system restore points will not work

Question

Replaced my hard drive about 2 mo. ago. Attempted system restore & system restore points are there but will not work. Cannot restore to an earlier date no matter how far back I go. What can I do to resolve this & be sure that the restore points will work if needed at a later time.

Answer 1

Sorry it took me so long to respond...lotsa "water under the bridge".....attempted to do a system restore today and it worked just fine!!  Don't know why it worked now & would not do so earlier...however, I'm just happy it does.  Thanks so much for your help...  I will run the MBAM & SAS just to be certain there are no issues with malware, etc.  Again, thanks!!

Answer 2

I have no more suggestions until MBAM and SAS run clean.

When MBAM and SAS run clean, then you can start to resolve the issues in whatever priority you desire.

Well maybe there is one suggestion - ditch McAfee (did you buy it or get it from your Internet Service Provider?) 

You could make a new RP right now and see if you can get that working, then you will know the SR mechanism works, your old RPs are useless, whack them all so you don't waste any more time on them, and then get about resolving your real issues (performance).  McAfee is a CPU and memory hog (and I'm being polite) and only a fair to moderate malware detection program to boot.  Wait until it quarantines one of your critical XP system files!  See the first sticky note at the top of this forum?  There should be a lot more.

SR should certainly work though.  I have never actually used it to solve any problems and don't think I ever will, but I will make sure SR works properly before I leave the premises.

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Answer 3

Using XP Service Pack 3.  Attempted system restore with McAfee protection turned off, also attempted it in safe mode with same result.  Error message is that restoration is incomplete & your computer cannot be restored to its previous state.  The reason that I attempted system restore is due to the fact internet explorer is extremely slow. I sign on with a wireless card so I didn't know if it was because of increased internet activity, poor signal, etc. but needed to "practice" using the system restore after replacing the hard drive.  Restore points worked fine before replacing HD.  Only restore points available now are those after the HD was replaced.  Have done virus scan with McAfee & all shows to be fine as far as viruses or spyware, etc.  Any more suggestions?

Answer 4

Are you trying to resolve an issue or just practicing using System Restore?

System Restore is not a time machine and sometimes the Restore Points become unusable or questionable (say after a malicious software attack).  Would you want to use a potentially infected RP?  Probably not.  If your hardware changed enough, you would definitely not want to use any old RPs.

Sometimes it is prudent to just whack all the old RPs (except the most recent one) and start over with new RPs, make a brand new one and then test your SR mechanism using a fresh RP created on a system that you know is clean, then work on resolving any issues if there are any.

What is the exact error message you see and when do you see it?

What is your XP version and Service Pack?

Has SR every worked properly before?  It certainly should work, but there are several good reason why it will not.

Do you now or have you ever had any Norton products installed on the afflicted system?

Describe your current antivirus and anti malware situation:  McAfee, Norton, Spybot, AVG, MSE, Defender, ZoneAlarm, PC Tools, Comodo, etc.

Sometimes instead of figuring out what the problem really is with SR, you can get SR to work by performing your System Restore operation in Safe Mode when whatever is preventing SR from working is not loaded as it would be on a normal boot.  It is not solving the problem exactly - it is a workaround... but some folks consider their system "fixed" if that works and are quite delighted with it.  Microsoft "hints" at this as a thing to try in some of their articles, therefore it must be okay.

Malicious software will also target and thwart your SR mechanism since it does not want you to find and remove it.  It would much rather trick you into doing a Repair install, complete reinstall - or making you think you have to use a Restore Point when those things really not necessary.  Malicious software likes to break the things that will let you find it and get rid of it.

I would do this first (in addition to answering the other questions if you still need help):

Perform some scans for malicious software, then fix any remaining issues:

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM):  http://malwarebytes.org/

SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS):  http://www.superantispyware.com/

They can be uninstalled later if desired.

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Please vote my posts as helpful so I can get lots of points. I am saving up for a pony! Everybody does not love Raymond.

Answer 5

What happens when you try to restore the system?  If there's an error message, what does it say?

Some security programs prevent changes to their files and have to be configured to allow System Restore to work.  For example, if your computer has Norton Antivirus or Norton Internet Security, you must turn off Norton Product Tamper Protection before running System Restore.

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Boulder Computer Maven

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional