Create a single Windows Restore point during installation of NI software and drivers

[hecmar.arreola]

Currently if you commit to installing the full NI Developer's suite and something goes wrong with the installation you can forget about using the Windows Restore feature because the installation process creates a new Restore point about every 1-3 minutes.  That is unnecessary and problematic for a number of very obvious reasons.

[hecmar.arreola]

I submitted a support ticket to NI about this problem.  Their response was essential (paraphrased): Windows automatically creates a new restore point when a device driver is installed.  It is up to the end user to configure Windows in such a way to change this behavior (using the Windows System Restore Tool).

If it is not possible for NI's installer to regulate when restore points are being made, I think it would probably make sense if the installer warns the user of this behavior and recommends turning off the automatic creation of restore points during the installation.

[hecmar.arreola]

If you are wondering why the NI Developer Suite takes so long to install, it is probably related to the ridiculous number of restore points being created that are ultimately unuseful (see original post).

NI has not responded to this problem execept to blame Microsoft for their implimentation of the system restore point system. Not a very good response, but that is what we have to currently work with.

I recommend that everyone fully backup their system prior to installing NI Developer Suite using some other mechanism than system restore.

To reduce the amount of time during NI Developer Suite installation, disable Windows System Restore prior to starting the installation process.  Here is a guide:

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disable-system-restore-in-windows-vista/

[RavensFan]

Your tip on how to work around the system restore process seems like a good one.  But I think it is a bit strong to say that NI is blaming Microsoft rather than trying to do something about it.  The fact is that there probably is nothing that NI can do about the way Microsoft handles restore points and creates them for every driver.

[AristosQueue (NI)]

Nickerbocker's point about our installer could suggest users disable the system before we run is an idea at least worth exploring. And maybe we could disable it automatically after the first restore point if there's a programmatic API. I know very little about our installer system -- didn't even know about restore points until this idea appeared last year. I passed this update along to the team to make sure they see it.