Windows 7 System Restore Times out

Hi,

System restore on my windows 7 pro OS hangs up for about 10 minutes and then displays an "Shadow copying has timed out" error message.

I only noticed this today. Also there aren't any saved restore points anymore when there should be quite a few of them.

I've tried disabling my anti-virus first which makes no difference. I've run Malware-bytes, but didn't find anything. I've uninstalled my full disk backup software just in case, but also nothing.

I don't know how long this bug has existed. I assume it's caused by either a recent windows update or malware.

Any help is greatly appreciated

Thanks

System Restore is great. When it works. Unfortunately, there are many users who find that System Restore fails when they need it most. I strongly suggest using a regimented backup scheme with disc imaging software instead. It is more robust than System Restore and when you create images on a regular basis you'll always have a safe haven to which you can return if needed.

Thanks. The problem is I can't install windows updates either because the update service creates a restore point before installing an update. If I switch my computer off and there's a pending update it will hang up. Any idea's how I can get around this??

There's nothing wrong with windows update in itself but system restore will always prevent them from installing.

Have you disabled the Volume Shadow Copy service by any chance? If so, re-enable it, reboot and hopefully you'll be back in shape.

Alternatively, see if anything here helps: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/609807/the-creation-of-a-shadow-copy-has-timed-out/

Edited by Allan, 06 February 2018 - 10:59 AM.

No, it's already enabled. I did check it and it was set to manual so I set it to automatic but didn't do anything.

TBH Although I don't like having things not working in Windows I'm not too bothered about system restore, it's just the windows updates issue that I'm more concered about.

If I download and install windows updates manually from microsoft's website will it perform a system restore before installing the update?

If not, I may have to do it this way from now on.

Candidly I'm not sure - but you can try. You can also try disabling System Restore for the drive and see if that prevents WU from creating a restore point. NOTE: If you disable System Restore, any existing restore points will be deleted (though in your case.....). And again, be sure to have some form of backup plan in place (IMO, disc imaging is the best option).

I turned off system restore through System Protection > Configure, but the windows update service still hangs up and says creating restore point when attempting to install an update.

I also downloaded microsoft framework 4.7.1 manually from microsoft website and fortunately it installed without issues.

I don't know if normal security updates will install manually without prompting to create a restore point though, just have to wait for the next available update to see.

Maybe system restore will fix it's self at some point, but for now I guess I'll just have to install all updates manually as they appear in my task bar.

Nowadays windows 7 users only get 1 or 2 rollup updates per month now anyway, so it's not the end of the world.

If anyone figures out a way to fix system restore timeout I would still love to know, but I think that's the best I can do for now...

Thanks for your advice