A neat Windows feature is called “System Restore”. System Restore creates Restore Points, or places where “snapshots” are taken of your computer so that if something goes wrong you can restore your computer from that point in time and everything will go back like it was before. It also allows multiple points, so if you want to put your system back like it was 4 weeks ago (and a restore point was created then) you can. This will give you back whatever programs you had at that time.
However, this has a down side. If you installed something since your restore point (like a game or the latest tax program) it will not be there after you restore your system. In other words, it puts all of the programs that were on your computer at that restore point back on your system. It lets your computer go back in time to that point.
It also has a good side. You DO NOT lose files in the My Documents folder and documents you’ve created with applications such as Microsoft Word and emails. So files you created are intact no matter when you created them.
Another good side is that if you use System Restore and don’t like the way it worked, or you restored the wrong date, you can undo the process and restore the machine to the state it was in before you ran System Restore. You can run it again to change the system to any restore point.
Most computers have the default set to have the System Restore create a restore point about every 24 hours only while your system is idle, meaning on, not in hibernate or standby and not in use.
To make sure that System Restore is enabled, go to your “Control Panel” (Start, Settings, Control Panel, and System). Now select the System Restore tab. Make sure that the “Turn off System Restore on all drives” check box is NOT CHECKED, or select this check box to disable System Restore. Finally, click OK and your computer will start creating Restore Points.
You could also click on the individual drive in the System Restore tab change the storage space for your Restore Points. I would leave them set for the maximum. That will give you the most number of points to call on for restoring your system in the future.
Next week, we will look at more regarding System Restore and how to make it work.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 9:03 am and is filed under Columns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
