System Restore not creating automatic System Checkpoints on my machine?

By default, System Restore creates automatic Restore Points (called as "System Checkpoints") every 24 Hrs. Many users complain that "System Checkpoints" are not created or created apparently random. There are two reasons for this:

Case 1

The Automatic System Restore point depends upon Task Scheduler service, though Scheduled Tasks will not show System Restore as a job. System Restore Checkpoints may not be created if Task Scheduler service is Stopped.

Case 2

System Restore requires the machine to be in an idle state to create system check points. This is by design so that System Restore never intrudes when the user is using the machine by taking processing power to create a system checkpoint. Hence, if system restore never sees any idle time on the machine, it will not be able to create System Checkpoints. This usually occurs if an virus scan is running and the anti-virus software is running.

System Restore Service needs to be running in both cases.

Solution

First, make sure if the System Restore and Task Scheduler service are running and set to Automatic. To manage the Services configuration, type "services.msc" in the RUN box. Double-click each of the services and set them to Automatic. Restart Windows XP.

Creating System Restore points using a script

To create a Restore Point automatically using a script, copy the contents to a notepad, save as CreateRP.VBS

set SRP = getobject("winmgmts:\\.\root\default:Systemrestore")
CSRP = SRP.createrestorepoint ("Created a Restore Point now", 0, 100)

To create a Restore Point, just double-click the CreateRP.VBS file which you've just created.

Daily Restore Point during the first boot-up of the day

Visit the following page for a script that checks if there are any System Restore points already created for the current day. If no System Restore point exists for the current day, the script creates a System Restore point.