Backing up is a very important part of computer maintenance. One system tool that helps in backing up is called System Restore. All PC users should become familiar with it since this is an important protection against many computer mishaps. This article will explain how Vista System Restore works and how to use it.
What does System Restore do?
System Restore takes a snapshot (called a restore point) of the system files, programs, and executable files. A restore point can be used to rollback the system to the state it was in at a given time in the past. Normally a snapshot of the system files is taken approximately every 24 hours. Restore points are also made before the installation of Windows updates and many programs. In addition, you can create restore points manually. These restore points contain information about registry settings and other system information that Windows uses. Personal files, such as documents, e‑mail, photos, and music files, are not involved. However, another feature called Shadow Copies or Previous Versions may make backup copies of personal files in certain versions of Vista. (Vista Home Premium does not contain the ability to view Previous Versions although the capability can be added by a third-party program.)
How to make a restore point
As is normal for Windows, there are a variety of ways to access System Restore. One way is through Control Panel-System and Maintenance-Backup and Restore Center. (Figure below) Choose "Create a restore point or change settings" in the Tasks pane on the left of the window.
Clicking on this entry will open the dialog box shown below. Note that you will need administrator privileges and will probably get the UAC prompt before the window will open. To create a restore point, click the button in the lower right corner.
After clicking the "Create" button, the next dialog opens as shown below. Enter some descriptive text and click "Create".
A shorter route to the dialog box above is to enter "rstrui" in Start-Search (without quotes). Then choose rstrui.exe from the top of the search listing. Another short route is to type "restore" in Start-Search and then choose System Restore from the search listing. The window shown below will open in either case. Then click "open System Protection" and the dialog box shown above will open. The procedure is then the same as previously described.
Restoring the system
If your system becomes corrupted in some way and you want to roll back to a time when the system was behaving properly, you can use a restore point from a previous state. There are several ways to see the list of restore points that are available. One way is through Control Panel-System and Maintenance-Backup and Restore Center (figure shown below). Click the entry, "Repair Windows using System Restore". (You will need Administrator privileges and may get the UAC warning.)
The window shown below will open.
Click "Next" to open the dialog box listing the available restore points as shown below.
Select the particular restore point you wish to roll back to and click "Next". You may get the dialog shown next if you have more than one partition or disk.
When you are sure, the right disk is selected (normally C:), click the "Next: button. The confirmation window shown below will open.
Click "Finish" and your system will then reboot. The process may take several minutes. Note that another restore point will be made of the current system state. This allows you to undo a restoration if you do not like the results.