System Restore

Introduction

Your new computer is backed up and you feel quite secure.  Then you spend a lot of time playing around with the settings to get it just the way you want it and are very pleased with the look.  What you were not expecting, though, is for your little daughter to have a field day on the computer when you had forgotten to log it off.  It's really easy to throw of your computer settings.  Just by inadvertently clicking on the wrong combination of keys you can upset the setting that you spent hours setting up.  That's where system restore comes in.  As soon as you are satisfied with everything about your computer, you can set a restore point so that if for example the aforementioned things happen,  you can easily restore the computer to just the way you like it with only a few clicks.

Setting a Restore Point

Windows 7, Vista and  Xp all have this facility.  I will show you how to set a restore point with Windows Xp.  Firstly, go to "Start", "All Programs", "Accessories", "System Tools", "System Restore". A dialog box, "Welcome to System Restore" will pop up offering two choices: "Restore my computer to an earlier time" and "Create a restore point" Click on "Create a restore point" and then choose "Next".  Look for "Restore point description" and type in the box under it, whatever name you would like to call your restore point.  Then click "Create" and you are done. On the top left hand corner, you will get a message stating the date, name and time of the restore point. You can close the box now.

Restoring The Computer

To restore your computer to an earlier period, go through the steps until you come to "Restore my computer to an earlier time" or "Create a restore point".  Choose the first one and click "Next".  You will see a calendar and a list next to it.  Only the bold dates are available.  Each bold date on the left corresponds to the name or names of the restore point on the right.  Choose a month and day on the left and look for the name that you want in the list on the right.  Next click on that name.  Then, click "Next".  Information about the restore point will be displayed and then you click "Next" to proceed. The computer will reboot and information about the success of the restore will be given.  If the restore was unsuccessful, you can choose a different restore point or undo the restore.