Win 7 system restore files

[nuttin]

Hello,

The last 2 viruses I have caught have made it impossible to use system
restore. I had about 10 or 12 restore points and when I tried to use system
restore after getting the virus, they were all gone.
My question is: Is it possible to save a copy of a system restore point
in another directory (maybe on a second hard drive) so that a virus would
not be able to destroy it? Or is there a way to make windows 7 store restore
points in a different directory and restore from there? Thanks.

 

[phil22]

System Restore points cannot be moved or saved to different location, but in any event you should not be relying on SR anyway as it is often prone to failure.

What you need to do is backup your entire hard drive to an image file, using Backup & Restore in Control Panel.
You will need a second hard drive (internal or external) on which to save the image file. This will allow you to recover your system quickly even if the Windows hard drive fails and you have to buy a new drive.

You will also need to create a System Repair Disc so that you'll be able to boot from it to restore your system from a backup image.

To Create System Image: Control Panel > Backup & Restore > Create System Image

To Create System Repair Disc: Control Panel > Backup & Restore > Create System Repair Disc

Needless to say, you should ensure your Windows is free from malware before backing it up.

 

[nuttin]

Thanks for the reply.
I use Acronis to make an image file of my hard disk and it works great.
But unless I make an image file everytime I add a new program or change
a setting or document, then it is not restored from the old image file.

I know that system restore backs up the registry but what other files does it
restore? I had a thought that if I knew which files it uses I could set a
back up program to only copy those files.

The Acronis image file is nearly 8 gb, much larger than the system restore files.