Restoring Your System from a Restore Point
Sometimes, installing software or device drivers has an adverse impact on your system. Setting a Restore Point prior to an installation allows you to reset your system to its previous state in case you discover that installing the new software wasn't such a good idea. (How to set a Restore Point is covered in another tip.) Assuming you had set a Restore Point, you can revert your system back to its previous condition by doing a system restore.
To do a system restore follow these steps if you are using Windows 8:
- Move the mouse pointer into the very bottom-left corner of the screen and right-click. You should see a Context menu appear.
- Choose the System option. Windows displays the System area of the Control Panel. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The System dialog box.
- Click the System Protection link at the left of the dialog box. Windows displays the System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box.
- Click the System Restore button. You will then be taken through a wizard that allows you to select what Restore Point you wish to use and then perform the restore.
If you are using Windows 7 the steps are a bit different. (The biggest difference is how you get to the first dialog box.). Follow these steps:
- Click Start, right-click Computer, and select Properties from the resulting Context menu. Windows displays the System area of the Control Panel. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3. The System dialog box.
- Click the System Protection link at the left of the dialog box. Windows displays the System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box. (See Figure 4.)

Figure 4. The System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box.
- Click the System Restore button. You will then be taken through a wizard that allows you to select what Restore Point you wish to use and then perform the restore.

This tip (12212) applies to Windows 7 and 8.
Author Bio
Barry Dysert
Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." Learn more about Barry...
Locking and Unlocking the Taskbar
You'll usually want your Taskbar locked, but there are times when it must be unlocked. This tip explains how to lock and ...
Discover More
Using a Dvorak Keyboard with Windows
Dvorak keyboards can provide more efficient typing as well as make the keyboard characters more accessible to those who ...
Discover More
Using the ChkDsk Utility
The ChkDsk utility is a nice feature of Windows that lets you keep tabs on the health of your disk drives. This tip tells ...
Discover More
Notes that Stick Around
Throughout your day it can be necessary to quickly write things down to quickly remember later. Unfortunately, a Post-It ...
Discover More
How to Choose between 32- and 64-bit Windows
Windows currently comes in two flavors: 32-bit and 64-bit. While there are typically some performance advantages ...
Discover More
Signs Your Computer has a Virus
Think your system might be infected with a virus? How would you know if it was? Here are some quick indicators that your ...
Discover More
Comments