how much system restore disk space usage is needed? Is system restore important?

niall · 02-01-2007, 03:59 PM

I turned off system restore to free up some disk space (not that i didnt have enough free). Then I turned it on again, and instead of using 12% maximum I selected 6%. 12% seemed like an awful lot. Maybe even 6% is more than is needed. How much do you use? Is system restore even that useful? Thanks.

forhockey · 02-01-2007, 07:04 PM

I use the max 12% on my system with a 80GB HD. It does seem like a lot of space to be taking up, but in the end I believe it will be worth it. The more room you allocate to system restore points, then you'll have a lot more start points to revert back to if something terribly were to happen to your system.

The following article has some faqs on system restore: Click Here

niall · 02-02-2007, 09:38 AM

ok thanks. Is a lot of system restore points really needed though? What does anyone else think?

**Glaswegian** · 02-02-2007, 03:00 PM

Hi niall

I guess the answer really depends on you, and your system. What other backups do you perform and how often? I try and keep 2 SR points - and I keep images of my drives on an external drive. The link provided by forhockey should tell you pretty much all you need to know.

Zazula · 02-03-2007, 09:32 PM

You have to take your HDD's size into account, too; a percentage all by itself won't say much. Also, if your HDD is partitioned, each partition can have a different percentage assigned. Last but not least, the percentage tells your system how much is the maximum allowance - you don't "lose" that space until the time comes when something actually gets written there. (That is, if you allocate let's say 10GB in a 80GB hard disk with no Restore Points, you won't see a 10GB drop in available space - the free space you were seeing before that action, will still be available.)

niall · 02-07-2007, 11:52 AM

I'm still a bit confused. Is it system restore that's causing the amount of used space on the hard disk to increase quite a lot. For example, today I've used 4.33GB, whereas in a day or two it might be 4.34GB. I know using 4GB isn't a lot by the way, i dont download much at all.

ArturoYee · 02-07-2007, 02:21 PM

Restore Points - here are my thoughts:
My computer is running fine - all the software that I installed are working and there seems to be no point in keeping my previous restore points. So, I deleted all but the most recent ones - and thus increased my available disk space.
I perform that analysis about once a month - for the last two years and my system is running great!

Disk Usage:
Have you cleared your browser cache?
Could you be running a piece of software that is creating temp files and not deleting them when the exit?
As a habit, I clear my temp folders - also about once a month.

niall · 02-08-2007, 09:49 AM

I use clean-up a lot, and i use firefox and it deletes internet files too when it's closed. So all i can think of is that it's system restore.

ArturoYee · 02-08-2007, 11:11 AM

Ok - from your post, it seems that we are talking about .01GB in about a day or two.
What I would do is:

Run your cleanup strategy - figure out your disk usage.
Use the machine for about a week
Figure out your disk usage
Run your cleanup strategy - figure out your disk usage.

You should have a better idea of where to focus -

Blackbug99 · 03-02-2008, 11:56 AM

Here's a simple way to see "shadowstorage" which is what the System restore uses and how to change it.

Click the start menu

Click on All Programs, and then Accessories

From the accessories menu, right click on Command Prompt and select “run as administrator”

Type “vssadmin list shadowstorage” into the command prompt (no quotes and you can cut and paste it)

The results will tell you the amount of storage used and the maximum amount allotted

To change it type in “vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=[your hard disk]: /On=[your hard disk]: /MaxSize=[how much space you want to allocate]” (no quotes)

example - “vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=10GB” (again no quotes)

02-01-2007, 03:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
niall Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 188 OS: Vista	how much system restore disk space usage is needed? Is system restore important? I turned off system restore to free up some disk space (not that i didnt have enough free). Then I turned it on again, and instead of using 12% maximum I selected 6%. 12% seemed like an awful lot. Maybe even 6% is more than is needed. How much do you use? Is system restore even that useful? Thanks.

02-02-2007, 03:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,413 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Hi niall I guess the answer really depends on you, and your system. What other backups do you perform and how often? I try and keep 2 SR points - and I keep images of my drives on an external drive. The link provided by forhockey should tell you pretty much all you need to know. __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner

02-03-2007, 09:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
Zazula Manager Emeritus, I'm blond, James Blond Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Posts: 7,667 OS: Win XP Pro SP2	You have to take your HDD's size into account, too; a percentage all by itself won't say much. Also, if your HDD is partitioned, each partition can have a different percentage assigned. Last but not least, the percentage tells your system how much is the maximum allowance - you don't "lose" that space until the time comes when something actually gets written there. (That is, if you allocate let's say 10GB in a 80GB hard disk with no Restore Points, you won't see a 10GB drop in available space - the free space you were seeing before that action, will still be available.) __________________ "Time is the wisest because it discovers everything" Thales of Miletus (ca.624BC-ca.546BC) "Everything flows, nothing stands still." Heraclitus of Ephesus (ca.535BC-475BC) "One thing I know, that I know nothing" Socrates of Athens (ca.470BC–399BC) Last edited by Zazula; 02-03-2007 at 09:34 PM.

02-07-2007, 02:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
ArturoYee Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 134 OS: XP Home, OS X 10.5 MacBook	Restore Points & Disk Usage Restore Points - here are my thoughts: My computer is running fine - all the software that I installed are working and there seems to be no point in keeping my previous restore points. So, I deleted all but the most recent ones - and thus increased my available disk space. I perform that analysis about once a month - for the last two years and my system is running great! Disk Usage: Have you cleared your browser cache? Could you be running a piece of software that is creating temp files and not deleting them when the exit? As a habit, I clear my temp folders - also about once a month.

02-08-2007, 11:11 AM	#9 (permalink)
ArturoYee Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 134 OS: XP Home, OS X 10.5 MacBook	Ok- Ok - from your post, it seems that we are talking about .01GB in about a day or two. What I would do is: Run your cleanup strategy - figure out your disk usage. Use the machine for about a week Figure out your disk usage Run your cleanup strategy - figure out your disk usage. You should have a better idea of where to focus -

02-01-2007, 07:04 PM	#2 (permalink)
forhockey Analyst, Security Team Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,947 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate	I use the max 12% on my system with a 80GB HD. It does seem like a lot of space to be taking up, but in the end I believe it will be worth it. The more room you allocate to system restore points, then you'll have a lot more start points to revert back to if something terribly were to happen to your system. The following article has some faqs on system restore: Click Here

02-02-2007, 09:38 AM	#3 (permalink)
niall Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 188 OS: Vista	ok thanks. Is a lot of system restore points really needed though? What does anyone else think?

02-07-2007, 11:52 AM	#6 (permalink)
niall Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 188 OS: Vista	I'm still a bit confused. Is it system restore that's causing the amount of used space on the hard disk to increase quite a lot. For example, today I've used 4.33GB, whereas in a day or two it might be 4.34GB. I know using 4GB isn't a lot by the way, i dont download much at all.

02-08-2007, 09:49 AM	#8 (permalink)
niall Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 188 OS: Vista	I use clean-up a lot, and i use firefox and it deletes internet files too when it's closed. So all i can think of is that it's system restore.

03-02-2008, 11:56 AM	#10 (permalink)
Blackbug99 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 1 OS: Vista Ultimate 64bit	Re: how much system restore disk space usage is needed? Is system restore important? Here's a simple way to see "shadowstorage" which is what the System restore uses and how to change it. Click the start menu Click on All Programs, and then Accessories From the accessories menu, right click on Command Prompt and select “run as administrator” Type “vssadmin list shadowstorage” into the command prompt (no quotes and you can cut and paste it) The results will tell you the amount of storage used and the maximum amount allotted To change it type in “vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=[your hard disk]: /On=[your hard disk]: /MaxSize=[how much space you want to allocate]” (no quotes) example - “vssadmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=10GB” (again no quotes)