Configuring System Restore in Windows ME

System Restore is one of the few new features that distinguishes Windows ME from Windows 9x. System Restore works by monitoring & backing up (most) system files with .exe, .vxd, .dll, .com, & .sys extensions & of course the system registry. This is done in the hope that should something bad go wrong you can simply rollback to an earlier backup point when your system was functioning correctly.

It is also is a genuine nuisance for users who are knowledgeable about their computers & know they can do without it. Your system performs better without it too. By disabling it you won’t lose much, your system will revert to being as protected as Windows 98, etc. was.

Before you decide whether or not you can live without it you should read what may be customized with it first of all.

Right click on My Computer, select Properties. Select the Performance tab then the File System button.



In the General tab you can set System Restores space usage & as a result the amount of backup/snapshots made of your system configuration/files.

Use the slider bar to set the amount of space the System Restore may use for backups. The Min size will always be 200MB. The Max size is determined by the size of the hard drive that Windows is installed on, i.e. If the hard drive is larger than 4 GB the Maximum size is 12% of the hard drive size, whereas on hard drives smaller than 4 GB the Maximum size is 400MB, if you don’t have enough free space for System Restore it will be disabled until enough free space exists for it to resume use.

When 90% (or so) of the space given for System Restore is reached, the oldest backup(s) are deleted.

System Backups/Restore points happen during the following situations:

Automatic System CheckPoints are created for every 10 hours of computer up time but only after the computer has been idle for 2 minutes. If this criterion is not met, then a System CheckPoint will be created once every 24 hours after the system has been idle for 2 minutes.

Restore points are created by Installer packages that use the new Microsoft Software Installer (MSI)
technology.

Restore points are created by Installer packages that use InstallShield 6.1 Pro & later.

Restore points are created when AutoUpdate (AU) installs an update package.

Restore points are created when you use System Restore to roll your system back to a different

Restore point. However, if this is done in Safe Mode, a Restore point will not be created.

Restore points are created manually by using the System Restore interface.

The Minimum setting, which is 200MB ensures that all System backups will be fairly new & the amount of backups will be kept to a minimum.

SYSTEM RESTORE PROBLEMS:

Error Message: System Restore Was Unable to Create a Restore Point

System Restore Shows Date of Saturday, December 30, 1899

STARTING SYSTEM RESTORE FROM A COMMAND PROMPT [DOS] Win ME


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