Windows ME Restore and Autorun glitches: any advice to solve?

I have recently made several changes to my Compaq Presario 5000,
running Windows ME. I now have a situation where System Restore
Points are not being retained (I can create a restore point, but when
I go back, they are not there.) The computer also does respond to
Autorun when I insert CD-ROMS into my internal or external drive (Yes,
I do have "Autorun Notification checked for both drives.) I did a
Restore point set before making several modifications, and noted a
previous restore point reflected at that time, but none since and all
the old ones are gone.

The modifications were that I installed an additional 256K RAM (to now
total 384) plus a second (85GB) internal hard drive to the system. I
encountered no real problems installing, formatting and having the
system recognize these additions.

I then tried to install and run Pinnacle Studio 8. While this
software seemed to install properly, I have ongoing hangups in the
process, it was not able to recognize my CD burner, etc. I have done
several deinstall/reinstalls of Studio, downloaded a registry patch
for this s/w, etc. Studio has continued to de-evolve in its ability
to operate and I have picked up the restore point/autorun issue.

Any sage advice for "nip and tuck" solutions, or am I facing the
dreaded "system restore" option?

I also have a Windows ME installation disk, so I could try to
reinstall just the operating system, but do not know how that would
impact programs already installed, data on the hard drive, MSIE 6,
etc. I have backed up all of my data, including Outlook Express mail
and address book, but I am concerned about the ability to run other
software that I have installed.

All ideas most gratefully accepted,
Brian

Installing your new hard drive will have reset system restore but after this
any subsequent checkpoints should be retained, provided, of course, that the
volume/size of changed files with system restore monitored extensions between
checkpoints doesn't exceed the space allocated to the system restore archive.

At what point do you lose a newly created checkpoint? Immediately following a
reboot or at some other time? How much space do you have allocated to the
restore archive? The problem simply could be that you don't have enough space
allocated to the restore archive to archive all the files involved in your
repeated attempts to install and then uninstall Pinnacle Studio 8.

To help try and establish why you have none could you
please carry out the following quick test:
a) Create a shortcut on your desktop to a file.
b) Create a manual checkpoint
Could you create a checkpoint?
c) Delete the shortcut
d) Restore your PC to the checkpoint you created.
Was the shortcut restored? Did you see any error messages?
e) Reboot your PC
Was the checkpoint retained?

Finally could you post back the total size of the C:\_RESTORE folder including
sub folders and also how much space you have allocated to the system restore
archive (Found at System | Performance | File System | Hard Disk).
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



Brian wrote:

I have recently made several changes to my Compaq Presario 5000,
running Windows ME. I now have a situation where System Restore
Points are not being retained (I can create a restore point, but when
I go back, they are not there.) The computer also does respond to
Autorun when I insert CD-ROMS into my internal or external drive (Yes,
I do have "Autorun Notification checked for both drives.) I did a
Restore point set before making several modifications, and noted a
previous restore point reflected at that time, but none since and all
the old ones are gone.

The modifications were that I installed an additional 256K RAM (to now
total 384) plus a second (85GB) internal hard drive to the system. I
encountered no real problems installing, formatting and having the
system recognize these additions.

I then tried to install and run Pinnacle Studio 8. While this
software seemed to install properly, I have ongoing hangups in the
process, it was not able to recognize my CD burner, etc. I have done
several deinstall/reinstalls of Studio, downloaded a registry patch
for this s/w, etc. Studio has continued to de-evolve in its ability
to operate and I have picked up the restore point/autorun issue.

Any sage advice for "nip and tuck" solutions, or am I facing the
dreaded "system restore" option?

I also have a Windows ME installation disk, so I could try to
reinstall just the operating system, but do not know how that would
impact programs already installed, data on the hard drive, MSIE 6,
etc. I have backed up all of my data, including Outlook Express mail
and address book, but I am concerned about the ability to run other
software that I have installed.

All ideas most gratefully accepted,
Brian

Mike-
Sorry for the delay. I was 6500 miles from this computer for the past
couple of weeks.

I tried the Restore procedure you suggested, to no avail. I was able
to create a restore point, create a shortcut to a word document, then
created a second restore point. I closed the restore function, then
reopened it and saw the two restore points. However, after shutting
down by computer and restarting, the system told me that there were no
restore points available.

Prior to this, I attempted to reset the Restore function by doing
this: I went to System PropertiesàPerformanceà File System à
Troubleshooting and checked "Disable System Restore." I then
immediately rebooted. I went to the same located, unchecked "Disable
System Restore" and rebooted again.

Relative to size of restore-related folders. My CompaqPresario 5000US
has part of its 30GB hard drive partitioned to a SYSTEM_SAV (E:
drive). This drive has a capacity of 2.71 GB, of which 2.28GB is used
and 441 MB available. This drive contains 3 files: CPQDRV (which
uses most of the space), CPQ, CPQS and DATA. None of the files on
this drive has modified dates within the past 2 years. (The E: Drive
is an internal 85GB Hard Drive I recently installed. Could this be a
part of the problem?)

In addition, the C:/Windows/System/Restore forleder has the RSTRUI.EXE
System Restore program, plus small data files: rstrs2l.da2,
rstrmap.dat and rstrlog.dat. The last 2 files do show modify dates as
of my last restore attempt. These files are only 3-4 KB each.

Don't know if this helps, but it all the relevant info I can think of
to provide you.

(BTW: I was able to solve the autorun problem by using REGEDIT to
reset the NoDriveTypeAuto file settings. Thanks to Peter from the UK
from 3 years ago for posting this solution!)

Brian

"Mike M" wrote in message ...
Installing your new hard drive will have reset system restore but after this
any subsequent checkpoints should be retained, provided, of course, that the
volume/size of changed files with system restore monitored extensions between
checkpoints doesn't exceed the space allocated to the system restore archive.

At what point do you lose a newly created checkpoint? Immediately following a
reboot or at some other time? How much space do you have allocated to the
restore archive? The problem simply could be that you don't have enough space
allocated to the restore archive to archive all the files involved in your
repeated attempts to install and then uninstall Pinnacle Studio 8.

To help try and establish why you have none could you
please carry out the following quick test:
a) Create a shortcut on your desktop to a file.
b) Create a manual checkpoint
Could you create a checkpoint?
c) Delete the shortcut
d) Restore your PC to the checkpoint you created.
Was the shortcut restored? Did you see any error messages?
e) Reboot your PC
Was the checkpoint retained?

Finally could you post back the total size of the C:\_RESTORE folder including
sub folders and also how much space you have allocated to the system restore
archive (Found at System | Performance | File System | Hard Disk).
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



Brian wrote:

I have recently made several changes to my Compaq Presario 5000,
running Windows ME. I now have a situation where System Restore
Points are not being retained (I can create a restore point, but when
I go back, they are not there.) The computer also does respond to
Autorun when I insert CD-ROMS into my internal or external drive (Yes,
I do have "Autorun Notification checked for both drives.) I did a
Restore point set before making several modifications, and noted a
previous restore point reflected at that time, but none since and all
the old ones are gone.

The modifications were that I installed an additional 256K RAM (to now
total 384) plus a second (85GB) internal hard drive to the system. I
encountered no real problems installing, formatting and having the
system recognize these additions.

I then tried to install and run Pinnacle Studio 8. While this
software seemed to install properly, I have ongoing hangups in the
process, it was not able to recognize my CD burner, etc. I have done
several deinstall/reinstalls of Studio, downloaded a registry patch
for this s/w, etc. Studio has continued to de-evolve in its ability
to operate and I have picked up the restore point/autorun issue.

Any sage advice for "nip and tuck" solutions, or am I facing the
dreaded "system restore" option?

I also have a Windows ME installation disk, so I could try to
reinstall just the operating system, but do not know how that would
impact programs already installed, data on the hard drive, MSIE 6,
etc. I have backed up all of my data, including Outlook Express mail
and address book, but I am concerned about the ability to run other
software that I have installed.

All ideas most gratefully accepted,
Brian

Brian,

Your drive SYSTEM_SAV (either D or E your post is a little confusing here)
appears to be a Compaq created partition and probably contains files to allow
you to return your system to the state it was in when first delivered. For
more details see the documentation that came with the PC.

The drive size and use that I was asking about is your C: drive, that is the
one containing your windows folder. Further the system restore archive is the
C:\_RESTORE folder not the C:\Windows\System\Restore folder which contains
some of the program files and logs used by System Restore. To see the
contents of the C:\_RESTORE folder using Explorer you first need to enable
Explorer to "see" hidden and protected system files and folders (Tools |
Folder Options | View and check "Show hidden files and folders" and UNcheck
"Hide protected operating system files").

So, how big is your C drive, how much free space does it have and what is the
size of the _RESTORE folder?

Now to your problem, it appears that "something" is flushing your restore
folder each time that you boot your system. Look in the C:\_RESTORE\Archive
folder and check how many RG*.cab files there are. Each represents a system
restore checkpoint. Create a manual checkpoint. Did this create a new
RG*.cab file? Reboot. Check the C:\_RESTORE\Archive folder again. Are the
RG*.cab files still present? If the folder is empty then this is because
"something" is resetting system restore each time that you boot your system.
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



Brian wrote:

Mike-
Sorry for the delay. I was 6500 miles from this computer for the past
couple of weeks.

I tried the Restore procedure you suggested, to no avail. I was able
to create a restore point, create a shortcut to a word document, then
created a second restore point. I closed the restore function, then
reopened it and saw the two restore points. However, after shutting
down by computer and restarting, the system told me that there were no
restore points available.

Prior to this, I attempted to reset the Restore function by doing
this: I went to System PropertiesàPerformanceà File System à
Troubleshooting and checked "Disable System Restore." I then
immediately rebooted. I went to the same located, unchecked "Disable
System Restore" and rebooted again.

Relative to size of restore-related folders. My CompaqPresario 5000US
has part of its 30GB hard drive partitioned to a SYSTEM_SAV (E:
drive). This drive has a capacity of 2.71 GB, of which 2.28GB is used
and 441 MB available. This drive contains 3 files: CPQDRV (which
uses most of the space), CPQ, CPQS and DATA. None of the files on
this drive has modified dates within the past 2 years. (The E: Drive
is an internal 85GB Hard Drive I recently installed. Could this be a
part of the problem?)

In addition, the C:/Windows/System/Restore forleder has the RSTRUI.EXE
System Restore program, plus small data files: rstrs2l.da2,
rstrmap.dat and rstrlog.dat. The last 2 files do show modify dates as
of my last restore attempt. These files are only 3-4 KB each.

Don't know if this helps, but it all the relevant info I can think of
to provide you.

(BTW: I was able to solve the autorun problem by using REGEDIT to
reset the NoDriveTypeAuto file settings. Thanks to Peter from the UK
from 3 years ago for posting this solution!)

Brian

"Mike M" wrote in message
...
Installing your new hard drive will have reset system restore but
after this any subsequent checkpoints should be retained, provided,
of course, that the volume/size of changed files with system restore
monitored extensions between checkpoints doesn't exceed the space
allocated to the system restore archive.

At what point do you lose a newly created checkpoint? Immediately
following a reboot or at some other time? How much space do you
have allocated to the restore archive? The problem simply could be
that you don't have enough space allocated to the restore archive to
archive all the files involved in your repeated attempts to install
and then uninstall Pinnacle Studio 8.

To help try and establish why you have none could you
please carry out the following quick test:
a) Create a shortcut on your desktop to a file.
b) Create a manual checkpoint
Could you create a checkpoint?
c) Delete the shortcut
d) Restore your PC to the checkpoint you created.
Was the shortcut restored? Did you see any error messages?
e) Reboot your PC
Was the checkpoint retained?

Finally could you post back the total size of the C:\_RESTORE folder
including sub folders and also how much space you have allocated to
the system restore archive (Found at System | Performance | File
System | Hard Disk). --
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



Brian wrote:

I have recently made several changes to my Compaq Presario 5000,
running Windows ME. I now have a situation where System Restore
Points are not being retained (I can create a restore point, but
when I go back, they are not there.) The computer also does
respond to Autorun when I insert CD-ROMS into my internal or
external drive (Yes, I do have "Autorun Notification checked for
both drives.) I did a Restore point set before making several
modifications, and noted a previous restore point reflected at that
time, but none since and all the old ones are gone.

The modifications were that I installed an additional 256K RAM (to
now total 384) plus a second (85GB) internal hard drive to the
system. I encountered no real problems installing, formatting and
having the system recognize these additions.

I then tried to install and run Pinnacle Studio 8. While this
software seemed to install properly, I have ongoing hangups in the
process, it was not able to recognize my CD burner, etc. I have
done several deinstall/reinstalls of Studio, downloaded a registry
patch for this s/w, etc. Studio has continued to de-evolve in its
ability to operate and I have picked up the restore point/autorun
issue.

Any sage advice for "nip and tuck" solutions, or am I facing the
dreaded "system restore" option?

I also have a Windows ME installation disk, so I could try to
reinstall just the operating system, but do not know how that would
impact programs already installed, data on the hard drive, MSIE 6,
etc. I have backed up all of my data, including Outlook Express
mail and address book, but I am concerned about the ability to run
other software that I have installed.

All ideas most gratefully accepted,
Brian

Dear Mike,

As to you original question: The C:\ Drive has a total capacity of
25.2 GB, of which 16.8 GB is being used.

Thanks for the advice. It may be that I'm in "something is resetting
the system" country, since the Archive folder of _RESTORE is empty.
The Properties function tells me that the _Restore Folder has 6 files
and 5 subfolders totaling 2.06 MB. I can see all of these folders.
The memory is mostly being used by a couple of 1024 KB Log files which
appear to have been created when I booted up this morning.

There were no RG*.cab files in sight (or "in site" for that matter.)
I started creating restore points, and sure enough, the system
generated RG*.cab files of 14,715 KB size. I created/deleted a
shortcut and set restore points after each operation. New RG*.cab
files were created (along with a slew of TEMP files.) Each new file
would have 0 KB in size. As a subsequent restore point was created,
the newest RG*.cab file would be zero, and the previous file would
upsize to 15715KB.

I used the Start:Logoff function several times. Each time I logged
back on, the files were still there. However, rebooting cleared out
all of the RG*.cab files and all of the TEMP files.

Any idea how to track down "something"? Or are we edging towards
nuking the system and reloading everything?

Your continued interest is much appreciated.

Brian


"Mike M" wrote in message ...
Brian,

Your drive SYSTEM_SAV (either D or E your post is a little confusing here)
appears to be a Compaq created partition and probably contains files to allow
you to return your system to the state it was in when first delivered. For
more details see the documentation that came with the PC.

The drive size and use that I was asking about is your C: drive, that is the
one containing your windows folder. Further the system restore archive is the
C:\_RESTORE folder not the C:\Windows\System\Restore folder which contains
some of the program files and logs used by System Restore. To see the
contents of the C:\_RESTORE folder using Explorer you first need to enable
Explorer to "see" hidden and protected system files and folders (Tools |
Folder Options | View and check "Show hidden files and folders" and UNcheck
"Hide protected operating system files").

So, how big is your C drive, how much free space does it have and what is the
size of the _RESTORE folder?

Now to your problem, it appears that "something" is flushing your restore
folder each time that you boot your system. Look in the C:\_RESTORE\Archive
folder and check how many RG*.cab files there are. Each represents a system
restore checkpoint. Create a manual checkpoint. Did this create a new
RG*.cab file? Reboot. Check the C:\_RESTORE\Archive folder again. Are the
RG*.cab files still present? If the folder is empty then this is because
"something" is resetting system restore each time that you boot your system.
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP

Brian,

Your findings confirm that the system restore archive is being reset each time
you reboot your PC but not when logging on which means, I think, that the
problem is with how Win Me is seeing your hardware when the system first boots
rather than when a user logs on which would then suggest the problem was
software related. Not that this totally excludes a software cause but if so
it would have I think to be a machine service rather than a program installed
by a user. Out of curiosity though what applications have you added if any
that are being launched each time you boot your system. You can check this
using MSConfig | Startup.

Some more questions if I may. What storage hardware do you have on the system
and how is it connected (ide, scsi, usb, firewre, etc.)? Please include disks
and CD/DVD drives etc., that is everything that is assigned a drive letter in
Explorer. How are the disks partitioned, single partition or multiple? Do
you multi-boot (although I think you have already eliminated that as being the
cause in the tests you reported).

What I think is happening is that Win Me's state manager is detecting a change
in your hardware and therefore resetting system restore and flushing the
archive since it can no longer ASSume that the current device assigned a
particular drive letter is the same device as was assigned that letter when
the system last booted.
--
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



Brian wrote:

Dear Mike,

As to you original question: The C:\ Drive has a total capacity of
25.2 GB, of which 16.8 GB is being used.

Thanks for the advice. It may be that I'm in "something is resetting
the system" country, since the Archive folder of _RESTORE is empty.
The Properties function tells me that the _Restore Folder has 6 files
and 5 subfolders totaling 2.06 MB. I can see all of these folders.
The memory is mostly being used by a couple of 1024 KB Log files which
appear to have been created when I booted up this morning.

There were no RG*.cab files in sight (or "in site" for that matter.)
I started creating restore points, and sure enough, the system
generated RG*.cab files of 14,715 KB size. I created/deleted a
shortcut and set restore points after each operation. New RG*.cab
files were created (along with a slew of TEMP files.) Each new file
would have 0 KB in size. As a subsequent restore point was created,
the newest RG*.cab file would be zero, and the previous file would
upsize to 15715KB.

I used the Start:Logoff function several times. Each time I logged
back on, the files were still there. However, rebooting cleared out
all of the RG*.cab files and all of the TEMP files.

Any idea how to track down "something"? Or are we edging towards
nuking the system and reloading everything?

Your continued interest is much appreciated.