Wednesday, May 27, 2009

System Restore Helps

System Restore helps you restore your computer's system files to an earlier point in time. It's a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e‑mail, documents, or photos.

Sometimes, the installation of a program or a driver can cause an unexpected change to your computer or cause Windows to behave unpredictably. Usually, uninstalling the program or driver corrects the problem. If uninstalling does not fix the problem, you can try restoring your computer's system to an earlier date when everything worked correctly.

System Restore uses a feature called System Protection to regularly create and save restore points on your computer. These restore points contain information about registry settings and other system information that Windows uses. You can also create restore points manually.

System Restore is not intended for backing up personal files, so it cannot help you recover a personal file that has been deleted or damaged. You should regularly back up your personal files and important data using a backup program.

System Restore tool may not necessarily help you determine the issue. The System Restore tool uses restore points to return system files and settings to an earlier point in time. You can use it to restore the operating system to a point in time in which you did not experience the issue. When you use System Restore to restore the computer to a previous state, programs and updates that you installed are removed.

To restore the operating system to an earlier point in time, follow these steps:

1. Click Start , type system restore in the Start Search box, and then click System Restore in the Programs list.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue.

2. In the System Restore dialog box, click Choose a different restore point, and then click Next.

3. In the list of restore points, click a restore point that was created before you began to experience the issue, and then click Next.

4. Click Finish.

The computer restarts, and the system files and settings are returned to the state that they were in at the time that the restore point was created.