System Restore



System Restore

One area I’ve always felt was lacking in past Windows versions was the ability to undo changes that were made to the operating system. If you make a lot of changes, as I do, eventually your system will head south with little hope of recovery other than a full reformat and reinstall. I’m told that Windows Me had the capability to roll itself back to previous configurations. Since my total working time with Windows Me was about ten minutes (long enough to initiate a reformat) I’ll proceed under the guise that system restore is a fine innovation for XP.

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This is the opening screen for System Restore, accessible by clicking [Start] [All Programs] [Accessories] [System Tools] [System Restore]. Choose from the bulleted options on the right whether you want to restore your computer to an earlier time or create a new restore point for future use.

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If you have chosen to restore to a previously established restore point the screen above will open. The calendar on the left will have dates in bold. Selecting a day will show the restore points available for that date in the breakout to the right of the calendar. Select the restore point you want and click [Next].

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Last chance (not really) before you start the restore process. I say not really because one of the excellent features of System Restore is the ability to undo any restore performed. The [Help and Support] option available from the [Start] menu is an excellent source of more information on the different types of restore points available. Search under “System Restore”.

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When you choose to establish a new restore point rather than go back to a previous restore point the screen above will open. Simply type in a name for the restore point in the data entry box. Be descriptive in your naming to make it easier when you come back to do a restore. Click [Create] and the process will begin.

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The opening screen for System Restore contains a link called [System Restore Settings]. Clicking it will open the System Properties page which is accessible from many different locations and via many methods. The property page allows you to disable System Restore on any or all drives with the one caveat that it must be enabled on C:\ if any of the other drives are enabled. Click [Settings] to open the page shown below.

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The Settings Property Sheet allows you to select the percentage of the drive space allocated to restore points. The default setting is 12% of total drive size, but this can be increased or decreased depending on the number of restore points you want to have available.

|How Run System Restore in Windows XP Home and Professional ( WINXP ) |

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|1) Click on "START" then "RUN" |

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|2) Type "MSCONFIG" and click on "OK" |

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|3) Now Click on "LAUNCH SYSTEM RESTORE" |

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|4) Leave Defaults and Click "NEXT" |

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|5) Select a date to restore from, (Warning all software installed after date will be completely removed) and click on |

|"NEXT" |

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|6) You will be asked to confirm date, if you are happy then click on "NEXT" |

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|7) Your computer will now reboot, do a bit of work and when finished the below screen will be seen, your problem should now|

|be solved, if not try another date prior to this. |

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|8) Done. You can undo system restore by simply launching it again and selecting "UNDO RESTORE" |

|Use System Restore to Undo Changes if Problems Occur |

|Published: August 24, 2001 |

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|Related Links |

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|How-to Article: Use Backup to Protect Data from Loss |

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|Overview: Recover from Technical Problems and Get Help When You Need It |

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|Technical Overview: Reliability Improvements in Windows XP |

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|Every time you download or install a new game, application, or software update, you make changes to your computer. |

|Sometimes that change may make your system unstable. Have you ever wanted to go back to the way it was? With System |

|Restore, you can. |

|System Restore works a lot like the Undo command in Microsoft Word. You can use System Restore to remove any system changes|

|that were made since the last time you remember your computer working correctly. System Restore does not affect your |

|personal data files (such as Microsoft Word documents, browsing history, drawings, favorites, or e–mail) so you won't |

|lose changes made to these files. |

|How does System restore work? |

|Windows XP periodically records a snapshot of your computer. These snapshots are called restore points. Windows XP also |

|creates restore points at the time of significant system events (such as when an application or driver is installed) or you|

|can create and name your own restore points at any time. If you’ve installed a program that has made your computer |

|unstable, you can open system restore, choose a restore point, and return your computer to its previous stable state. |

|When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find restore points. If you don't use your computer every |

|day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost|

|every day, and some days might have several restore points. |

|Use System Restore to undo changes you’ve made to your computer |

|Before you open the System Restore console, you may want to save your work and close all programs since System Restore |

|requires you to restart your computer. |

|There are two ways to access System Restore – through Help and Support or through your All Programs folder. |

|Through Help and Support: |

|1. |

|Click Start, and then click Help and Support. |

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|2. |

|Under Pick a Task, click Undo changes to your computer with System Restore. |

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|3. |

|Follow the instructions on the wizard. |

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|Through the All Programs menu: |

|1. |

|Click Start. |

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|2. |

|Point to All Programs. |

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|3. |

|Point to Accessories. |

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|4. |

|Point to System Tools. |

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|5. |

|Click System Restore. |

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|6. |

|Follow the instructions on the wizard. |

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|Creating a restore point can be useful any time you anticipate making changes to your computer that are risky or might make|

|your computer unstable. If something goes wrong, you select the restore point you just created and Windows XP undoes any |

|system changes made since that time. |

|Create a Restore Point |

|1. |

|Open System Restore. (See step-by-step instructions above.) |

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|2. |

|Click Create a restore point, and then click Next. |

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|3. |

|In the Restore point description box, type a name to identify this restore point as seen in Figure 1 below. System Restore |

|automatically adds the date and time that this Restore Point is created. |

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|Figure 1. Creating a restore point |

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|To finish creating this restore point, click Create. |

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|To cancel restore point creation and return to the Welcome to System Restore screen, click Back. |

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|To cancel restore point creation and exit the System Restore Wizard, click Cancel. |

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|To view or to return to this restore point, from the Welcome to System Restore screen of the System Restore Wizard select |

|Restore my computer to an earlier time. Then select the date you created the restore point from the calendar in the Select |

|a Restore Point screen. All of the restore points you created and you computer created on the selected date are listed by |

|name in the list box to the right of the calendar. |

|Note System Restore does not replace the process of uninstalling a program. To completely remove the files installed by a |

|program, you must remove the program using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel or the program's own uninstall program. |

|To open Add or Remove Programs, click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs. |

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