How To Create A System Restore Point

How to create a System Restore point in Windows to help if you encounter major problems. System Restore is a feature that allows you to revert your system back to a previous restore point (a snapshot of Windows system files, settings and registry at a certain point in time) – these points are automatically created by Windows on a regular basis.

The idea is that you can go back to before you encountered a problem e.g. updated software causing Windows to crash or infection by a virus. System restore points do not include user documents/files so you should not lose any personal data if you restore back a few days.

However, if you deleted a document by mistake then restoring back to before you deleted it will not help you because user documents are not saved/included in restore points – just Windows system files only.

Why Create A System Restore Point Manually? Although there may be system restore points automatically created on previous day(s), it is always a good idea to manually create a new one immediately before you make any ‘high risk’ changes to your computer so that if you have to restore back you will only revert (lose) the minimum of Windows and system settings.

We would classify the following actions as high risk: Manually editing the Windows registry (a very important database storing Windows configuration settings), Installing/updating drivers (software that lets Windows work with hardware) e.g. printer installation or update of graphics card drivers, (Un)installation of antivirus/firewall software.

How To Create A System Restore Point

In Windows XP – Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools then click on System Restore to open the System Restore window.

  1. Click ‘Create A Restore Point’ and then click Next.
  2. In Restore Point Description, type in something to easily identify the point e.g. ‘before updating the registry’ – the current date and time will also be automatically added to the restore point to help identify it in future.
  3. Click the Create button to create the restore point.
  4. When it has completed click the Close button to finish.

In Windows Vista and 7 – Click the Start button, right click Computer, click Properties to open the System window.

  1. In the left panel click System Protection to open the System Properties window (agree if you are asked to confirm).
  2. Click the System Protection tab and then click the Create button.
  3. In the System Protection text box, type in something to easily identify the point e.g. ‘before updating the registry’ – the current date and time will also be automatically added to the restore point to help identify it in future.
  4. Click the Create button to create the restore point.
  5. When it has completed click the Close button and close the Windows to finish.

You have now created a system restore point which you can use to revert back in the event of serious system problems.