Registry backup

[oldgray1938]

Does the registry backup option produce a copy that is a duplicate of the create restore point in the Windows 10 protection process?  When I used create a restore point in Windows 1o Pro the restore point recovery does not work.  The restore operation with this program seems to work.  Any comments or insights with regard to this question/issue.

Thanks
oldgray1938

[Boggin]

I've found that when you use the program's create a restore point, it doesn't create one and you are better off using the registry back up.

You can check this by using the program to create a restore point and then go into System Protection/Restore where you'll see no new corresponding restore point was created.

I've broached this with Shane, but wasn't sure I'd gotten my point over from his answer which was to use the registry back up.

[oldgray1938]

I can create restore points but when I go to use a restore point I get a message "
System Restore did not complete successfully. Your computer's system files and settings were not changed.
Details:
System restore failed while restoring the directory from the restore point.
Source: AppxStaging
Destination: %ProgramFiles%\WindowsApps
 An unspecified error occurred during System Restore

Multiple tries produce the same response.  You can try System Restore again and choose a different restore point.  If you
 continue to see this error, you can try an advanced recovery method

Even creating a new restore point and then immediately trying to recover with this new restore point fails with the above message.

[Boggin]

Are those restore points created by the program or manually by you ?

Usually the prime reason why a restore operation fails is because of an antivirus program blocking it.

The workaround to that is to try the restore in Safe Mode where all 3rd party programs are isolated.

You can either do that by booting to Safe Mode through the program or go in through Settings/Update & security/Recovery and use the Restore function from there.

However, yours is a different problem and in a Google search it has been found that January's update KB3213986 could be the cause of this.

While I've seen a couple of fixes by taking ownership of WindowsApps and renaming it to .old, the way I would approach this would be to perform a repair install, checking the box for not to search for updates during the process.

The updates will then auto download and install after the repair install and a reinstall of that update may resolve.

I've just done a system restore on my other Win 10 laptop and get the same error as you but with the error code 0x80070091.

I'm going to perform a repair install on that machine and will get back to you on the result.

A repair install doesn't affect your personal stuff or installed programs.

[oldgray1938]

Answers to your questions:
1-The restore points were created both manually by me and automatically by the system.  In fact as a test I manually created a restore point and after its creation changing nothing on the pc attempted a restore and still got the error info shown in an above message.

2-This program is installed on my three computers.  The same antivirus program  Trendmicro is also on all three pc's.  I am having problems on only my Windows 10 Pro pc.  The other work fine with the ability to use restore points to recover from my screwups.  I have never had to turn off Trend on the other pc's.

3-I tried safe mode but the restore capability is not available in safe mode.

4-Again this restore capability is not available in Safe mode.

5-Not sure about your comments on this one .

6-I saw the suggestions for this one.  There are actually three things to try.  Two did not work and who ever posted them one was not complete.  Was unable to rename WindowsApps to WindowsApps.old.  If this had worked then the next reboot of the pc would have resulted in the rebuild of WindowsApps?

7-The repair install is above my skill level and will wait till my buddy visits.

Thanks for the info

[Boggin]

Update -

The repair install had no effect so I phoned MS Support who after showing him my error message proceeded to open a Command Prompt (Admin) and take own of the WindowsApps folder.

He then created a batch file to rename it to .old and then left me while I performed another system restore with a promise to phone me back in 20mins or so.

~40 mins has gone without any call back so far.

This one also failed with the same error message.

I had a look at the batch file he left on my desktop but wondering if he left something off in the final cmd - I'll get him to look at that if/when he gets back.

He wasn't aware of any reports about this and says anything to do with Windows Updates would need to be elevated and I had to persuade him that it was OS specific and not computer specific.

[oldgray1938]

Boggin,
If you ever get a call back with a solution please email me so we can both be working with a PC where restore points work.  I have been trying everything for three months when I realized restore points were not working on my Windows 10 Pro PC.  Right now my only solution is to do a full image restore with my Ease US TODO backup program.

Thanks in advance.

[Boggin]

That guy didn't call back yesterday so I phoned up this morning but she was working on the premise that it was computer specific and not OS specific.

Anyway, after she'd run a dism /scanhealth, /checkhealth and a /restorehealth - all of which came back clean, she then suggested a repair install.

I told her I'd already done one yesterday but she proceeded to download the ISO.

I then made my point that it wasn't machine specific with others getting the same problem and that it should be elevated and let them try it, as it had been proven to be as a consequence of January's update.

Given all I'd done and she had done without resolution, she chucked the towel in and agreed to elevate it.

Getting a call back tomorrow afternoon.

I asked her to try a restore point on her own Win 10 machine and she'd get the same error as everyone else has.

In the meantime I've restored the machine with an external image - reinstalled Norton Security and now waiting for a new system image to complete - it always takes hours on that machine.

I'm then going to boot up into the advanced boot options to select Command Prompt and enter the cmds as in Fix #5 of this article, substituting UserDomain for the full name of my laptop and UserName for my admin name.

http://borncity.com/win/2017/02/22/windows10-version-1607-system-restore-error-0x80070091/

You can get the full name of the machine by right clicking on This PC and selecting Properties.

I don't know when I'll be able to test them as there's still about a 3rd left to go on the image progress bar.

If you want to give them a go, to find which partition Windows sees your volume in before you enter the cd cmd, enter -

bcdedit |find "osdevice" which will give the partition letter to use in the cd cmd.

Just to clarify, that's a Pipe symbol before find and is the uppercase of \

[Boggin]

Update -

The cd C:\Program Files didn't change anything in the WPE Cmd Prompt but worked in a normal Cmd Prompt (Admin).

I was able to do the takeown and icacls cmds but got an Access Denied for the attrib cmd and a file not found for the rename.

I then tried to delete the folder with rd /s WindowsApps as in the article and while it scrolled all the way through the files, each gave an Access Denied.

It's too late here in the UK for me to try the restore operation but will give it another go tomorrow - but not holding out much hope though.

Hope you have better luck with the cmds.

[Boggin]

Success !

That restore point failed as I'd expected so I went back into the WPE Command Prompt and entered c: then entered cd Program Files

As I'd already done the cmds to take ownership and grant permissions, I just did the attrib unhide and rename cmds which were successful this time.

Entered exit to close the cmd window, shut down then rebooted and did the restore which came back as successful.

[oldgray1938]

Boggin,
We tried to follow what you indicated but were unsuccessful.  We were not able to take control and the and get WindowsApps either renamed to WindowsApps.old or to delete it.  Could you please post a step by step of exactly what you did to get rid of Windowsapps so on the next boot Window re created a clean WindowsApps folder without the troublesome sub-folders.  We keep getting a message that there is a file in use so the operation could not be completed. 

At this time, our plan for my friends next visit is to pull the SSD c drive from my old ASUS PC and stick it into an external USB drive slot so it will look like just a data drive and then try to delete the WindowsApps folder.  If that works we will then return the drive to my old ASUS PC and reboot with hopefully a new clean WindowsApps folder with all of its sub folders less the one causing my problem. Should that work we will create a dummy restore point and then try to recover it cleanly.

[Boggin]

First, open Windows Explorer - right click on This PC and select Properties where you will see the full computer name.

You will need this for the icacls cmd - mine is KAM4-TOSH on this machine.

However, that cmd didn't work on this machine but did on my other upgraded Win 10 laptop.

The cmds need to be run from the WPE Command Prompt.

To get there, press and hold SHIFT throughout a Restart - click on Troubleshoot - Advanced options - Command Prompt

Then enter these cmds - noting the space before the / and substituting your username etc. for my KAM4 etc.

c:

cd Program Files

takeown /f WindowsApps /r /d Y

(This cmd should produce a Success as it scrolls through the WindowsApps folder).

icacls WindowsApps /grant "%KAM4-TOSH%\%KAM4%":(F) /t

attrib WindowsApps -h

rename WindowsApps WindowsApps.old

exit

Then use the back arrows to shut down and then reboot to try the restore point if the cmds were all successful.

You can create a manual restore point before or after you have completed these cmds - I did mine before I started.

[oldgray1938]

We will try and let you know how we made out using your instructions.  If we have to resort to pulling my c SSD and treating it as a data drive ie windows.  Once inside hopefully we can delete the Windowsapps folder.  If we do this I will let you know how it went.

[oldgray1938]

Hi Boggin
Well I got gutsy and tried what you sent me the WindowsApps was renamed to WindowsApps.old.  There is no WindowsApps folder in the Programs Files main folder.  Rebooted the system created a test restore point and then tried to restore that test point.  Same old message , system restore failed nothing changed.  Also tried to delete the WindowsApps.old but that also failed.  Not sure what to try next except pulling the C drive and placing it in an external USB drive and then deleting WindowsApps.old. 

Any one have other ideas to solve this problem?

oldgray1938

[Boggin]

Going by what it says in the right pane of this article, I don't think there is anything tangible to get hold of - https://www.file-extensions.org/pri-file-extension-microsoft-windows-compiled-resources-file

The MS tech was unable to find WindowsApps in Program Files either.

You can however, open Windows Explorer - This PC - Wndows(C) - Program Files and enter WindowsApps or WindowsApps.old into the top right search box.

Unfortunately, the .old doesn't produce a folder but lists every app like it did in the takeown cmd.

You can right click on each and select Delete, but I haven't checked to see if Windows will let you delete them - but given how many there are, you would have your work cut out.

Those that came up with just the search on WindowsApps produced two but not very big in size.

I had some updates on the KAM4 machine and am in the process of trying a restore on that one should the updates incorporated a fix, but it's just hung on Preparing to restore your system....

If it ever gets to the end it will probably give me the same error code.

For now it's probably best to just stick with the registry back up in Windows Repair or create system images onto external media.

EDIT - The restore has frozen now so it looks like I've got some work of my own

[Boggin]

Something strange going on...

I left Windows Explorer to go to other forums and when I was logging out of those as a prelude to shutting down, I came back to Windows Explorer and the files search to find WindowsApps.old just sitting there on its own so I right clicked on it and selected Delete.

It looked like it was going ahead with it but soon got the pop up that I'd need admin permission as it belonged to me ???

Anyway, I cancelled that and went into the WPE and selected Command Prompt

Entered -

c:

cd Programs Files

rd /s WindowsApps.old

Entered y when prompted and after a little while, it returned to the next prompt.

I entered exit to close the cmd window and used the option to shutdown.

Rebooted and did the search for WindowsApps.old which returned not found, so it looks like I was able to remove mine.

[oldgray1938]

Here is what I am attempting now:
Step 1-I have created a full image using Easetodo v10 Home, sector by sector option, WindowsApps is no longer hidden per your instructions
Step 2-I have created a full image with WindowsApps had to use sector by sector,  bad news the image still contained WindowsApps,  back to square one.
Step 3-Now trying a file backup but I expect that not to be good since it is not backing up the unnamed partition.  However, the exclusion did work in file mode.  Now to try a restore with the unnamed partition missing.  This will require a reboot so I will post this now and send another post after the restore.

Fingers crossed.

[oldgray1938]

File backup was worthless.
System transfer does not work in this case since we really want the WindowsApps ignored.  Unable to set exclusions.
I am now trying once more disk/partition backup with WindowsApps excluded in the exclusions options.  The exclusion option does not seem to work.  Need to contact Ease UsTo and see what they say.
Would like to find a way to blow away WindowsApps

[Boggin]

It sounds like you are making life difficult for yourself - have you tried what I did ?

I thought it was WindowsApps.old you are trying to get rid of ?

[oldgray1938]

Yes I tried what you posted.  Got as far as the renaming of the WindowsApps to Windowsapps.old.  I rebooted the system to see if windows would recreate the WindowsApps folder with all of the 1000 plus sub folders and all of the thousands of folder and files. The only thing I had was WindowsApps.old.  There was no new WindowsApps created by Windows

It is impossible to delete the WindowsApps.old as I get a message that there is a file in use and the delete will not work.

[JoeGus7]

I've had problems with MS System Restore going back as far as Win XP.  My Win 10 solution is to use an easy whole drive backup software program.  I have found that Macrium Reflect does the job. 
 
My first concern in doing a backup of an operating system is that I want to be completely out of the operating system that I am backing up.  Win 10 does not allow you to even look at a file that is in use - much less to copy that file.  So the first thing Macrium does is to ask you to create a CD or flash drive to boot from - the flash drive boots twice as fast as the CD version.  So you can be completely out of Win 10 to do both a backup and restore of the entire C drive.  Incidently  Win 10 has 2 hidden drives that should always be backed and restored with drive C. 
 
I have 3 additional logical hard drives that are on the same physical drive as C.  All the logical hard drives can be backedup and restored independently of each other.   
 
What about backup time?  Macrium allows you to do something called an incremental backup.  So the first backup of a drive takes the longest - one hour, 15 minutes for my smaller C drive.  The second backup backs up only the changes to the C drive.  Now Microsoft is constantly creating and deleting log files.  So the C drive has a lot of activity.  But my second and successsive backups take about 11 minutes, which includes the time need to verify that all the information was copied correctly.  My D drive takes about 3 minutes - including the verify.     
     
My other option is to backup the registry using the tweaking.com program.  I have some issues here and will write up another entry.      P.S. I always do a tweaking.com registry restore using the Windows Recovery Console because it is run outside of Win 10 on the C drive.

[Boggin]

Yes I tried what you posted.  Got as far as the renaming of the WindowsApps to Windowsapps.old.  I rebooted the system to see if windows would recreate the WindowsApps folder with all of the 1000 plus sub folders and all of the thousands of folder and files. The only thing I had was WindowsApps.old.  There was no new WindowsApps created by Windows

It is impossible to delete the WindowsApps.old as I get a message that there is a file in use and the delete will not work.

You should be able to delete the WindowsApps.old folder as I had in the WPE Command Prompt.

The reason you may not be able to find the new WindowsApps folder is because it is hidden.

Go back into the WPE Command Prompt and enter these cmds -

c:

cd Program Files

attrib WindowsApps -h

attrib WindowsApps.old -h

rd /s WindowsApps.old

exit

Continue to Win 10 and search for WindowsApps

If the remove cmd works, then you can also search for the .old to confirm it has gone.

[oldgray1938]

I followed your procedure in going from WindowsApps to WindowsApps.old.  The problem I encountered when trying to delete WindowsApps.old was an error message saying it could not delete the folder since there was a file in the Windows.old folder that was in use.  I will try what you recommended once more but I expect to get the same result.  Keep you posted.
Paul

[Boggin]

There shouldn't be anything open in the .old folder and especially in the WPE.

What you could do is to repeat the rename cmd but reversed such as -

rename WindowsApps.old WindowsApps

That way you should just have the original and then you could try the rename cmd again to see if you have success in removing the .old version then.

[oldgray1938]

OK finally redid per your instructions and got windowsapps renamed again to windowsapps.old.  the rd command removed windowsapps.old.  With windowsapps.old gone there was no windowsapps in the programs files folder.  The system did not recreate the windowsapps folder.  Examining the apps  under all programs there were very few apps available six in all.  Next I copied the windowsapps folder from my clean PC to the one that had the problems with the system restore points.  Now located in the programs folder a folder from my other PC.  However, the numbers of available apps is minimal.    All I have available are six apps where before the problem there were at least 42.  The apps on the system where I copied the windowsapps from shows 42 available. 

Not sure how to populate the apps in Windowsapps.  Well so far the restore point seems to be working.

Thanks