System Restore Tutorial

I was at Staples recently. As I waited to check-out, I read the list of PC support services offered at Staples. I was shocked to note that a simple System Restore, an operation that I frequently perform on my PC would cost $59 for Staples technical support to perform.

I realized that many people must not be aware of this useful tool, or how to run the utility. Before I learned to use System Restore, I accidentally deleted my old PC's sound board. Had I known about System Restore, I could have taken the computer back to the point before I deleted the sound board and saved myself a great deal of money on computer repair. I will share with you the importance and usability of this operation that is built right into the accessories of most computers.

System Restore is a simple quick process that returns your PC's functioning to an earlier point in time without losing any saved work or recent changes. If you notice some loss of functioning, a System Restore will return your computer back to the point at which it was functioning properly. If you made some changes to your computer which caused some harmful effects, System Restore will undo those harmful changes. It's like your word processor's undo button.
To use System Restore, you must first determine whether this utility is installed on your hard drive or if you need to run System Restore from a system utilities disk. To check, click on these buttons: Start-- All Programs-- Accessories-- System Tools (or Tools)-- System Restore. You can access it from your control panel as well: Start-- Control Panel-- System-- and click the System Restore tab on the System Folder.

When you open system Restore, you will need to check 'Restore my computer to an earlier time.' An interactive calendar will appear. Click on the date when you think the problem may have occurred. You will see a list of all system changes which happened by update (if you have auto-update configured) or by changes you made manually, like installation or removal of software or programs. These will read: 'removed (or installed) -name of program or file)'.

System Restore creates automatic restore points, about every day even if no changes were made. Any of those restore points will show on the date and you can select them as well.

Before you perform a System Restore, be sure to close any programs and save any work or data. System Restore will need to shut down and restart your PC to perform the utility.

When you've discover the date, or even if you can't find it, but have a general idea of when the problem occurred, click that date or a prior date and click 'Restore my computer to (date)'. Your computer will automatically shut down and the restore progress bar will begin. Typically a System Restore takes only a few minutes to complete. The Utility will then restart you computer. System Restore will tell you what it did and ask you if you are satisfied. Click 'OK' and continue to use your PC.

If this does not solve the problem, you can also undo your System Restore or try a different restore point. You do not lose any data, email, downloads, etc. You may have to reinstall software that was not yet installed at the restore point. For example, I recently preformed a System Restore. I had not yet installed my new printer at the restore point that I chose, so I did need to redo the installation.

System Restore can almost seem like a magic wand to fix your computer!