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...
Improve Performance by Turning Off 3D Effects
Windows does a lot of nuancing to provide the user with a pleasing visual experience. All this attention to detail, ...
Discover More
Creating a Simple Batch File
One of the powerful capabilities built into Windows is the ability to create and use batch files to perform a wide ...
Discover More
Introduction to PowerShell
PowerShell is found on all modern Windows computers. You might think of it as the next step up from the command line .bat ...
Discover More
Share with a Nearby Computer
Have you ever needed to quickly share something with another computer? With Nearby Sharing, part of the Windows 10 April ...
Discover More
How To Enable Jump Lists
Jump lists are handy time savers. Some consider them a privacy issue, though. Whichever way you see it, this tip shows ...
Discover More
Over a Hundred Free Windows E-Books
The Internet always provides a huge amount of information, some of it actually of value. Here's a link to a resource that ...
Discover More
Comments