Admin Tips
- Windows Server 2008/2003/2000/XP/NT Administrator Knowledge Base
  - Windows Vista
    - Admin Tips
      - Administration
        Device installation and system restore

Section(s): Administration
Published on Jul 25, 2006.
Last Modified on Jul 25, 2006.
Last Modified by Mitch Tulloch.
Rated 3 out of 5 based on 1 votes.

How to minimize creation of new restore points due to frequent driver upgrades and installs.

By default, Windows Vista always creates a new system restore point whenever a device driver is updated or a new driver is installed for a device. While this is generally best practice, it can result in lots of disk space being used for restore points if you often install and install new devices on your system. You can disable this behavior by editing Local Group Policy as follows:

1. Type gpedit.msc in the Start Search box and hit Enter.

2. Click Continue when the UAC prompt appears.

3. Navigate to the following policy location: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Device Installation

4. Enable the following policy setting:

Do not create system restore point when new device driver installed.

Cheers, Mitch Tulloch, MVP http://www.mtit.com

About Mitch Tulloch

Mitch Tulloch was lead author for the Windows Vista Resource Kit from Microsoft Press, which is the book for IT pros who want to deploy, maintain and support Windows Vista in mid- and large-sized network environments. Mitch was also the author of Introducing Windows Server 2008 and technical project lead for the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Resource Kit, both books also from Microsoft Press. For more information on these and other books by Mitch, see www.mtit.com .