system restore settings

Hey Ztruker Hmm, your numbers seems closer to those of Digerati's. Makes me wonder why my points are so high compared. I'll have to dig into it when I get some more time on my hands. It could be my systems which are doing something wrong.(hopefully not ) Regards Abydos

I'll have to check out revo-uninstaller - I use Driver Cleaner Professional (Free).

As far as Spell Check - I can't live without the IESpell plug-in. It adds right-click spell checking and definition look up. You can also install it by clicking on the Spell Check option on this board. IE7Pro is used by many, and it has two great features - "real-time" spell check and browser tab crash recovery. Unfortunately, I had to disable IE7Pro because it was causing IE7 crashes on my machine - :(. But the product shows promise and is worth checking out.

Personally, I think proper spelling presents a more professional image, and that's important when trying to earn the trust to walk an uneasy user through a potentially dangerous (or at least unnerving - to the user) task. Of course, some leniencies have to be allowed for language barriers - I mean the Brits still don't know how to spell "color".

Hey Ztruker

Hmm, your numbers seems closer to those of Digerati's. Makes me wonder why my points are so high compared. It could be my systems which are doing something wrong.(hopefully not )

I would not jump there yet. In researching this, there seems to be many variables that will affect the RP size.

What files are monitored by System Restore?

Answer: System Restore monitors only a core set of specified system and application file types (e.g. .exe, .dll etc), archiving the states of these files before system changes are made. System Restore does not monitor any user/personal data files. To view the included files specified in System Restore, see Monitored File Extensions in the System Restore section of the Platform SDK available from http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa378870.aspx. [link corrected by me]. Modifications to this list from sources other than Microsoft are not supported.

"System Restore monitors…the states of these files".

So, if you had a whole bunch of these type files, as happens with dual-boot systems, or maybe with systems that have been upgraded through an OS or two, maybe an old drive with the OS still installed as second (3rd, 4th?) drive - I can see where there may many files to monitor. But it is not like these "files" are archived - some value (big number) is assigned to the file and it's "state" at that point in time, and that value is what is saved/archived. Each value should not take up very much space, I would think. So your values, Abydos, do seem high to me, if you are using XP. What version of Windows?

FTR - this machine:

• XPPSP2.
• Drive C, 100Gb - OS and HW drivers take up less than 10Gb - there's 50Gb of song files (which are not on the SR monitoring lists).
  Number of .exe files: 1581
  Number of .dll files: 6511
• Drive D, 80Gb RAID1 Mirrored (2 X 80) - contains all installed programs (other than OS and HW Drivers which go on C), and My Documents and PF. Office is the largest application - security apps take up the majority of the rest. Total space used by the applications less than 30Gb.
  Number of .exe files: 1342
  Number of .dll files: 1899
• Drive Q CD/RW
• Drive V, DVD/RW
• 6600GT in dual-monitor mode

Other than the RAID and dual-monitor mode, there is nothing unusual about my PC, that's if you consider RAID and dual-monitor mode unusual. I never install from the Internet, instead, I download, scan, then install. So I have about 6 years of downloaded programs - those that are .exe are monitored. Zip files are not.

Thanks for the advice Digerati, regarding spell-check. But I rarely uses IE, using FireFox instead. Normally I spell quite good (For an foreigner that is) so never had the need for a spell-checker. Could be I should try look for a FF addon

I also use Driver Cleaner Pro. Along with Revo Uninstaller.

Some machine spec's: (both are custom builds)

1st. machine:

XPSP2 Windows Home (No previous versions)

400Gb WD with 3 partitions. (As mentioned earlier) Partition C: ~12Gb(system partition) – Partition F: ~352,5 – Partition G: ~9Gb (Swap-file partition)

.EXE files : 1914
.DLL files : 8803

Drive A : Floppy
Drive D: DVD/RW
Drive E: DVD/RW
Drive H: CD/RW (Marked for removal, but haven't got around to do it yet. It will be inserted in machine 2)

GF8600GT 1024mb

Machine 2:

XPSP2 Windows Pro. / (Ubuntu ,currently learning)

36GB WD Raptor with 2 system Partitions split at 50/50
72GB WD Raptor, no partitions.

.EXE Files: 1367
.DLL Files: 4470
(numbers for Pro only)

Drive A: Floppy
Drive E: DVD/RW

GF8800GT 512mb

Nothing here that stands out as to why my system restore points are so "much" larger. On machine 1 I have alot of graphic work going on, with a large array of programs to help out with this. Machine 2 have the most basic programs, along with some utility programs. Its also the machine I use for my work. Its a calling service, so I get info on this machine when to go and where to go. (Driving sick, injured and abandoned animals to kennel's, vets and animal hospitals) Planning to acquire a second 36GB Raptor for it, and use RAID, and then "move" the Ubuntu onto machine 1.

I never installs directly from the net either. I'm doing just like you, saving it to desktop and scans before anything else.

I'm doing just like you, saving it to desktop and scans before anything else

Well, I don't even save to the Desktop as Windows puts that under the user in Documents and Setting on the boot drive - C in my case - and I try to keep only the OS, HW drivers and a music folder on that drive. So I have a "My Downloads" folder under My Documents - which I moved to D drive (for the RAID) right after XP went on. So all my downloads go to my D Drive, and not on my boot drive.

Thanks for the advice Digerati, regarding spell-check. But I rarely uses IE, using FireFox instead. Normally I spell quite good (For an foreigner that is) so never had the need for a spell-checker. Could be I should try look for a FF addon

Ah, but FF2 has a nice in-line checker too, no?

As for spelling well ;), I think many "foreigners", that is, people whose native tongue is not English, speak, spell, and write better than many who speak English natively. Sad, but true. Perhaps if much of the world conducted business in Chinese, instead of English as it does now, we would be saying the same thing about our Chinese. Shades of things to come??? Quicker than we think, I fear. Prepare your children and grandchildren. Bilingual with Chinese is where the money is, and will be for a very long time.