed that to "do not log events" and we shall see what happens!
Many thanks, I'll let you know.
I'm not oging anywhere......
:)
Hey Noel,
I just realised that I asked you many years ago I think on the MS Picture It Newsgroups if you lived in Balgowlah NSW Australia, as I know someone by that name and was curious if it was you.
You said no, but it's funny that all these years later our paths would cross again.
Ah - according to Google, that was back in April 2002 in windowsme.setup! - YOU HAVE ONE HECK OF A MEMORY!( or a very good filing system<g>)
What sort of a search did you do in Google to find that out ?Quote:
Originally Posted by NoelMVP
http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?so...l+paton%22+nix
:cool: :eek: :D
Cool.
Returning to the original topic of this thread (what a bore), since cleaning out the old restore as suggested way back, I have been having system checkoints arrive with regularity.
So, I thoroughly recommend that solution to others having the problem.
Thanks for help, and congratulations. Loking back at previous threads the problem has been raised, you are the first to have produced a cure!
Glad it worked for you - I wish all System Restore problems were as amenable to a cure!
Have a good Xmas season.
(Bah, Humbug!, I say! <g>)
GeraldXX is this the result of renaming your restore folder oldrest through the EMB like I suggested? You mentioned after you did that your OS began creating restore points again. Just trying to understand your end result. We all know ME can reak havoc on the senses! :DQuote:
Returning to the original topic of this thread (what a bore), since cleaning out the old restore as suggested way back, I have been having system checkoints arrive with regularity.
NoelMVP, I can see where background processes can prevent system restore from making checkpoints. I guess this is a two part problem. I wonder then, can background processes disable system restore in ME? That is what has been happening to many ME users--lots of threads on that topic. I know the EMB solution is a temp. fix to an ongoing solution, right?
TeddyBear
Background processes cannot, AFAIK, actually disable SR - but what they can do is prevent the cabbing of the contents of the TEMP folder until it overflows the allowed maximum in the FAT, of 32K (8.3) entries. At this point, SR will give up - and may overflow the 'allowed space', since point removal is by FIFO, and the files deleted are always the cabbed files. Consequently, although the user may have created many restore points, they may actuallly never make it to the point of being cabbed (that doesn't necessarily happen at that time), and they may disappear at the next boot, when cabbing may be attempted, and fail.
(I'm not explaining this very well - sorry - I*think* I know what I mean, but.....)
Renaming the _Restore folder forces the creation of an entirely new SR archive, together with the control files which direct cabbing and access to the created cab files. This
1) bypasses any corruption of the control files in the old SR archive
2) deletes all existing restore points
3) creates a single, new restore point on the first boot.
One of the most common causes of the overflowing archive in ME is use of Norton/Symantec LiveUpdate.
Incidentally, the only 'applications' I know of which deliberately turn off System Restore (permanently, unless the user reinstates them) are GoBack, and Litepc's IERadicator - although there are a number of programs which either always or occasionally (depending on version and options) prevent the creation of automatic restore points. Most common in that class are Firewalls - particularly ZoneAlarm.
You'll note that GeraldXX also turned off the firewall's logging immediately prior to renaming the archive - and it could be that it's a combination effect, rather than an either/or effect.
I'll stop rambling now<g>
Ok this is almost getting me ready to go buy Win XP.
My restore auto or manual checkpoints I created are unsuccessful when I try and do a restore to a previous day.
So I found this, maybe my systemreg has a problem.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb1
Since last week and nothing has been added program wise. When I fire up my HP Scanner 3400C it doesn't pop up with the scanner program like it did when I last scanned on Nov 22. My cursor moves very slow when I try to move it. I have 256mb of ram. Should probably get more ram. WHen I do a ctrl/alt/del I see the scanner software start before the PC restarts. I've reloaded the scanner software. Still no diff. I tried to perform a restore to that Nov 22 and it's unsuccessful. I have tried about 20 other restore points, even going back 3 months. I only have 6 gb of hard drive space left so I'll have to burn off some files to see if that helps. I read on help that restore creates a checkpoint using 200mb.
I have the Rogers high speed and have their free software listed below:
http://rogers.software.yahoo.com/ysf...lcome?flow=yop
Featured Product: Rogers Yahoo! Online Protection
Anti-Spy
Anti-Virus
Pop-Up Blocker
Parental Controls
Rogers Yahoo! Mail Protection
I have run the norm virus/spyware programs such as these.
Here is the order I ran:
1. Install Adaware and click the button to check for updates. Run Adaware and delete all that comes up, here is their site http://www.lavasoft.de/software/adaware/. It creates a backup of what you deleted in case you want to restore.
2. Install Spybot Search and Destroy and click the button that says Search for Updates. Then select the Search & Destry button on the top left then select Check for problems on the bottom left. Run Spybot Search and Destroy - Delete all that comes up in RED. Don't forget to click the immunize button after your done the scan. It also makes a backup, click on the buttons to see if backup is turned on. Download site for the Program in case u need it http://www.safer-networking.org/ind...;page=download.
3. CW Shredder this got rid of stuff that the other 2 couldn't. Just let it run and it cleans the hijacked stuff, download from http://www.computercops.biz/downloads-file-349.html .
4. Run HijackThis and post the report in the security/virus section http://discussions.virtualdr.com/fo...&forumid=40 (first sign up for an ID and Password). After your system is all clean then do # 5.
5. Download Spyware Blaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html and click the button on the left that says Updates. When it's done downloading the updates select Enable Protection for All Unprotected items. If you want you can take a System Snapshot so you have a backup of what it looks like right now, when yourPC is clean. This Program runs in the background and stops you from going to bad Sites.
Here are the manuals:
Using Adaware http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/for...showtutorial=48
Using Spybot Search and Destroy http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/for...showtutorial=43
Using HijackThis http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/for...showtutorial=42
Using Spyblaster http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/for...showtutorial=49
I notice there's a new Adaware out there too, so I'll have to remove Ver 6 I have at home. Here it is.
Go to http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/Ad-Aw...ml?tag=lst-2-4 and click on download now.
The on 12/16 a new update was available. Go to http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/Ad-Aw...ml?tag=lst-2-1 This download is for use with Ad-Aware SE Personal Build 1.05 and higher only. Manual Installation: Unzip the archive, replace the existing file and restart Ad-Aware\Ad-Watch. OR
You can also use the webupdate component implemented in Ad-Aware to install this update.
It's possible that you haven't installed the System Restore Patch - without which any current restore points are just space fillers.
To check this, look for the file C:\Windows\System\SMGR.DLL - r-click on the file, and select Properties.
What's the version number? - if it's v4.90.0.3003 then you have installed the patch, and we have to look elsewhere for the problem
if it's v4.90.0.2533, then you need to install the patch.
To install the patch, either visit Windows Update, or go here, and download the patch for offline install
http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q290700
Run the installer, and windows should reset System Restore at the same time, clearing your old restore points (which wouldn't have worked, anyhow), and creating a single new one.
You should then reset the maximum allocation for SR by going to the adjustment slider at System Properties | Performance | File System | Hard Disk - most people find that 200-400MB is quite sufficient for most purposes, unless installing/uninstalling large applications such as Office.
(added 5 minutes later)
Once you've checked that, and hopefully got SR fixed, then post your clean-up problems to the appropriate group - the HiJackThis forum - after reading the Sticky at the head of the forum, and following its advice