System Restore on or off

[ILS32]

Have just run my anti virus ie AVG, Spy Bot in Safe Mode with System Restore turned off to sort a problem.Now fixed.
My question to all of you Pprune puter wizards is should I turn it back on or leave it off?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of not turning it back on?
I know that I will not have the restore facility if a problem occurs,but also if I do use it any virus,trojans that are in the System Restore settings will be reloaded. Have used the search facility to try and find an answer but nothing conclusive.

So folks on or off :confused:

ILS32

[Keef]

Whichever you choose, some day you may wish you'd chosen the other.

On my machines, it's OFF. I have all the install disks for the software (or the downloads burned onto CD or DVD). The data files get backed up regularly (apart from the ones where the data is hidden by software and I haven't sussed that yet).

Most important stuff is on the desktop and the laptop, just in case.

I did use it, years ago. When the machine was zapped by a virus, the System Restore failed anyway.

[green granite]

My thoughts would be re-run all the anti software to double check things and then do a restore point and then sw off restore,.

[Jofm5]

I am with green granite - whenever you have changed your system and have checked your happy with it set a manual restore point and then switch off.

At least then you have something to go back to if required. You ideally want to make sure by doing a full system scan with your AV that your restore point is clear of virus's before you create it.

[Sprogget]

I've had reason be grateful to sys restore in the past. Althugh I agree, it is a blunt instrument. Off is no trouble, provided you remember to set restore points either a) from time to time, or b) before you shoehorn in some unwieldy piece of software, unsure fo the outcome on the system.

One of the beauties of windows 7 is the fact that I can try stuff out on it, prior to dumping it on my main build, with an approximate idea of whether or not to go ahead.

Of course, another approach is to take an image on a regular basis. My Acronis is just about to launch on it's weekly image, that has saved the day a couple of times too.

[ILS32]

Thanks for your replies, I suppose at the end of the day its a personel choice. I shall continue to use System Restore simply because in the past it has helped me to rectify problems with my computer.
Sprogget I also use Acronis, its a smashing programme. Used it once for real and as you say it saved the day

ILS32

[PPRuNe Pop]

Yep me too. I always leave System Restore on and I do a full system backup once a month and an incremental backup every two weeks using Acronis - as you say a great programme.

As if it happened yesterday I recall the need for Acronis AND on a wild day last year system restore performed a miracle that would otherwise have blown all my data away. I never underestimate the power of these two programmes.

[Tarq57]

Malware evidenced:
-Run an AV scan. Quarantine anything suspicious found.
-Run an AS scan. Ditto.
-Run at least a third scan with a second opinion scanner, preferably one that has a good reputation detecting/removing rootkits.
-Have a HijackThis log checked at a forum that deals with these.
-All OK? System restore Off. Reboot.
-System Restore as you like it.

Assuming you can guarantee you are free of malware, you can have it back on.
It is a darned useful tool, but not to be 100% relied on. I leave mine on but limit the space it can use, to about 4%. I think the default is 12.

And in case it's not obvious, the reason to disable it - which deletes all restore points - at the end of a clean up, is that the trojan/whatever can lurk in a restore point. Should that point ever be activated, likely the trojan will, too.

So once clean, it can go back on.

[Jofm5]

As the saying goes the only good backup is a restored backup - the rest is unknown....


The reason to reduce the number of restore points is so that you do not overwrite a good backup with the currently misbehaving system you have.

A restore point of yesterdays virus infecteded system is little better than todays virus infected system - so the best advice is to make sure that you can restore what has changed from your last restore point but be positive that the last restore point you have is clean and valid.

It goes back to the reasons why you have the acenstral backup... I wont explain here (if you dont know of it - but its documented) as its near 5am and need to be up soon but - it gives you fall backs on should your most recent backups be corrupted.

The biggest problem with performing a backup/restorepoint is that you are backingup and then restoring the very same problem you are trying to fix.