Member Avatar for McJohn

In Vista, SystemRestore is set to delete restore points after roughly 136years ... yeah, let that sink...

Normally Windows uses up to 15 percent of a drive’s available space to save restore points. In XP, the option to change this figure was configurable from the System Restore tab of the System Properties dialog box. But sadly this option is no longer offered in Vista.

But you can do so as follows :
Open regedit and go to
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\
SystemRestore\Cfg Double-click the DiskPercent.
The default is f (in hexadecimal) which is 15 in decimal. For making it say 10% type 'a'

Now again, how frequently you'd like to have your SystemRestore points auto-created can also b configured as follows :
Open regedit and go to
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion
\SystemRestore

You can change the value RPGlobalInterval from its default setting of 86,400 seconds (24 hours) to, say, 43200 (a8c0) if u want it created every 12 hrs.

As and how your new restore points get created, the older ones get deleted due to the availble space contstraint.

Otherwise by default, in Vista, SystemRestore is set to delete restore points after roughly 4,294,967,295 seconds or 136 years, which was a mere 90 days in XP ! The idea apparantly, is to delete them only when absolutely necessary due to space constraint!!! But err...136 years !!!

But unless u want ur grand-children to see ur restore points :icon_lol: you can change this interval too. Change the value of RPLifeInterval in the same key; a setting of 7,776,000 seconds (or 76a700 in hexadecimal) is equivalent to 90 days.

To create System Restore Points on the fly, try System Restore Point Creator. Using this utility, you can create System Restore Points in One click. Works on Vista ! To change the frequency of the System Restore Points formation, without using the Registry Editor, you can download CSRF Utility.

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Dani AI

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Good catch, — Vista deliberately changed how restore points are aged. Instead of a fixed “90‑day” expiration like XP, Vista sets the retention value to the platform maximum so age alone doesn’t force deletion; restore points are removed when space is needed (the service relies on VSS/disk‑quota behavior). (learn.microsoft.com)

What that means practically: the supported, safe way to control how many restore points are kept is to change the System Protection settings (the UI lets you set the max disk usage per drive). If you want more or less storage for restore points, use System Properties → System Protection → Configure and move the slider — it’s cleaner and less risky than poking around in the registry. Also check the Volume Shadow Copy / System Restore services if points aren’t appearing. (support.microsoft.com)

If the goal is more frequent automatic checkpoints, edit the scheduled System Restore task rather than relying on registry hacks: the SR task (under Task Scheduler → Microsoft → Windows → SystemRestore) controls the triggers Vista uses. Adjusting that task’s triggers is the supported way to change frequency; always make a manual restore point and back up the registry before any manual registry edits. If restore points vanish after creation, check disk quota, VSS, SR task history and any third‑party disk/cleaner tools that may remove shadow copies. (learn.microsoft.com)

For ’s domain issue: when a machine is domain‑joined, use domain credentials to log on or explicitly force a local sign‑in (enter the local account as .\Username at the Other User prompt — for the built‑in Administrator use .\Administrator). If the local admin was disabled by policy you’ll need the domain/IT admin to re‑enable or disjoin the PC; offline recovery or reimaging are last resorts. (uvm.edu)

Cautions: editing SR/VSS settings or the registry can cause restore failures — export keys, create a manual restore point first, and prefer the built‑in System Protection UI and Task Scheduler whenever possible.

Member Avatar for Sandbar

I need some help..I joined a domain and since it has locked or disabled the local user account (administrator has been disabled) I cannot log onto that pc.. Any ideas on what to do?
I upgraded from vista home...should have stayed with xp!

Thanks for any replies!!

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