System protection off and is still generating files in my C: drive


BrandonR

BrandonR

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I've turned off system restore and protection trying to save space in my primary drive. I don't keep nothing important on my PC so therefore no need for these to be enabled.. Is there anyway to stop this from happening? Thanks!
 

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Did you try to delete the existing restore points?
 

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Hello, :alien:

Turning off System Protection for a drive should automatically delete all restore points created by System Restore on the drive. You could still have restore points created by Point-in-time Restore though.

www.elevenforum.com

Delete Restore Points for System Restore and Point-in-time Restore in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to manually delete all, oldest, or specific restore points created by System Restore and/or Point-in-time restore in Windows 11. While System Restore and Point-in-time both use the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to create restore points, they are separate...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

www.elevenforum.com

Enable or Disable Point-in-time Restore in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off the point-in-time restore feature in Windows 11. Starting with Windows 11 build 26100.8737 (24H2), build 26200.8737 (25H2), and build 28000.2340 (26H1), Microsoft introduced point-in-time restore for Windows. This flexible recovery feature...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com

You could use the group policy below to completely disable System Protection if that's what you were wanting.

www.elevenforum.com

Enable or Disable System Restore in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the System Restore feature for all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11. System Restore monitors system changes and saves the system state as a restore point. If a system problem develops as a result of a system change, the user can return the...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

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BrandonR said:
I've turned off system restore and protection trying to save space in my primary drive. I don't keep nothing important on my PC so therefore no need for these to be enabled.. Is there anyway to stop this from happening? Thanks!
Click to expand...



Every now and then, MS turns System Restore back on.
 

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Check the Application event log, source System Restore

Log: Application
Source: System Restore
Event ID: 8194
Meaning: Successfully created restore point



Also check

Event ID 8193 - Failed to create restore point
Event ID 8194 - Successfully created restore point


A failed event can still be useful because it may show the attempted process


If System Protection is truly disabled for all protected volumes, normal System Restore points should not be created.
If restore points or shadows still appear, verify whether they are actually System Restore points versus VSS shadow copies created by backup software, installer activity, Windows servicing, driver installers, security software, or OEM utilities.

vssadmin list shadows
vssadmin list shadowstorage


And check the scheduled restore point task

Task Scheduler Library
Microsoft
Windows
SystemRestore
SR
 

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Ghot said:
Every now and then, MS turns System Restore back on.
Click to expand...

I have never had that happen but I turn off system restore then disable system restore in group policy and also disable system restore configuration.

Screenshot 2026-06-30 112746.webp
 

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I'm the opposite. Even though I do have backups I do run System Restore and have had it get me out of a jam many times due to all the unique tests and scripts I run, much faster than doing a full restore. Does it work 100% of the time, no it does not, but I'd say at least for me it works at least 80% of the time.
 

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BrandonR said:
I've turned off system restore and protection trying to save space in my primary drive. I don't keep nothing important on my PC so therefore no need for these to be enabled.. Is there anyway to stop this from happening? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Even though it's turned off, Windows Update will create one before installing the latest CU. Here's from the 23rd, 26200.8737.
Maybe so it can undo changes and roll back if something went wrong with WU.

1782844605061.webp
 

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KevTech said:
I have never had that happen but I turn off system restore then disable system restore in group policy and also disable system restore configuration.

View attachment 175610
Click to expand...


Yeah... I'm on Home no GP.
But I always disable it.

Every 3-4 months MS turns it back on. I don't know why. LOL
 

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  • At a glance

    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8737 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2AMD Ryzen 7 3700XG.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26200.8737 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5302)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
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    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
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    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
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