System Restore points

[misog]

I have installed Avast after having trouble with AVG 7 free but I find that System Restore points are still not automatically set after I installed Avast.

[Eddy]

1] Never put two av's on 1 system. Although some can work together it is never recommended to do so. Many times it only leads to conflicts and at worse even to both not fuctioning properly or not functioning at all.

2] Avast and system restore have nothing to do with eachother.

So what is the problem you are having?

[misog]

1  I only have Avast installed. AVG was removed by a re format.

2  System restore points should be automatically set when the pc is idle as did occur when I used AVG 6. Since loading Avast I have found that no restore points are being created. This would cause problems in the future  if I needed to restore the pc to a earlier time.

[Eddy]

Ok, I thought you had both Avast and AVG on the system. Well, that is one thing solved.

And you can't set System Restore to generate a restore point when a system is IDLE. This is a Windows limitation and has nothing to do with any av.

If you want to have a decent restore option, create a image of the drive(s). This is a much better way than using system restore. What good is system restore if you can't boot? Think of that.

[misog]

As Avg6 will not be supported much longer and its replacement Avg 7 free is pretty buggy at present I have been looking for a replacement which worked as well as AVG6. So far I have yet to find one.

[Eddy]

I suggest you take some time to learn about Avast and the options it is giving the user. With applications it is like with humans. At first you don't like it or don't know what to think of it. It takes some time to know someone. Base your judgment on what you know after that time.

Since you are new to Avast, I suggest you read the help (start > programs > Avast > help) and make yourself familiar with the options and terms used by/in Avast.

Also browse this board and use its searchoption. There is a lot of usefull information here. And on the website is also some info that may be usefull to you.

As you will see if you browse this board. A lot of people removed AVG (especially after they released 7) and made the step to Avast. I let that speak for itself.

Welcome to this board and a merry christmas to you and everyone else there.

[Manitoban]

...System Restore points are still not automatically set....

You've probably already looked over this little checklist: System Restore not creating automatic System Checkpoints on my machine.

[DavidR]

If you are relaying on System Restore to provide anything other than very short term roll-back of say an installed driver, then you are storing up a potential problem.

System Restore is far from perfect and as Eddy said imaging software provides a much better option for short and long term system backup and recovery.

There are many, many reasons why a System Restore may fail. For example, see "Why are previous restore points not working?" in the "Troubleshooting" section of this official Microsoft page:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/faqsrwxp.mspx

There's lots more on that page that's worth reading too. Note especially the sections on "Does System Restore protect personal data files?" (the short answer: no); "What should I do if System Restore does not work?"; "Why are my restore points missing or deleted?"; "Why does the System Restore Wizard lockup?"; and so on. Just a few minutes on that page ought to convince just about anyone that System Restore is not intended for heavy-duty system protection!

More info:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_restore.htm
http://www.experts-exchange.com/Operating_Systems/WinME/Q_20718080.html
http://www.google.com/search?q=system+restore+fail