How windows System Restore work

The System Restore feature is used to return your computer to an earlier state if you have a system failure or other major problem with your computer. The point of System Restore is to restore your system to a workable state without you having to reinstall the operating system and lose your data files in the process.

ystem Restore takes snapshots of your computer system and saves them as restore points. These restore points mark configuration places to return to, in the event of a problem with your computer that might occur after you install an unstable device driver or an older application. Because the snapshots are taken automatically and are restored through the System Restore Wizard, System Restore is both effective and user-friendly.

In this column, you'll learn how to use the System Restore Wizard to recover from a system failure. You'll also learn how to create restore points manually, how to use Scheduled Tasks, and how to troubleshoot System Restore if it doesn't work the way you expect it to.

Disk Space for System Restore

To use System Restore, you'll need 200 MB of free hard disk space, which is used to store the data gathered for the restore points. If you don't have this much free space, System Restore will disable itself until the space becomes available. System Restore will create and save restore points until this space is full, and will then begin writing over itself beginning with the least recent data.

200 MB isn't a lot of room to store restore points. Allocating more space will result in better protection and performance. I'd suggest allocating the maximum amount available. To allocate more than the default 200 MB of disk space to System Restore:

1.	Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
2.	In the System Properties dialog box, on the System Restore tab, use the slider to increase the allocated disk space, and then click OK.

If you're using more than one drive on your system, follow these steps:

1.	Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and then click System.
2.	Click the drive you want to monitor, and then click Settings.
3.	In the Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 1, use the slider to increase the disk space, and then click OK twice.

Notice that the disk space allocated to System Restore cannot exceed 12%. If you need more space, you can run the Disk Cleanup utility to reclaim space. To open Disk Cleanup:

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Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. Use System Restore After you've decided to use System Restore to revert your system to a previous state, start the System Restore Wizard and follow the prompts. To use the System Restore Wizard, make sure you're logged on as an administrator, and then follow these steps: 1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore. 2. On the Welcome screen, click Restore my computer to an earlier time, and then click Next. 3. On the Select a Restore Point page, select the date from the calendar that shows the point you'd like to restore to, as shown in Figure 2, and then click Next. 4. On the Confirm Restore Point Selection page, verify that the correct restore point is chosen, and then close any open programs. 5. Click Next if you are ready to proceed or click Back to change the restore point. 6. The computer will shut down automatically and reboot. On reboot, you'll see the Restoration Complete page, and then click OK. After reviewing the stability of your system, you can choose another restore point or undo this restoration. Just open System Restore and make the appropriate choice. After you use System Restore, you'll have an additional task, Undo my last restoration, on the System Restore Welcome page. Remember that you'll have to reinstall any programs that were installed after the restore point. If System Restore doesn't work in Normal Mode, it might work in Safe Mode. To use System Restore in Safe Mode, press the F8 key during reboot and choose Safe Mode. When your computer starts in either Safe Mode or Normal Mode, System Restore can be used to capture a working previous state. System Restore can't be opened unless the system is bootable into one of these modes. Create Restore Points Manually Only application installations that use a System Restore restorept.api-compliant installer will trigger the creation of a restore point. So it's a good idea to create a restore point manually before you install an application that you suspect won't have one a restorept.api-compliant installer. For example, before installing a screensaver you've downloaded from the Internet or a beta program from a software vendor, you should manually create a restore point. For more information, see the TechNet article, Windows XP System Restore. To manually create a restore point: 1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore. 2. On the Welcome page, click Create a restore point. 3. On the Create a Restore Point page, enter a descriptive name for your restore point, as shown in Figure 3, and then click Create. Use Scheduled Tasks You can use Scheduled Tasks to create restore points at specified times. You might want to configure Scheduled Tasks to run System Restore at 6:00 P.M. daily, so that you always have a restore point available at the end of each working day. To create a Scheduled Task, log on as an administrator, and then follow these steps: 1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, click Scheduled Tasks, and then double-click Add Scheduled Task. 2. Click Next on the first Scheduled Task Wizard page. 3. On the second page, click System Restore in the list of applications, and then click Next. 4. Continue through the wizard, specifying the days and times to run System Restore. 5. When prompted, type in the user name and password for an administrator of the system, and then click Finish. Scheduled Tasks starts each time you start Windows XP and runs in the background.