System Restore: Isn't it better turning it off?

Question

I mean if you consider that by keeping system restore turned off:

1) You will save disk space

2) You won't back up viruses

3) You will save resources

Then...

probably it's better keeping this feature off and only turning it on before installing a new program just in case there's trouble and then turn it off again.

Any opinions on this are welcome.

Regards.

jmwills · Answer

System restore files do not quarantine anything.  If you , say, removed spyware or a virus and then restored to that point later, you now have your spyware and viruses back.

gudgeon · Answer

It's saved my bacon so many times that I wouldn't consider turning it off. I'm not worried by the loss of disk space or increased usage of resources, but I would agree that the opportunity exists to give a virus a nice little hidy-hole. As I understand it though, an infected file in the restore area is virtually 'in quarantine' - it's not going to do any harm unless restored. Unless somebody knows differently????

gudgeon · Answer

Yes, I understand that if you restored from a point when you were infected, you'd reinfect the system. That would certainly be a case for removing all your old restore points. I didn't mean to infer that files 'in system restore' were actually in any form of permanent quarantine, merely that they were 'temporarily in quarantine'.

kippy50 · Answer

Once you turn it off, you lose all the points you have saved.  So that wont work.  The easier solution is to decrease the amount of space usable by SR.  It will automatically delete the oldest restore point as it becomes full.  You would have to experiment to see how many a particular setting would leave available.   The other side of the coin is, if your space is that limited where your worrying about it, it may be time to consider a larger Hd.  Kip

Windows General

System Restore: Isn't it better turning it off?

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