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System restore points

B

Bobbi

Flightless Bird
My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution Service
3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my security
software downloading updates because the time doesn't correspond to the time
of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed automatically.

Bobbi Gold
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
"Bobbi" <bobbi@example.invalid> wrote in message
news:uhHKGt7KLHA.4120@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution
> Service 3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my
> security software downloading updates because the time doesn't correspond
> to the time of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed
> automatically.
>
> Bobbi Gold


Google is a wonderful thing. When you type

"Software Distribution Service 3.0"

into a Google search box then you get (amongst other things) this intriguing
link: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-update/856021.htm.
 
J

Jose

Flightless Bird
On Jul 25, 1:36 am, "Bobbi" <bo...@example.invalid> wrote:
> My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution Service
> 3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my security
> software downloading updates because the time doesn't correspond to the time
> of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed automatically.
>
> Bobbi Gold


That is what it is supposed to do - when you get/install an update
from Microsoft.

If you want to figure out what the reason behind the Restore Point
(what was updated), you can look in your WindowsUpdate.log file, you
can look in Add/Remove Programs (enable Show Updates), you could go to
the Microsoft update page and view your update history...
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Flightless Bird
A restore point of that name is created whenever you install a Windows
Update.

Bobbi wrote:
> My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution
> Service
> 3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my security
> software downloading updates because the time doesn't correspond to the
> time
> of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed automatically.
>
> Bobbi Gold
 
R

RT

Flightless Bird
The trouble with the way System Restore works is that eventually the early
ones get overwritten :-((

Is there any way of keeping a few really good ones?
e.g. after a clean reinstall and a day or six of putting software back on
and getting it all set up hunky dory?

Is there a way of increasing the amount of room allocated, apart from the
one offered?
(I have a spare 80 gig drive that I would happily devote to restore points
if it meant that I could keep them all.

RT


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:%238cEe3ALLHA.1996@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>A restore point of that name is created whenever you install a Windows
>Update.
>
> Bobbi wrote:
>> My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution
>> Service
>> 3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my security
>> software downloading updates because the time doesn't correspond to the
>> time
>> of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed automatically.
>>
>> Bobbi Gold

>
 
P

Peter

Flightless Bird
On 07/25/2010 08:57 PM, RT wrote:
> The trouble with the way System Restore works is that eventually the early
> ones get overwritten :-((
>
> Is there any way of keeping a few really good ones?
> e.g. after a clean reinstall and a day or six of putting software back on
> and getting it all set up hunky dory?
>
> Is there a way of increasing the amount of room allocated, apart from the
> one offered?
> (I have a spare 80 gig drive that I would happily devote to restore points
> if it meant that I could keep them all.
>
> RT


You should check out imaging your install. Win 7 comes with it built-in
and there are programs like Acronis for XP. Restore points are a way to
keep XP hobbling until you have the time to clean install it. You could
use your spare 80 gig drive to store images. I would put it in an
external case and connect via USB rather than slave it.

--
Peter
 
B

Bill in Co

Flightless Bird
Peter wrote:
> On 07/25/2010 08:57 PM, RT wrote:
>> The trouble with the way System Restore works is that eventually the
>> early
>> ones get overwritten :-((
>>
>> Is there any way of keeping a few really good ones?
>> e.g. after a clean reinstall and a day or six of putting software back on
>> and getting it all set up hunky dory?
>>
>> Is there a way of increasing the amount of room allocated, apart from the
>> one offered?
>> (I have a spare 80 gig drive that I would happily devote to restore
>> points
>> if it meant that I could keep them all.
>>
>> RT

>
> You should check out imaging your install. Win 7 comes with it built-in
> and there are programs like Acronis for XP. Restore points are a way to
> keep XP hobbling until you have the time to clean install it. You could
> use your spare 80 gig drive to store images. I would put it in an
> external case and connect via USB rather than slave it.
>
> --
> Peter


Agreed - this is a much better idea, and the only real way to have perfect
system backups (and/or disk cloning). Storing a large collection of
System Restore points for that purpose wasn't the intended design of System
Restore, nor is it as complete or incident free, either.

I use a backup drive to store several generational images of my C:
partition, which I create using Acronis True Image. The only disadvantage
of this approach is that the backup images are naturally larger than just
system restore points, of course, because they backup the entire partition,
but that is also their advantage (i.e., perfect restoration capability)
 
R

RT

Flightless Bird
"Bill in Co" <surly_curmudgeon@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:-eGdnW89QOwVAdHRnZ2dnUVZ_uednZ2d@earthlink.com...
> Peter wrote:
>> On 07/25/2010 08:57 PM, RT wrote:
>>> The trouble with the way System Restore works is that eventually the
>>> early
>>> ones get overwritten :-((
>>>
>>> Is there any way of keeping a few really good ones?
>>> e.g. after a clean reinstall and a day or six of putting software back
>>> on
>>> and getting it all set up hunky dory?
>>>
>>> Is there a way of increasing the amount of room allocated, apart from
>>> the
>>> one offered?
>>> (I have a spare 80 gig drive that I would happily devote to restore
>>> points
>>> if it meant that I could keep them all.
>>>
>>> RT

>>
>> You should check out imaging your install. Win 7 comes with it built-in
>> and there are programs like Acronis for XP. Restore points are a way to
>> keep XP hobbling until you have the time to clean install it. You could
>> use your spare 80 gig drive to store images. I would put it in an
>> external case and connect via USB rather than slave it.
>>
>> --
>> Peter

>
> Agreed - this is a much better idea, and the only real way to have perfect
> system backups (and/or disk cloning). Storing a large collection of
> System Restore points for that purpose wasn't the intended design of
> System Restore, nor is it as complete or incident free, either.
>
> I use a backup drive to store several generational images of my C:
> partition, which I create using Acronis True Image. The only disadvantage
> of this approach is that the backup images are naturally larger than just
> system restore points, of course, because they backup the entire
> partition, but that is also their advantage (i.e., perfect restoration
> capability)


Hellfire!!!
My C drive is already heaving with 65 gig of used space.....

OK I'm apparently doing it all wrong.

I should nave kept drive/partition C for the operating system and had all my
added software elsewhere, is that right?
How can I rectify this, assuming that this is the way to go?
I cant face _another_ reinstall, less than 4 weeks after the last one.

I am using XP Pro BTW.

RT
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
"RT" <zulu.romeotangohotel@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:uYYqj9DLLHA.4780@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>
> "Bill in Co" <surly_curmudgeon@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:-eGdnW89QOwVAdHRnZ2dnUVZ_uednZ2d@earthlink.com...
>> Peter wrote:
>>> On 07/25/2010 08:57 PM, RT wrote:
>>>> The trouble with the way System Restore works is that eventually the
>>>> early
>>>> ones get overwritten :-((
>>>>
>>>> Is there any way of keeping a few really good ones?
>>>> e.g. after a clean reinstall and a day or six of putting software back
>>>> on
>>>> and getting it all set up hunky dory?
>>>>
>>>> Is there a way of increasing the amount of room allocated, apart from
>>>> the
>>>> one offered?
>>>> (I have a spare 80 gig drive that I would happily devote to restore
>>>> points
>>>> if it meant that I could keep them all.
>>>>
>>>> RT
>>>
>>> You should check out imaging your install. Win 7 comes with it built-in
>>> and there are programs like Acronis for XP. Restore points are a way to
>>> keep XP hobbling until you have the time to clean install it. You could
>>> use your spare 80 gig drive to store images. I would put it in an
>>> external case and connect via USB rather than slave it.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Peter

>>
>> Agreed - this is a much better idea, and the only real way to have
>> perfect system backups (and/or disk cloning). Storing a large
>> collection of System Restore points for that purpose wasn't the intended
>> design of System Restore, nor is it as complete or incident free, either.
>>
>> I use a backup drive to store several generational images of my C:
>> partition, which I create using Acronis True Image. The only
>> disadvantage of this approach is that the backup images are naturally
>> larger than just system restore points, of course, because they backup
>> the entire partition, but that is also their advantage (i.e., perfect
>> restoration capability)

>
> Hellfire!!!
> My C drive is already heaving with 65 gig of used space.....
>
> OK I'm apparently doing it all wrong.
>
> I should nave kept drive/partition C for the operating system and had all
> my added software elsewhere, is that right?
> How can I rectify this, assuming that this is the way to go?
> I cant face _another_ reinstall, less than 4 weeks after the last one.
>
> I am using XP Pro BTW.
>
> RT
>


My preference is to store the OS and all applications on drive C: and keep
all user data on drive D: There are several reasons for this:
- User data is easier to back up because it resides on its own drive.
- Drive C: can be kept small because it stores neglible amounts of data. 20
GBytes for Windows XP is ample.
- When using an imaging program, it is easy to create an image of drive C:
and park it on drive D:.
- When restoring an image, user data is not affected.

65 GBytes on drive C: appears very large unless this is where you store your
personal files.
 
B

Bobbi

Flightless Bird
Hi, PA Bear-
That's what I would have guessed if my system automatically downloaded and
installed updates but it doesn't. It's set to notify only, and I download
and install them only after I check them out, which is definitely not as
often as these restore points appear.
-Bobbi


"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:%238cEe3ALLHA.1996@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>A restore point of that name is created whenever you install a Windows
>Update.
>
> Bobbi wrote:
>> My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution
>> Service
>> 3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my security
>> software downloading updates because the time doesn't correspond to the
>> time
>> of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed automatically.
>>
>> Bobbi Gold

>
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
Do you run ZoneAlarm by any chance?

Bobbi wrote:
> Hi, PA Bear-
> That's what I would have guessed if my system automatically
> downloaded and installed updates but it doesn't. It's set to notify
> only, and I download and install them only after I check them out,
> which is definitely not as often as these restore points appear.
> -Bobbi
>
>
> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:%238cEe3ALLHA.1996@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> A restore point of that name is created whenever you install a
>> Windows Update.
>>
>> Bobbi wrote:
>>> My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution
>>> Service
>>> 3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my
>>> security software downloading updates because the time doesn't
>>> correspond to the time
>>> of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed
>>> automatically. Bobbi Gold
 
B

Bill in Co

Flightless Bird
RT wrote:
> "Bill in Co" <surly_curmudgeon@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:-eGdnW89QOwVAdHRnZ2dnUVZ_uednZ2d@earthlink.com...
>> Peter wrote:
>>> On 07/25/2010 08:57 PM, RT wrote:
>>>> The trouble with the way System Restore works is that eventually the
>>>> early ones get overwritten :-((
>>>>
>>>> Is there any way of keeping a few really good ones?
>>>> e.g. after a clean reinstall and a day or six of putting software back
>>>> on and getting it all set up hunky dory?
>>>>
>>>> Is there a way of increasing the amount of room allocated, apart from
>>>> the one offered?
>>>> (I have a spare 80 gig drive that I would happily devote to restore
>>>> points if it meant that I could keep them all.
>>>>
>>>> RT
>>>
>>> You should check out imaging your install. Win 7 comes with it built-in
>>> and there are programs like Acronis for XP. Restore points are a way to
>>> keep XP hobbling until you have the time to clean install it. You could
>>> use your spare 80 gig drive to store images. I would put it in an
>>> external case and connect via USB rather than slave it.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Peter

>>
>> Agreed - this is a much better idea, and the only real way to have
>> perfect
>> system backups (and/or disk cloning). Storing a large collection of
>> System Restore points for that purpose wasn't the intended design of
>> System Restore, nor is it as complete or incident free, either.
>>
>> I use a backup drive to store several generational images of my C:
>> partition, which I create using Acronis True Image. The only
>> disadvantage
>> of this approach is that the backup images are naturally larger than just
>> system restore points, of course, because they backup the entire
>> partition, but that is also their advantage (i.e., perfect restoration
>> capability)

>
> Hellfire!!!
> My C drive is already heaving with 65 gig of used space.....


THAT is a LOT!! You must have a bunch of other stuff on that partition
(like music and video and photo files), which don't have to be there. If
so, you could move all of those to another partition. My C: partition,
after all these years, is currently at about 20 GB (used for windows and
programs, and most of the regular user data, but NOT the large stuff I
mentioned above).

> OK I'm apparently doing it all wrong.
>
> I should nave kept drive/partition C for the operating system and had all
> my
> added software elsewhere, is that right?


Not really, IMO. It's best to install the programs on the same C:
partition as windows, and keep that part (windows and programs) all
together, so that when you do a backup and restore operation, you can get it
ALL back - completely intact. (a lot of the program and windows data is, by
design, stored in the C:/Program Files and the \Application Data
directories, and it makes sense to keep it that way, for a successful backup
and restore operation, if needed.

However, for stuff like large music and video and photo files, etc, there is
no such need. And by removing that and splitting it up this way, I'd be
surprised if your C: partition would be have more than 20 GB of actual data.

> How can I rectify this, assuming that this is the way to go?
> I cant face _another_ reinstall, less than 4 weeks after the last one.
>
> I am using XP Pro BTW.
>
> RT


Well, if you've stored everything on C: and can't just move some huge video
and photo files out to another partition to greatly reduce what's on C:,
short of a reinstall, I don't see another great option.

Except, perhaps, to use ERUNT, which can back up (and restore) just the
windows registry (so it's not even as complete as System Restore). You can
google ERUNT if that sounds interesting, but it's still only a halfway
measure.
 
B

Bobbi

Flightless Bird
No, no Zone Alarm.
And do these automatic restore points get generated BEFORE the updates are
(supposedly) installed or after?
-Bobbi

"Daave" <daave@example.com> wrote in message
news:%23K0dLVGLLHA.6128@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Do you run ZoneAlarm by any chance?
>
> Bobbi wrote:
>> Hi, PA Bear-
>> That's what I would have guessed if my system automatically
>> downloaded and installed updates but it doesn't. It's set to notify
>> only, and I download and install them only after I check them out,
>> which is definitely not as often as these restore points appear.
>> -Bobbi
>>
>>
>> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:%238cEe3ALLHA.1996@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>>> A restore point of that name is created whenever you install a
>>> Windows Update.
>>>
>>> Bobbi wrote:
>>>> My system is creating restore points labelled "Software Distribution
>>>> Service
>>>> 3.0". How can I find out what that is? I don't think it's my
>>>> security software downloading updates because the time doesn't
>>>> correspond to the time
>>>> of today's update, and my system updates aren't installed
>>>> automatically. Bobbi Gold

>
>
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
Bobbi wrote:

> do these automatic restore points get generated BEFORE the
> updates are (supposedly) installed or after?


The Software Distribution Service 3.0 RP is the last one (i.e., most
recent) in the list. I doubt another RP is immediately generated. At
least, that's my understanding. :)
 
B

Bobbi

Flightless Bird
Well, I have a couple of weeks of restore points (one per day) all labelled
Software Distribution Service 3.0. I have not done any windows updates
during that time except for MS Security Essentials once. Could it be that
all these restore points are being caused by MSE doing its daily updates?
-Bobbi.

"Daave" <daave@example.com> wrote in message
news:uKshRweLLHA.3496@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Bobbi wrote:
>
>> do these automatic restore points get generated BEFORE the
>> updates are (supposedly) installed or after?

>
> The Software Distribution Service 3.0 RP is the last one (i.e., most
> recent) in the list. I doubt another RP is immediately generated. At
> least, that's my understanding. :)
>
 
D

Daave

Flightless Bird
Perhaps. (Sorry, that's all I got! I don't use MSE.)

Bobbi wrote:
> Well, I have a couple of weeks of restore points (one per day) all
> labelled Software Distribution Service 3.0. I have not done any
> windows updates during that time except for MS Security Essentials
> once. Could it be that all these restore points are being caused by
> MSE doing its daily updates? -Bobbi.
>
> "Daave" <daave@example.com> wrote in message
> news:uKshRweLLHA.3496@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Bobbi wrote:
>>
>>> do these automatic restore points get generated BEFORE the
>>> updates are (supposedly) installed or after?

>>
>> The Software Distribution Service 3.0 RP is the last one (i.e., most
>> recent) in the list. I doubt another RP is immediately generated. At
>> least, that's my understanding. :)
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Flightless Bird
Does MSE update Windows Update (tunnel)? [Yes.]

MSE Support Forums
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/mse


Bobbi wrote:
> Well, I have a couple of weeks of restore points (one per day) all
> labelled
> Software Distribution Service 3.0. I have not done any windows updates
> during that time except for MS Security Essentials once. Could it be that
> all these restore points are being caused by MSE doing its daily updates?
 
P

PA Bear [MS MVP]

Flightless Bird
[TYPO CORRECTED]

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
> Does MSE update [VIA THE] Windows Update (tunnel)? [Yes.]
>
> MSE Support Forums
> http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/mse
>
>
> Bobbi wrote:
>> Well, I have a couple of weeks of restore points (one per day) all
>> labelled
>> Software Distribution Service 3.0. I have not done any windows updates
>> during that time except for MS Security Essentials once. Could it be that
>> all these restore points are being caused by MSE doing its daily updates?
 
B

Bobbi

Flightless Bird
Thanks, PA Bear! Finally, an answer after lots of irrelevant postings.
So my other question is, is the automatic restore point created BEFORE the
update? (I'd hope so).
-Bobbi



"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:-Oi$esgzLLHA.1868@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> [TYPO CORRECTED]
>
> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
>> Does MSE update [VIA THE] Windows Update (tunnel)? [Yes.]
>>
>> MSE Support Forums
>> http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/mse
>>
>>
>> Bobbi wrote:
>>> Well, I have a couple of weeks of restore points (one per day) all
>>> labelled
>>> Software Distribution Service 3.0. I have not done any windows updates
>>> during that time except for MS Security Essentials once. Could it be
>>> that
>>> all these restore points are being caused by MSE doing its daily
>>> updates?

>
 
U

Unknown

Flightless Bird
Yes, common sense.
"Bobbi" <bobbi@example.invalid> wrote in message
news:%23QD2lw0LLHA.4120@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> Thanks, PA Bear! Finally, an answer after lots of irrelevant postings.
> So my other question is, is the automatic restore point created BEFORE the
> update? (I'd hope so).
> -Bobbi
>
>
>
> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABearMVP@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:-Oi$esgzLLHA.1868@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> [TYPO CORRECTED]
>>
>> PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:
>>> Does MSE update [VIA THE] Windows Update (tunnel)? [Yes.]
>>>
>>> MSE Support Forums
>>> http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/mse
>>>
>>>
>>> Bobbi wrote:
>>>> Well, I have a couple of weeks of restore points (one per day) all
>>>> labelled
>>>> Software Distribution Service 3.0. I have not done any windows updates
>>>> during that time except for MS Security Essentials once. Could it be
>>>> that
>>>> all these restore points are being caused by MSE doing its daily
>>>> updates?

>>

>
>
 
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