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The purpose of the
System Restore feature is to create a snapshot of the systems configuration
so that the Administrator can easily return a system back to a known good
configuration. Using the system restore feature will not cause a system to
lose any personal data. System Restore is designed to automatically create a restore point each time the system recognizes a significant change in the file or application structure. System Restore also has the flexibility to allow users to create their own restore points at any time. [Top] |
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By default, drives that
have 4GB or more of free space available will require approximately 12
percent of that drives space to store the necessary restore information.
Drives that have less than 4GB of free space will only require approximately
400MB of space to be available for restore information. The amount of space
on the drive that is used for restore information is based on the free space
available on the drive. System Restore gives the flexibility of the user to
control the amount of space that System Restore uses. See: How can I adjust
System Restore disk space? [Top] |
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1. Go to Start>> All
Programs>> Accessories>> System Tools>> System Restore 2. Open System Restore and tick the Create a restore point radio box. 3. Click Next (see fig #1) 4. In the Restore point description text box, type the name of the restore point for future reference (eg: before graphics card driver update). 5. Click Create Fig #1 [Top] |
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| When are the Restore Points created? | |
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Users can manually
create restore points at any time. See:
How can
I create restore Point? Other times, Windows will automatically create a System Restore Point when the following situations should occur:
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If I restore to a point before a program was installed, will System Restore remove the program? |
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No, System Restore does
not make modifications to application installations.
[Top] |
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According to Microsoft,
the following features are restored when using System Restore:
[Top] |
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According to Microsoft,
the following is not restored when using the System Restore feature:
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Can I program system restore not to monitor a particular drive? |
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Yes, as long as it is
not the system drive. But, you can turn off monitoring to other partitioned
drives. Here's how:
Fig #1 [Top] |
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Windows is set to use
the maximum amount of disk space allocated to use by default. Learn more
about how much is allocated here: How much disk space is used by System Restore? If you would like to make System Restore use less disk space, here's how:
[Top] |
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Yes. Here's how:
Note: Repeat the above procedure for any other partitioned drives you would like to check. [Top] |
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You have two options
here:
<>To delete all but the latest Restore Point:
<>To delete all Restore Points:
Tip: You can lower the amount of Restore Points
saved on your machine by reducing the space available to System Restore.
However, by reducing the number of Restore Points, the smaller the safety
net. If you would like to Reduce the space that System Restore uses, please
see: [Top] |
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It could be one of two
reasons: A service called "Task Scheduler" may be disabled on your machine. This service must be enabled in order for System Restore to create a Restore Point. To verify that the Task Scheduler is running:
Alternately:
Another reason could be that your system is running applications on a constant basis. If the system does not see any idle time, it will not create a Restore Point. This is because it is programmed to wait until it can get a good snapshot of your system. Try disabling programs that you see might be causing this issue. Once stopped, you should get regular Restore Points again. [Top] |
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It seems that the most
common reason for this is because of the lack of disk space on the drive.
When this happens, System Restore automatically starts purging the Restore
Points in an effort to gain more disk space. You probably already know that
you are running low on disk space as Windows would have already alerted you
to this fact prior to this happening. To learn much more about this issue, please visit the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;301224 [Top] |
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Can I use System Restore in place of Windows Backup Utility? |
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System Restore only
monitors certain system and application files. It will not backup any
personal data such as pictures, personal document files, email...etc. Even
though System Restore gives you the piece of mind that your critical system
are backed up on a regular basis, the Restore Points are only kept for a 90
day period and then automatically deleted by default. Windows Backup Utility
on the other hand is a much more permanent backup tool that backs up all of
your system and personal files on your system. It gives you the flexibility
to save this backup copy to a local disk or to a separate form of media
where it can be drawn from at any time. [Top] |
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No, you should not
notice any loss in performance by having System Restore enabled on your
machine. The process of creating a Restore Point only takes a few seconds
and this process only occurs every 24 hours of system operation. [Top] |
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Here are some basic
troubleshooting step to find why System Restore is not working.
Here you will see a list of the services that are enabled
on your system. Scroll the list alphabetically until you find the System
Restore Service entry see (fig.#1). If it is not found, then System Restore
is not running. For instructions on how to enable System Restore, see:
See the instructions above. Instead, scroll the alphabetical list for the Task Scheduler service. If it is not running:
Fig #1 [Top] |
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The restore operation will now start. Restart Windows when completed. [Top] |
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Yes, many
virus authors intentionally write viruses with the same extensions as
Windows files that are monitored by System Restore. That being the case, it
is common for people to have a virus, then run virus scans to remove the
virus. But, once System Restore is used to recover their computer to an
earlier date, it is very possible to introduce that same virus back in to
the system. When a virus is found on a system, System Restore should be completely disabled, all Restore Points should be deleted. Then scan the system with anti-virus software. After all parasites have been removed, re-enable System Restored and create a new Restore Point. Related articles: How do I perform a System Restore? [Top] |
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Is there a way to run System Restore from the Command Prompt? |
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Yes, but you
can only use the System Restore feature at a command prompt while in Safe
Mode. Here's how:
To boot in to Safe Mode:
Note: If your system is a dual-boot or multi-boot system, choose the appropriate installation using the arrow keys, then press Enter.
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Error message: Restoration Incomplete. Your computer cannot be restored. |
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Many users
have found that Norton 2006 and later, has been responsible for this error
message. It seems there is a security feature in place that prevents outside
programs from making system changes that would change Norton's files. To
work around this issue, follow these instructions: <>Temporarily shut down Norton:
<>Run System Restore:
The restore operation will now start. Restart Windows when
completed.
If you do not have Norton installed on your system and you receive the subject message, your Restore Points may have become corrupt. You will need to delete all previous restore points and create a new one. Here's how: Note: Using this method will remove any possibilities of restoring your system to a previous time. You will need to find a solution to your original problem manually.
System Restore should function normally at this point. [Top] |
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It really
doesn't hurt your system by using System Restore too much because all you
are doing by using it is returning your system to a snap shot of a previous
days configuration. But, as with any software, they are not perfect. So, to
tell you that you will never have any problems as a result from using it
would be a false statement.
System Restore should only be used as a last resort to
return your system to a previously known "good" state. It was designed to be
used for specific purposes and should not be used as a "cleanup" tool or a
replacement for troubleshooting. It is always best to find what the problem
is and use all other methods to fix the issue. If all else should fail, then
a System Restore can be of great assistance. Another common misconception is that it will restore deleted data. System Restore does not monitor changes to data files nor will it restore any data files. So, don't try to use System Restore as a backup tool. [Top] |
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