SLOW System Restore (over 60 minutes)

[ChrisGreaves]

Eileen’s Lounge Win10 Search results
I have created and restored from System Restore Points since, I think, XP days. Never a problem.
I have never had a Restore drag on for over 60 minutes; Win7 times were more like five minutes.

This morning I chose a Restore Point, and after about twenty minutes killed it with the Power Button, declined the offer to recommence the Restore, and got on with life.
About an hour later, I tried again, reasoning that it could take its time while I did housework. After sixty minutes I powered off again, and declined again, and here I am.

Before I start experimenting with other Restore Points or :shudder: looking for that full backup I made two months ago, I ask if Win10 has made System Restore exceeding slow, or if there is something I am overlooking.

I use Control Panel; System Protection; System Restore to get into this mess, and have a variety of RPs from which to choose:-

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The highlighted RP is the one I chose.

Many of you know that this is not/will not be a critical point in my life; no revenue depends on resolution of this minor hurdel.
Thanks
Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

I have never had a Restore drag on for over 60 minutes; Win7 times were more like five minutes.

I restarted the System Restore around three this morning and went back to bed. When I woke at 8:30 the SR was complete.
Just for kicks, I might try SR from a few different points each night, and see if they all take 60+ minutes, but are ready when I awake.
Cheers
Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

... I might try SR from a few different points each night, ...

One of the first things I did after the System Restore was to reset my "delayed Windows Updates" to some time in October. To my surprise the delayed date was still set at October 2nd (on September 11th from a Restore Point taken back in mid-August).
That suggests to me that this deferred date is stored offline as well, perhaps, as on my laptop.
How else could Windows Update have remembered that preference?
Cheers
Chris

[JoeP]

Did you check to see what the System restore was going to change? It is not just a blunt instrument. There are some (not much but some) smarts in there.

[ChrisGreaves]

Did you check to see what the System restore was going to change? It is not just a blunt instrument. There are some (not much but some) smarts in there.

Hi Joe.
No, I did not check the "smarts"; I was not aware that there were any. What do you mean by "smarts"?

I have believed that a System Restore Point was a logical image (rather than a physical disk image) of my system at a specific time.
Hence I tend to make a manual System Restore Point immediately before ("B4") I install novel software, and restore from that System Restore Point to take my system back to the logical state it was in immediately before I made that System Restore Point.

Cheers
Chris

[JoeP]

System restore does NOT backup user files only selected system files and the registry. When you select a restore point you can click a button to analyze what will be removed and what will be returned.

[ChrisGreaves]

System restore does NOT backup user files only selected system files and the registry. When you select a restore point you can click a button to analyze what will be removed and what will be returned.

Thanks Joe.
My data files (and even a nightly copy of my Appdata files) are stored on an encrypted data partition, which is backed up nightly and weekly to external USB hard drives.

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On this Win10 system right-click on a restore point yields nothing.
Clicking the "Scan for affected programs" produces information (in this example null) about what will be affected.

Truth to tell, I've never gone that deep; For years I have made a Restore Point (typically one minute), installed a 3rd-party application, checked it out, and then (sometimes) decided I don't like it, so initiated a System Restore (typically five minutes TOPS) and then got on with life.

It was the 60-minute System restore that prompted this thread.
Do you have any idea why this might be taking 60 minutes, apart from a corrupt chunk of data in the System Restore Point data?

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My C: partition stands at 37GB used of 44 allocated, which is a bit tight, I know.
I am using 25% of the 11GB allocated for System Restore Points.
My Paging file is 1.1 GB

Thanks
Chris

[JoeP]

Not sure. Is your paging file system managed or did you set it to a fixed size?

Don't remember your system specs. How much RAM? What processor? You an HDD not SSD correct? If so, what is its rotational speed?

Your system partition is tight on space. You ought to consider making it larger.

What other activities were going on when the restore was active?

[ChrisGreaves]

Not sure. Is your paging file system managed or did you set it to a fixed size?

Hi again Joe.
System managed.

Don't remember your system specs. How much RAM? What processor? You an HDD not SSD correct? If so, what is its rotational speed?

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HDD is correct. this web page says 5400rpm.

Your system partition is tight on space. You ought to consider making it larger.

I agree. I might do a factory reset next week and bump it up by 30%, my standard incremental growth. I think I have pretty well everything I am likely to use installed now (Office 2003)

What other activities were going on when the restore was active?

None at all initiated by me. I am in the habit of walking away while a System Restore takes place (go make a cup of tea ...). Undoubtedly Win10 was checking to see if any updates had become available in the past five minutes, the usual sort of activity that computers occupy themselves with; electronic thumb-twiddling.

I think that a point of significance that no other System Restore since then has taken more than the standard five minutes.
It was finding the SR still ticking when I returned with my mug of tea (4 minutes in the microwave to boil the water, one minute to heat the mug etc.) that gave me pause for thought.

I have since then run three Restore Points (Create then Restore), and each one has taken the standard two minutes to create and five minutes to restore. This suggests to me that the 60-minute restore was not a matter of HDD speed or, for that matter, of the size of the C-partition. If only because the create/restores have settled down to a regular period.

So I suspect that something was corrupt in that first restore point that I tried.

Which, of course, means a slight loss of confidence in System Restore Points!

Cheers
chris

[JoeP]

If you are going to resize your system partition, take a look at the MiniTool Partition Wizard Free 12.1.

NOTE: be sure to do an image backup of your system BEFORE beginning the resizing process.