Restore Point File Location Cleaning

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Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the size of your
Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file. Could someone
please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP and the best way to
clean it out. Is it possible to clean everything out but the last month of
restore points?
 
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

There's no valid reason to 'clean out system restore points'. They recycle
themselves.

However the data structure lives in the 'system volume information'
hierarchy. By default you can't get into it. At best you can use disk clean
up to delete all but the last restore point. You can't pick or choose.

--
Walter Clayton - MS MVP(WinXP)
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
http://www.dts-l.org
http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesks/fileversion/default.asp|


"WillW" <WillW@att.net> wrote in message
news😛O7Rc.404339$Gx4.69700@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the size of your
> Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file. Could someone
> please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP and the best way to
> clean it out. Is it possible to clean everything out but the last month
> of
> restore points?
>
>
 
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

On Sat, 07 Aug 2004 16:54:07 GMT, WillW wrote:

> At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the size of your
> Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file. Could someone
> please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP and the best way to
> clean it out. Is it possible to clean everything out but the last month of
> restore points?

System Restore uses the hidden System Volume Information folder (one for
each drive) for storage. Since the amount of space dedicated to this
storage area is limited by user settings, I'm not sure why the suggestion
was made to check its size periodically.

XP will dedicate 10-12% of the disk's size to restore points and with newer
hard drives so large, most folks knock this amount down. Perhaps the
recommendation was to keep an eye on how much space was allotted as this
can change after repair installs and some updates?

Instead of accessing these storage folders directly, use System Properties>
System Restore to adjust the size of the storage folders. You can also turn
on/turn off monitoring on a per drive basis from this location. Use Disk
Cleanup (Start> Accessories> Disk Cleanup) to remove all but the most
current restore point.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows XP Shell/User
 
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

In
news😛O7Rc.404339$Gx4.69700@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net,
WillW <WillW@att.net> typed:

> At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the
size of
> your Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file.


Bad advice as far as I'm concerned. You can (and probably should)
dedicate less space to Restore points than the default of 12% of
your drive, but *don't* periodically delete them.


> Could
> someone please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP
and
> the best way to clean it out. Is it possible to clean
everything
> out but the last month of restore points?


No. You can delete them all or all but the most recent. There are
no other choices.

But reduce the amount of disk space allocated so you never get
more than a month's worth (or even two weeks worth).

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup
 
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

Thanks for all the great input.

Here is some additional input that I received for Microsoft Online Support.

Yes. The Restore Point files are in the System Volume
Information\_Restore{GUID} folder. Because System Restore will purge the
Restore Point files Automat ally, it appears that it is not necessary to
clean out the file periodically. If needed, you may refer to the following
MS KB article to get access the System Volume Information folder if the
file system is NTFS.

309531 How to Gain Access to the System Volume Information Folder
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=309531

After opening the System Volume Information\_restore{GUID} folder, you may
notice that there may be one or more folders starting with RP<x> under this
folder. These are the restore points. From the Modified Date of each
folder, you will know the date the Restore Points were created. You can
then delete the Restore Points which you think that it is too old.


Also, by setting the RPLifeInterval registry value under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRes,
you may request the system to delete the Restore Points which are older
than 30 days. This value specifies, in seconds, the restore points Time to
Live (TTL). When a restore point reaches this time and it is still on the
system, it gets deleted. The default value is (7776000), which will be 90
days. You can change the value data from Hex 0076a700 = 7776000 seconds =
90 days to Hex: 00278d00 = 2592000 seconds = 30 days.

For more information, please refer to the following MS KB article:

295659 The Registry Keys and Values for the System Restore Utility
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=295659


Hope the suggestion is useful!

"WillW" <WillW@att.net> wrote in message
news😛O7Rc.404339$Gx4.69700@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the size of your
> Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file. Could someone
> please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP and the best way to
> clean it out. Is it possible to clean everything out but the last month
of
> restore points?
>
>
 
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 00:31:49 GMT, WillW wrote:

> After opening the System Volume Information\_restore{GUID} folder, you may
> notice that there may be one or more folders starting with RP<x> under this
> folder. These are the restore points. From the Modified Date of each
> folder, you will know the date the Restore Points were created. You can
> then delete the Restore Points which you think that it is too old.

I would be a hesitant to follow this bit of advice. Yes, the restore points
are dated but the contents for each are not necessarily complete on a
standalone basis. Some restore points will contain pointers to earlier
restore points - in other words, information to restore is chained from
older restore points to a newer ones.

Deleting selectively can break the chain and render the restore data
useless. Using Disk Cleanup's option to delete all but the most recent
restore point, conglomerates previous restore data into a single restore
point, making it safe to delete the previous ones.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows XP Shell/User
 
:hello:
Thanks.

I have gone through the location mentioned and got system files.But is it good to delete these file if we are in crunch of space in c drive.

Thanks,
hebug
 
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the size of your
Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file. Could someone
please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP and the best way to
clean it out. Is it possible to clean everything out but the last month of
restore points?
Click to expand...
 
REGAIN AT LEAST 15% of DISK SPACE! Windows lets System Restore points take up 15% of your drive space before they start replacing data to accommodate new points. However, when I deleted System Restore files I gained back up to 40% of some partitions, a total of 187 GBs!!! Since I have gone to file imaging, I will no longer use System Restore.

Here's how to get rid of System Restore files from the Vista in-computer Help and Support Function: Navigate to "System Restore > How Much disk space does system restore require? > System Restore: Frequently asked questions > How Long are restore points saved?". Then you will get this wonderful answer - "turn off system restore..." and "all restore points are immediately deleted from that Disk" (or partition)!!! Remember though, if you don't have a back up image and your system crashes with no restore point, you're toast.
 
Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (More info?)

At one time I saw a post that indicated you should check the size of your
Restore Point file and periodically clean out the file. Could someone
please tell me the location of this file in Windows XP and the best way to
clean it out. Is it possible to clean everything out but the last month of
restore points?
Click to expand...

ccleaner from Piriform is a great cleaning utility that allows you to select restore points to delete from a list by going to the Tools/System Restore are in it. Highlight one, all or some and delete.
 
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