Suddenly, daily system restores without installing any programs.

bumboola · 03 Aug 2018

Four days in a row now I have had a system restore point created , these are not the automatic type. There is no malware on the system, checked with Defender full scan, offline scan and Malwarebytes. All events give the exact same description and absolutely no programs have been installed. I've ran the troubleshooter for Windows Update and it fixed a few things but it just keeps creating restore points. In the past, if the system was idling (which is usually never) it would create an automatic restore point a week after the previous one if auto maintenance was left to run fully. With all the recent CUs I think it has been months since a restore point was created without an update. Can anybody help me with this?

Edit: I just realized that this should have been posted in the "Backup and Restore" subforum. If somebody could move it there I would appreciate it, don't want to double post

dalchina · 04 Aug 2018

Hi, some thoughts:
a. Please post a screenshot like this:

Suddenly, daily system restores without installing any programs.-1.jpg

The title and periodicity will be of interest.

b. Have a look at your Update History just to check there's nothing going on (failed update repeating e.g.)
Note the ref. to Tiworker.exe, typically used for updates.

c. If you look at the Tutorial section, you will find one about creating a system restore point on a schedule. Is it possible something like that is happening?

Note: we regard System Restore as unreliable - when it comes to restoring, it quite often fails.

bumboola · 04 Aug 2018

No failed updates or repeated updates, last update was the CU from 7/24. I never put system restore on a schedule, it was once a week or a week after the last update but only if my PC was left idle and automatic maintenance was allowed to run fully. First restore point is gone because I turned system restore off and on again to see if that would fix it, obviously it did not.

dalchina · 05 Aug 2018

Well, those appear triggered by SOMETHING being installed by Windows.... so I'd expect to see something related to them in Update History. Have you looked right at the bottom of that under Driver Updates etc?

If that shows nothing, please try the list shown when you click Uninstall Updates

You could also see if there's anything further useful in your event log. (Event Viewer).
The system restore points show the date and time.

What is your Windows build? Windows key + R, winver.

zbook · 05 Aug 2018

Consider performing an in place upgrade repair:
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade | Windows 10 Tutorials
Download Windows 10

bumboola · 05 Aug 2018

Already looked everywhere, no sign of anything installed or trying to install.

Build is 17134.191

Not familiar with in place upgrades, will have to look into that. Will I be able to do that if I have no current installation media?

Damn, another system restore point as I was typing this!

zbook · 05 Aug 2018

The in place upgrade repair is performed most frequently using a Windows 10 iso flash drive but can be done without the flash drive.

The Iso file can be downloaded to a flash drive or to the desktop or both.

The advantage of having an iso is that it one flash drive can be used for advanced troubleshooting on multiple computers.

Sometimes you may have only the problematic computer available and no computer to make the iso.
So if you have the iso in the tool box you can troubleshoot many computer problems without a working computer.
And sometimes you may not be able to boot the computer to get to the iso on the desktop.
However having the iso on the desktop adds to the flexibility of using the software.

To perform an in place upgrade repair you will open file explorer
.
Then when inside file explorer you will identify the flash drive with the iso or the iso on the desktop.
Then launch setup or setup.exe and follow the text and images in this thread:

Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade | Windows 10 Tutorials

If the in place upgrade fixes the problem you are set.
If the in place upgrade does not fix the problem then other troubleshooting steps can be tried.

Please run the BETA log collector and post a zip into this thread:
It is at the bottom of this webpage:
BSOD - Posting Instructions - Windows 10 Forums
(extract > open)
Use the txt and images in this thread in case there are any problems running the beta log collector: (post #5)
DM Log tool problem Solved - Windows 10 Forums
DM Log tool problem Solved - Windows 10 Forums

bumboola · 05 Aug 2018

Thanks for the detailed answer zbook. When I run the windows Update troubleshooter it definitely thinks that an update is available but there are none. It states that the problems are fixed and then I run the troubleshooter again and it applies the same fixes, like it never fixed anything at all. Al the data in the event viewer points to the PC running all the services to receive an update but never getting one.

There are no available updates after 17134.191 as far as I can see, Defender protection definitions are updated 1-2 daily without any problems.

Update for Windows Defender Antivirus antimalware platform - KB4052623 (Version 4.18.1807.18075 installed on 7/31 seems to coincide (timing wise) with the problem but it may just be a coincidence.

dalchina · 05 Aug 2018

You might like to try this:
Reset Windows Update in Windows 10 | Windows 10 Tutorials

and then run the Windows Update Troubleshooter and check manually for updates.

After that, yes, an in-place upgrade repair install which keeps all progs and data and most settings.

zbook · 05 Aug 2018

The Beta log collector will collect the event viewer logs and multiple other logs that may have error messages and codes.

When available please post the beta log collector zip into this thread for troubleshooting.