You ask a question which could result in a long answer.
System Restore points are just, essentially, files which can be copied and stored elsewhere. You would have to goto Folder Options in the Control Panel, or open My Computer or some other Explorer window then goto Tools > Folder options, and under the View tab unhide protected operating system files. This will display the "System Volume Information folder in Explorer, and in that folder are the Restore Point backup files.
But I am not sure how it would help. Depending on the disk space allocated for System Restore it deletes the oldest restore points to make room for new ones. Like you say, restore points over 90 days are purged automatically by default. So, if you manage to backup one of the SR files and it is over 90 days old, even if you insert it back into the System Volume Information folder, it would be deleted again when System Restore is opened.
So, other avenues need to be explored. The four I can think of are;
1] Keep your System Restore points up to date. If you are creating regular backups of a fully working system then the backups should be sufficient.
2] Investigate further the problems that occur. For example, you mentioned an msi file. This sounds to me like Microsoft's Installer utility which can, on occasion, become corrupted. Microsoft have an Installer cleanup utility on their web site.
3] Keep your computer squeaky clean of viruses, spyware and other malware. Keep your anti-malware utilities up to date, and run full scans with them regularly.
4] Look into full backup utilities like Acronis True Image, or Norton's Ghost. These can take images of the hard disk for you to backup and store somewhere safe. I'm not sure abut Ghost, but True Image also allows incremental backups, ie checking for changes and adding those to the backup files.
You should, also, backup those important personal files like documents, photos, music, videos etc separately anyway onto CD or DVD.
I hope that helps.
Mark
My system details:
Intel pentium4, 2.66Ghz, motherboard D101GGC, Ram size=512mb, windows XP home edition.
My problem.
I consider myself only a beginner in IT.
I understand the life of restore points is only 90 days. Is it possible to capture an image from the restore point without getting the windows back to that restore point. Or any other way of backing up the status?
Over a period of time, windows get corrupted. A week ago, when I installed HP 2400 scan jet and HP 5168 printer, the software didn't install successfully. Every time it used to ask an msi file which is not in the windows. Even HP could not help to solve the problem. To solve this problem, I tried first repair instal and then tried sfc (which cannot be done for XP home). Finally I had to reinstall the whole XP and it had taken more than a week to get all the drivers and essntial software installed. I had created restore points - one immediately after winXP installation and then after a few essential softwares were loaded.
To avoid a similar instance, I wanted to take the backup copies of the system drive in one or two stages so that I can restore my system to the original state even after the expiry of 90 days. Thiswill save the botheration of reinstalling the whole OS again.
Is there a method by which I can backup for future restoration even after 90 days?
CAn some expert guide me on this.
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