# System restore drive configuration resetting to 0



## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

System protection set up correctly. However, every once in a while my restore points disappear, although the settings remain unchanged. I finally discovered that my restore drive C configuration had been reset to 0 bytes and therefore no restore points could be created and previous points disappeared. What's happening??


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

If I am correct in thinking you have a dual boot with 7
https://forums.techguy.org/threads/restore-points-on-dual-boot.1085981/#post-8588856


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## dmccoy (Oct 7, 2017)

It is hard telling why it was reset, sometimes this is caused by virus, malware, etc. Have you scanned for any of these? If you don't suspect that then I would reconfigure and watch it to see if it stays On. It will remove restore points after it fills the amount of space that you setup so make sure it is large enough for your preference.

You may want to consider making image backups as well which is a great way to backup and restore your system if needed. I recommend one of the following programs.

Macrium Reflect free
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

https://reflect.macrium.com/webtutorial/How_to_create_a_disk_image.asp

EaseUs todo backup
https://www.easeus.com/backup-software/


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

If you do have dual boot as I think - indeed you do
then the cause, unless you have already made that registry change is as I posted
If you have dual boot that is the issue to examine first


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Yes, I have dual boot, 7 & 10 on separate hard drives. No viruses on either. There is no problem with restore points on 7, and the issue with 10 appears intermittent.


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

See my link please
The problem is as explained
On dual boot when booting the earlier system it deletes restore points on the later system

Although my link deals with my triple boot and 10 is on my other computer
The principle is the same for you
You make the regedit in 7
and use the drive letter for 10 that is allocated to it when in 7

As you know the drive letter for 10 when in 10 is more than likely C but when in 7 it will not be C, as of course 7 will be C

Please remember to backup the registry before you start


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Macboatmaster said:


> See my link please
> The problem is as explained
> On dual boot when booting the earlier system it deletes restore points on the later system
> 
> ...


Win 10 is the default boot OS. I think you may have the solution, but you mention a link that I can't find. Also not sure about what reg edits I should make in 7.
Does your message contain all the info I need? Can I just make the adjustment in 7 drive restore config without going into the registry?

If I configure both drives in win 7, do I do the same when in 10?


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

The link is on my first reply


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## dvk01 (Dec 14, 2002)

Apart from the dual boot problem where all W10 restore points tend to get deleted when you boot to W7 and the "fix" has been posted for that by macboatmaster.

W10 also deletes all restore points and effectively turns off system restore when you install the latest feature update. That is from 1703 to 1709 for example. It is a known bug that Microsoft seem reluctant to fix. Microsoft seem to say that the update replaces the old OS so any restore points are useless.

Microsoft seem to be suggesting that system restore is not needed on W10 because they prefer you to reset the computer instead. using reset but retain my files is alleged to be a safer & more efficient way instead of system restore in W10.
Remember each feature update is effectively a new OS install.


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Macboatmaster said:


> The link is on my first reply


Thank you, but please clarify: 
If I make the changes in 7 registry, what do I do with the system protection settings in 10 for each drive?


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Reset protection on 10
you say it now 0 bytes
set it for C drive presuming that is the only drive you wish it on in 10
DO this in windows 10

Now create a restore point.
Verify it is created
Shut down
Reboot into 7

shut down
boot into 10
has restore point gone

If so you have now verified the cause is the dual boot
make the regedit in 7
Using the drive letter allocated to 10 when in 7
Do not forget to back up registry first

you do that by opening regedit
you right click computer at the top of the left hand pane
you click export
you save your reg backup

to open regedit you click start
type regedit
in search and when it appears above you right click and click run as admin

After the regedit you can set 10 restore as you wish
The regedit simply stops the older OS deleting the restore points in the newer system

It may be worthy of you confirming that this problem has only occurred since the dual boot was established
If it was of course already a problem OR has only arisen most recently, long after the dual boot then we need to look elsewhere.


I also advise that you establish a restore point in 7 before you start so that if needed you can restore to that


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Completed as described, but now drive E (10) doesn't show up as a drive in win 7 sys protection. Shouldn't I configure BOTH drives in win 7? Did I do it correctly?


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

You have not done it correctly
See my screenshot although it is actually only the same as the one I sent on the link

This is in my 7 for my 8.1

You have created in error a system restore 10 sub key - see the tree on the left pane
You do not do that as explained on my link you create the sub key OFFLINE on mounted devices and then in the right pane









as above.
There is no system restore created on the Tree on the left pane


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Macboatmaster said:


> You have not done it correctly
> See my screenshot although it is actually only the same as the one I sent on the link
> 
> This is in my 7 for my 8.1
> ...


Have corrected that, rebooted and shows drive E as inaccessible, and E doesn't show up in sys restore drives. I bought the computer used pre-configured.


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

I realise now you are referring to E (10) in computer on 7
and in system protection on 7
that is correct
as you have placed that drive offline in the registry on 7

Set what you want in 7 on system protection

Then boot 10 and there you will see both drives
the 10 which will be C and the 7 which will then not of course be C
set what you want there.

Both for 7 and 10 that way when in 7 restore points will be created for changes in 7
and when in 10 RP`s will created for both 10 and 7
So that if you need to the RP on 10 will then Restore both drives

The RP on 7 ill not restore the 10 drive.
There is no way round that situation on dual boot

However you will NOW find that RP`s on 10 will NOT be deleted when booting 7 or at least you should find that


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Macboatmaster said:


> I realise now you are referring to E (10) in computer on 7
> and in system protection on 7
> that is correct
> as you have placed that drive offline in the registry on 7
> ...


Sadly, nothing has changed- 10 RPs still disappearing after booting from 7. I have both drives with sys protection on in 10.
I notice that 10 is resetting drive C (10) to 4% allocation when I had previously set it to 10% for RPs, if that means anything to you.
I'm thinking that even if 10 RPs are saved, you mentioned that restoring from one of those will also restore 7 - not sure I want that and there's no alternative, correct?


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Send screenshot please of regedit

and simply turn off RP on 7 in 10 system protection to solve your other concern


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Macboatmaster said:


> Send screenshot please of regedit
> 
> and simply turn off RP on 7 in 10 system protection to solve your other concern


Like the last screenshot I sent in 7?


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Same one but after the change please
Also see this
It is in fact my topic again but from another site
http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/326541-windows-8-dual-boot-restore-points/

It could be the reset mentioned by the person I was helping

Also see this
https://social.technet.microsoft.co...enever-i-boot-to-win7?forum=win10itprogeneral

I have not time to read it all now
I am signing off
I am in the UK back about 1900hrs

Please do remember that regbackup if you decide to try any of the changes.


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Here it is.


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Cheers

Try the reset as mentioned on my last


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Macboatmaster said:


> Cheers
> 
> Try the reset as mentioned on my last


Reset all RPs in 7 - no difference. Noted that even if I cold boot into 10, my RP config in C shows 0 bytes with, of course, no RPs available. Seems like the problem lies within 10 pro (current version)


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Well clearly then the problem is not confined to the dual boot



> It may be worthy of you confirming that this problem has only occurred since the dual boot was established
> If it was of course already a problem *OR has only arisen most recently*, long after the dual boot then we need to look elsewhere


as presumably had you have had reason to test it, it would have worked before booting only into 10, but not since the latest build of 10

I would refer you to post 9
and as my colleague says all RP`s created before the build update are deleted
I have read that if you turn off system restore which of course would normally then delete all
RP`s and then REBOOT and then turn it on and create one
That will then stay as will those created by the system


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

I can't remember the details of when I first discovered the problem - whether or not it existed in ver 1511, or since upgrading to 1709. My last two boots directly into 10, both from cold and restart, show the correct RPs and drive config, but starting 10 after shutting down completely or restarting from 7 (using iReboot) again reverts to 0 bytes in 10 SR drive. What about making 7 the default boot OS instead of 10?

I'll try your suggestion of turning SP off in 10, rebooting and turning it on again. But don't do this in 7, correct? Thank you for your patience through all of this!


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Well, that didn't work - same issue! Making 7 the default OS makes no difference.


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

open a cmd prompt with admin rights and type
sfc /scannow

in windows 10
I do not need the log file at this stage just please report if all in order or violations cannot be fixed
If the latter reboot and run twice more rebooting after each


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

No errors. Again, if I stay in 10 and never go to 7, all RPs remains intact.


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

I am confused


> .* My last two boots directly into 10, both from cold and restart, show the correct RPs and drive config, but starting 10 after shutting down completely* or restarting from 7 (using iReboot) *again reverts to 0 bytes in 10 SR drive*.


But now you say it is OK in 10 providing you do not boot 7


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

For now it appears that never going into 7 will preserve 10 RPs, which, of course, doesn't solve the initial problem. And here's the strange thing: I had changed the boot screen to legacy from GUI, but now it has reverted to GUI from a cold boot. And if I RESTART 10 instead of turning off the computer and turning back on, the boot time is very slow, but I still have all the RPs.


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Why would you want to change to legacy

I realise it does not solve the initial problem
Unfortunately other than trying the suggestions on the link I sent in post 19 I do not have any further ideas

I also would stress that I would not try such registry changes without NOT only the regbackup but a full and tested system image

Good luck with it


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Thank you for all your help. I think the whole problem lies with the initial dual boot setup the previous owner did.


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Macboatmaster said:


> Why would you want to change to legacy
> 
> I realise it does not solve the initial problem
> Unfortunately other than trying the suggestions on the link I sent in post 19 I do not have any further ideas
> ...


Relating to the original dual boot issue I posted, here is the link in case you're interested, and was never fully addressed: https://forums.techguy.org/threads/...eparate-hard-drives-delay-and-repost.1202880/


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Well the only likely successful solution if indeed there is one would be a reinstall of 7 and then 10 and I am reasonably certain you do not want to go along that route.
Other than that you are back to RP on the 7 drive and
image on the 10 drive with personal data backup to then restore that to the image


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

So I deleted the reg key in 7 you originally suggested to prevent access to E (10) drive, rebooted, but now it shows E drive folder "empty", and E doesn't show up in 7 sys restore! How to get it back to where it was before we started?


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

regback to when you started
registry
import
the file you saved


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Oh, oh - I didn't back up! I thought just changing that one key would be easy to revert by deleting it. Any options?


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

? well a lesson learned - unfortunately the hard way
It is E when in 7 is it not
So are you saying it will not now boot to 10 when the drive will be C on boot

If you are I will have to leave it as I am just about to sign off and will not be online until late about 2200


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

No, everything is fine except I would like to access drive E (10) when in 7, which now reads "folder empty" when in 7. All other operations are normal, so you don't have to run to the Bahamas until 2200!!


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## managed (May 24, 2003)

If E drive is still set as offline in 7's registry you can't see E in 7. If you remove the offline setting for E it should be visible in 7 but then the 10 restore points would be deleted !


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## Macboatmaster (Jan 15, 2010)

Has been done see post 34 please


> So I deleted the reg key in 7 you originally suggested to prevent access to E (10) drive, rebooted, but now it shows E drive folder "empty", and E doesn't show up in 7 sys restore! How to get it back to where it was before we started?


whether the correct sub key has been deleted I do not yet know

Regback not available.
Please could you try and help further with that I am offline until 200hrs or maybe Thursday


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## sgobob (Jan 13, 2018)

Drive E is visible in 7, but the* contents are not*. When I click on E in 7, response is "folder empty", whereas "drive inaccessible" was the response when the key /dosdevice/E: was active.


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