Roll back changes with System Restore
Matthew Hanson | Guides, Windows 7, Windows Vista | 07/07/2010 10:57am
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If your computer has started behaving erratically and you don’t know why, use System Restore to get it working smoothly again. Sometimes computers can start having problems almost out of the blue. They are such complicated machines that even the smallest change can cause the computer to stop working properly. Thankfully, ever since Windows XP Microsoft has included an extremely useful safety net with its operating systems – System Restore.
This program works in the background periodically creating snapshots, known as System Restore Points, of your settings. If your computer starts to experience problems, then you can choose a System Restore Point that was created before the problems started. Selecting a previous Restore Point will roll back your computer’s settings to before the problem – letting your computer run normally again.
Step-by-step: Roll back system settings with System Restore
1 Launch System Restore
Before you roll back your system you’ll need to launch the System Restore program. In Windows Vista and Windows 7 click Start, type ‘system restore’ into the search box and then press Return. In Windows XP go to Start ➜ All Programs ➜ Accessories ➜ System Tools ➜ System Restore.
2 Scan for affected programs
Using System Restore doesn’t affect your documents or files such as music and photos. Recently installed programs and drivers might be uninstalled, however – as they could be causing the problem. Click Next then select a Restore Point and click Scan for affected programs to find out what will be removed.
3 Select a Restore Point
Choosing the right Restore Point to roll back to is vitally important. Go too far and you might lose settings and programs that haven’t caused any problems. To help you select the correct point you can see when and why it was created. Click Show more restore points to see older points.
4 Confirm your Restore Point
Select the Restore Point and click Next. Now confirm your selection and create a password reset disc if you regularly change your password – System Restore might roll back to a time when you had a different password. Click on Create a password reset disk or click Finish to begin the roll back.
5 Check your system
Once the System Restore process is underway you won’t be able to stop it. Windows will apply the changes and restart. You’ll then get a dialogue box letting you know that System Restore has completed successfully. Take time to make sure that the problem you were experiencing has been fixed.
6 Undo changes made by System Restore
If System Restore hasn’t fixed the problem – or in rare cases, if it has caused more – then you can easily undo all the changes made. Open System Restore as shown in Step 1 and just select Undo System Restore. If that option is not there, click Next. You should see the last time you used System Restore. The Description should be Restore Operation and the Type should be Undo. Select that and click Next and then Finish.
7 Create a System Restore Point
It’s always a good idea to create a System Restore Point that you can roll back to if you encounter any future problems. Click Start then right-click on Computer ➜ Properties. Click System Protection and then Create… Type a description into the text box. Click Create when done.
8 Enjoy your problem-free PC!
Now your PC should be running without problems again and your files and photos will be unaffected. Windows will continue to create System Restore Points in the background whenever you make changes so you don’t have to worry if things go wrong – just use System Restore to save the day!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 10:57 am and is filed under Guides, Windows 7, Windows Vista. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.
