Poll

System Restore, do you leave it on?

Yes.59%59% - 28
No.40%40% - 19
Total: 47
jsnipy
...
+3,277|7000|...

System Restore, do you leave it on? When setting up a system it is one the first things I disable (ever since it was introduced). My perception is that it is a waste of resources.

What do you think?
Havok
Nymphomaniac Treatment Specialist
+302|7153|Florida, United States

I keep it on but I never use it.  I suppose I should turn it off...
Stimey
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+786|6598|Ontario | Canada
I think I turned it off when I bought my computer.
Whats the downside?
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Dragonclaw
Member
+186|6783|Florida

Havok wrote:

I keep it on but I never use it.  I suppose I should turn it off...
Ive only ever used it once and it fucked up my drivers.
Canin
Conservative Roman Catholic
+280|6953|Foothills of S. Carolina

Mine is on, never had any issues with it. Been a few times when I have needed it in the past and not had it turned on, so I started leaving it on.
Catbox
forgiveness
+505|7194
It uses resources so after i reformat i always turn it off...  If you are new to computers then i would leave it on... but once you know about basic stuff on keeping your comp running than its not neccessary...  I also turn off a few things in administrative tools/services... but then you have to be sure you know what your disabling...  also turning off most all of the system tray tsr's(terminate stay resident programs)  in msconfig...
Love is the answer
CC-Marley
Member
+407|7307
Helped me out twice.
Flaming_Maniac
prince of insufficient light
+2,490|7185|67.222.138.85
Well, it was pretty useful when I accidentally moved my C: drive onto my D: drive, and my D: drive was a DVD player. (Windows let me do that? )
Lambykin
Member
+4|6440
Since I'm a tech, my advice is professional, and based on many years of corporate practice. What often works in an office environment works equally well at home.

I recommend you turn it off & leave it off. There are some performance gains experienced when you shut it down. More importantly, it's been my professional experience that when Windows XP "fails" and you start to think about the System Restore feature, you would be far better off by performing a clean install anyway. I have had the opportunity to put System Restore to the test in a few situations, and was less than pleased. It won't always save you.

If a driver has messed something up, this is easily undone (assuming there isn't something seriously wrong with the O/S to begin with). You don't need to fall on System Restore for this.

Give yourself some performance improvements, save some disk space, and shut 'er down.
Canin
Conservative Roman Catholic
+280|6953|Foothills of S. Carolina

[TUF]Catbox wrote:

It uses resources so after i reformat i always turn it off...  If you are new to computers then i would leave it on... but once you know about basic stuff on keeping your comp running than its not neccessary...  I also turn off a few things in administrative tools/services... but then you have to be sure you know what your disabling...  also turning off most all of the system tray tsr's(terminate stay resident programs)  in msconfig...
I know a decent amount about computers. What you know has no bearing on whether or not you use the restore feature.
Flaming_Maniac
prince of insufficient light
+2,490|7185|67.222.138.85

Canin wrote:

[TUF]Catbox wrote:

It uses resources so after i reformat i always turn it off...  If you are new to computers then i would leave it on... but once you know about basic stuff on keeping your comp running than its not neccessary...  I also turn off a few things in administrative tools/services... but then you have to be sure you know what your disabling...  also turning off most all of the system tray tsr's(terminate stay resident programs)  in msconfig...
I know a decent amount about computers. What you know has no bearing on whether or not you use the restore feature.
Yeah, it's not like I intended to drag that D: drive over, it was just a nasty mis-click.

It should never be relied on though.
coke
Aye up duck!
+440|7187|England. Stoke

Canin wrote:

Mine is on, never had any issues with it. Been a few times when I have needed it in the past and not had it turned on, so I started leaving it on.
konfusion
mostly afk
+480|7028|CH/BR - in UK

By system restore, do you mean the thing that lets you restore previous settings? I leave that on - it's saved my ass so many times. I've had registry errors, driver errors, bsods etc all reversed... So I'd say it's fairly useful. If it wasn't for that, I'd be reformatting my computer every month or so.

-konfusion
Freezer7Pro
I don't come here a lot anymore.
+1,447|6675|Winland

I've never given a shit about it. If it's on by default, then it's on in all my computers. I've never ever used it, though.

How much is the HDD space gain if I turn it off?
The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP
Lambykin
Member
+4|6440

Flaming_Maniac wrote:

Canin wrote:

[TUF]Catbox wrote:

It uses resources so after i reformat i always turn it off...  If you are new to computers then i would leave it on... but once you know about basic stuff on keeping your comp running than its not neccessary...  I also turn off a few things in administrative tools/services... but then you have to be sure you know what your disabling...  also turning off most all of the system tray tsr's(terminate stay resident programs)  in msconfig...
I know a decent amount about computers. What you know has no bearing on whether or not you use the restore feature.
Yeah, it's not like I intended to drag that D: drive over, it was just a nasty mis-click.

It should never be relied on though.
Drag & drop gets even the best of us - this has nothing to do with being a novice or expert. Because I've been bitten by the drag & drop feature built into Windows since the old v3.1 days, I have ALWAYS taken the "long route" of right-clicking, cutting, going to the destination right-clicking again & pasting. It's nowhere near as fast as drag & drop, but it sure beats explaining to clients that you "lost" their data & you have to "find" it. We all have our own methods that work for us - mine ensures I'll never make a mistake, slip with the mouse (it happens), and drop files into "who-knows-where".
Spider1980
#1 Commander
+92|7019|Washington

Freezer7Pro wrote:

I've never given a shit about it. If it's on by default, then it's on in all my computers. I've never ever used it, though.

How much is the HDD space gain if I turn it off?
about 4.5GB
Lambykin
Member
+4|6440

Spider1980 wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

I've never given a shit about it. If it's on by default, then it's on in all my computers. I've never ever used it, though.

How much is the HDD space gain if I turn it off?
about 4.5GB
Actually, it "depends". Depends on the amount of free drive space available, and a couple of other factors. You can save in excess of 12gig on some systems.
Freezer7Pro
I don't come here a lot anymore.
+1,447|6675|Winland

Spider1980 wrote:

Freezer7Pro wrote:

I've never given a shit about it. If it's on by default, then it's on in all my computers. I've never ever used it, though.

How much is the HDD space gain if I turn it off?
about 4.5GB
That's based on how large of a drive and how old Windows install? (Seeing as I have ~6GB files (Incl. Windows folder) on my 20GB HDD, wich has 13.5GB used)
The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP
Spider1980
#1 Commander
+92|7019|Washington
My install is a couple months old and I got a 40GB HD

https://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f192/Picturesfrom2006/ghjny.jpg

Last edited by Spider1980 (2008-01-06 17:51:35)

Freezer7Pro
I don't come here a lot anymore.
+1,447|6675|Winland

Spider1980 wrote:

My install is a couple months old and I got a 40GB HD

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f192/ … /ghjny.jpg
K...

Since I never use it, I just disabled it. Saved 2.2GB on my 20GB C: and 3.9GB on my 40GB D:. Thanks for reminding me that this can be done
The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP
Spider1980
#1 Commander
+92|7019|Washington

Freezer7Pro wrote:

Spider1980 wrote:

My install is a couple months old and I got a 40GB HD

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f192/ … /ghjny.jpg
K...

Since I never use it, I just disabled it. Saved 2.2GB on my 20GB C: and 3.9GB on my 40GB D:. Thanks for reminding me that this can be done
I think I used it once in like 5 years. All the other times I tried to use system restore to fix my problem it never works, but one time it did...
AussieReaper
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
+5,761|6631|what

I have a 372gb HDD. Saving that small amount of space compared to having the advantage of sys restore using enough to not use it.
https://i.imgur.com/maVpUMN.png
ReTox
Member
+100|6977|State of RETOXification
To many spyware apps and viruses like to hide in the sys restore folders because you can't delete the files (normally) with even an admin priv user account.

Besides, every time I have seen a use for system restore it ends up causing more headaches than it fixes.  Best to either learn how to manage your PC or pony up and pay a professional to do it.  Either way you'll be much better off than using sys restore.

Last edited by ReTox (2008-01-06 20:08:26)

Catbox
forgiveness
+505|7194

Canin wrote:

[TUF]Catbox wrote:

It uses resources so after i reformat i always turn it off...  If you are new to computers then i would leave it on... but once you know about basic stuff on keeping your comp running than its not neccessary...  I also turn off a few things in administrative tools/services... but then you have to be sure you know what your disabling...  also turning off most all of the system tray tsr's(terminate stay resident programs)  in msconfig...
I know a decent amount about computers. What you know has no bearing on whether or not you use the restore feature.
I meant... leave it on if you are new to computing because sometimes a small screw up... internet settings/bad program install can be baffling to people that aren't familiar with their comps...   

I really can't figure out if you were offended by my suggestions or if you are saying i dont know what i'm talking about..lol
either way... I turn mine off for the resource savings...   peace


edit:spelling

Last edited by [TUF]Catbox (2008-01-06 21:29:18)

Love is the answer
mikkel
Member
+383|7079
I always turn it off. I feel very uncomfortable with the idea of the registry being rolled back to any previous date. It really feels like it's more of an invitation to fix one problem and create a dozen new ones.

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