MORE INFORMATION
The System Restore utility in Windows Millennium Edition monitors and
records changes that are made to Windows system files and to the registry. The restore
points (also known as system checkpoints) are created automatically. With System
Restore, you can "roll back" or restore your system to an earlier configuration when your computer was functioning correctly. You can also create
your own restore points. Creating restore points may be useful when you are not sure how a
change to your computer will affect the overall performance of Windows Millennium Edition. For example, if you do not know how the installation of a new program or device
drivers
will affect the performance of Windows Millennium Edition, you may want to create a restore point before you complete the installation.
For additional information about how to use the System Restore Utility, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
267951
Description of the System Restore utility in Windows Millennium Edition
279736 How to start the System Restore tool from a command prompt
When System Restore does not work as expected, or if you cannot create your own restore points, try the
following troubleshooting procedures.
Troubleshooting error messages
If you receive an error message that is related to System
Restore, note the error message. System Restore error messages describe the issue and may also give you suggestions about how to
resolve the issue. Use the information in the error
message to troubleshoot the issue if you can.
For additional information about troubleshooting
specific error messages in System Restore, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
261680
Error message occurs when attempting to use System Restore
303354 Error message: System Restore was unable to create a restore point
274092 Error message: System Restore cannot run until you restart the computer
296090 Error message when you start System Restore: An error occurred in the script on this page
267511 Error in Rstrui.exe when starting System Restore or creating a manual restore point
290700 Checkpoints that you create after September 8, 2001 do not restore your computer
Allocate more disk space for the data store
System Restore uses at least 200 megabytes (MB) of free disk
space for the data store. Restore points and system checkpoint files are stored
in the _Restore folder (data store). The _Restore folder is located on the drive where
Windows Millennium Edition is installed.
Notes- By default, if you do not have sufficient free disk space when Windows is
installed, System Restore is turned off. You must turn on System
Restore after you free up sufficient disk space.
- If you run out of disk space, System Restore is turned off.
When you free up sufficient disk space, System Restore automatically turns
on. However, all earlier restore points are lost.
If you suspect that you do not have as many restore points as
you should have, increase the available disk space that System
Restore can use to save information. To do this, follow these steps:
- Right-click My Computer on your desktop, and then click Properties.
- Click the Performance tab, and then click File System.
- Under System Restore disk
space
use, move the slider to the right to increase
the disk space that is used for System Restore, and then click OK.
- Restart the computer.
Reset the data store
In some cases, you may want to reset the
data store. For example, you may want to reset the data store if you cannot
restore your computer by using a restore point, or if you cannot successfully
create a restore point.
You may want to reset the data store if you suspect that an earlier restore point is corrupted. Restore points
build on earlier restore points. If a restore point from an earlier
date is corrupted, all subsequent restore points that are created from that date
forward are also corrupted. Therefore, you may not be able to
restore your computer by using a restore point.
When you reset the
data store, the contents of the _Restore folder are deleted, and all the previous
restore points and log files are removed. To reset the data store, turn off
System Restore, restart your computer, and then turn on System Restore.
Important When you reset the data store, any previous restore points that
were present are no longer available. You can only restore your system
by using new restore points that you create after System Restore is turned on
again.
For additional information about how to turn on and turn off System Restore, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
264887
How to enable and disable System Restore
Additional troubleshooting references
For additional information about how to troubleshoot specific System Restore
issues, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
261716
System Restore removes files during a restore procedure
267123 Restore operation fails if a folder has the same name as a file in the root directory
261690 Start menu or shortcut items appear capitalized after restoration
261719 Screen saver password may be removed or changed after using System Restore
274460 Computer may not restart after unsuccessful system restore with drive overlay software installed
267160 System Restore may not properly restore attributes to files
267426 Previously scheduled tasks start even after System Restore changes configurations
267698 Computer may not start properly after you use a system restore point
267808 CD-ROM drive title remains after you restore the system restore point
267718 Cannot reinstall SurfWatch 3.0 after you run the System Restore tool
267794 Recently saved files may not remain in the My Documents folder
275646 System Restore shows date of Saturday, December 30, 1899
250231 System restore points may not be created for hardware device driver installations
264152 Deleting the _Restore folder from a non-Windows Me partition resets the data store
306762 Restore points are not saved in System Restore