Folders That Contain System Restore Points?

I realize that system restore points in Windows XP are stored in folders
that only the SYSTEM account can reach. But I would still like to know
where are those folders located.

One of my systems is completely missing its system, system32, and repair
folders. I'm trying to determine before I begin a long recovery procedure
whether it is even going to be possible to get a recent system state
recovered. If the system restore folders have also been deleted, then
obviously it is hopeless.

--
Will

Will, they are in the (normally hidden, and normally off limits for access),
"System Volume Information" folder.

Will wrote:
> I realize that system restore points in Windows XP are stored in folders
> that only the SYSTEM account can reach. But I would still like to know
> where are those folders located.
>
> One of my systems is completely missing its system, system32, and repair
> folders. I'm trying to determine before I begin a long recovery
> procedure
> whether it is even going to be possible to get a recent system state
> recovered. If the system restore folders have also been deleted, then
> obviously it is hopeless.
>
> --
> Will

"Bill in Co." <not_really_here@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:%23q6lUKK1IHA.5472@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Will, they are in the (normally hidden, and normally off limits for
access),
> "System Volume Information" folder.

One of the many reasons I really love the SysInternals ERD Commander tool -
which constructs a Windows 2003 boot CD that replaces recovery console - is
that it allows me to get past any NTFS security and really inspect deeply
into a disk I need to recover.

In the case of my current situation, I was able to find the restore points
and inspect into them. It looks to me that they contain primarily registry
files and INI files.

I need to recover my entire system32 folder on a Windows XP Media Center SP3
computer. If I do that from an old backup, then bring the system up to
SP3, and apply any remaining Windows Update patches, is that the point at
which I would attempt to apply a system restore?

A fresh install of Windows XP SP3 is capable of seeing old restore points
created by a previous installation?

--
Will


> Will wrote:
> > I realize that system restore points in Windows XP are stored in folders
> > that only the SYSTEM account can reach. But I would still like to
know
> > where are those folders located.
> >
> > One of my systems is completely missing its system, system32, and repair
> > folders. I'm trying to determine before I begin a long recovery
> > procedure
> > whether it is even going to be possible to get a recent system state
> > recovered. If the system restore folders have also been deleted, then
> > obviously it is hopeless.
> >
> > --
> > Will

"Will" <westes-usc@noemail.nospam> wrote in message
news:xf6dnZ_FMqy_VMPVnZ2dnUVZ_qXinZ2d@giganews.com ...
> "Bill in Co." <not_really_here@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:%23q6lUKK1IHA.5472@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> Will, they are in the (normally hidden, and normally off limits for
> access),
>> "System Volume Information" folder.
>
> One of the many reasons I really love the SysInternals ERD Commander
> tool -
> which constructs a Windows 2003 boot CD that replaces recovery console -
> is
> that it allows me to get past any NTFS security and really inspect deeply
> into a disk I need to recover.
>
> In the case of my current situation, I was able to find the restore points
> and inspect into them. It looks to me that they contain primarily
> registry
> files and INI files.
>
> I need to recover my entire system32 folder on a Windows XP Media Center
> SP3
> computer. If I do that from an old backup, then bring the system up to
> SP3, and apply any remaining Windows Update patches, is that the point at
> which I would attempt to apply a system restore?
>
> A fresh install of Windows XP SP3 is capable of seeing old restore points
> created by a previous installation?
>
> --
> Will
>
>
>> Will wrote:
>> > I realize that system restore points in Windows XP are stored in
>> > folders
>> > that only the SYSTEM account can reach. But I would still like to
> know
>> > where are those folders located.
>> >
>> > One of my systems is completely missing its system, system32, and
>> > repair
>> > folders. I'm trying to determine before I begin a long recovery
>> > procedure
>> > whether it is even going to be possible to get a recent system state
>> > recovered. If the system restore folders have also been deleted, then
>> > obviously it is hopeless.
>> >
>> > --
>> > Will
>
>
Whether the existing restore points would remain after a "fresh install"
depends on what you mean by "fresh install". To me, a fresh install is one
in which I format the disk, and start from the very beginning.
If that is your definition, then there will be no old restore points.
However, it seems to me that old restore points would not be useful anyway.

Jim