System Restore is a very important Windows feature to fix certain types of computer problems automatically, without wasting time searching for the causes. It is a simple method to go back to the PC, cancel any incorrect changes made to the system by us or even following the installation of malicious software (be careful, however, that with the system restore you do not remove the viruses) or after an update of a faulty driver.
The system restore tool does nothing but restore Windows to its last working state.
Not only is it therefore important to know how to use system recovery in Windows 7, 8 and 10, but above all, when it is appropriate to remember to use it.
When something does not work, if the PC presents sudden problems or new errors, the first thing to try is just the system recovery, so as to return to the situation before the error, when everything was fine.
System Restore works a bit like a time machine for your computer, but it is different from backup.
While the backup also restores all the files lost or changed between one backup and another, with the restore the changes made, for example, to the documents, are not canceled and also the files added or created between one restore and the other, not are touched.
System restore works specifically on Windows system files and does not delete or replace personal files.
When you restore your PC to a previous point, all programs that are installed after that point are removed while the removed applications return to their place.
However, since System Restore only returns certain types of files, programs that have been removed and that are restored may no longer work and a reinstallation may be required.
To begin with, it is important that Windows is configured to automatically create restore points every week or after every system change and, therefore, after Windows Update updates or program installation.
Recovery points are how Windows maintains a copy of system files, some modified program files, registry keys, and hardware drivers.
Recovery points can also be created manually.
It may be convenient to create recovery points manually before using optimization programs or registry key changes, so that you can go back in case of errors.
As mentioned above, system recovery is not a virus and malware account solution because it cannot remove it.
In Windows 7 and Windows 8, System Restore is enabled by default on the disk where Windows is installed and not on other disks or partitions.
In Windows 10, however, you need to enable system restore points because after the update they may be disabled.
To check the status of this important feature and be sure that System Restore is activated, go to the Start menu, look for the word " restore " and press on " Create a restore point ".
In the " System Protection " tab, look under " Security Settings " to see if it is enabled for your PC's hard drives.
To activate the protection, select a unit in the list and click on the " Configure " button.
It is possible to activate the system protection on the C disk only or also on all those present.
In the activation window you can also adjust the disk space usage to be dedicated to System Restore .
On discs with little space it is better to keep it to a minimum while if there is no space problem I would say that 4% can be fine.
At this point the system can automatically create recovery points.
If you want to create a restore point manually, search again for the word "restore" from the Start menu and this time press on " Create a restore point " and in the " Protection system " tab, press the " Create " button.
Give it a name, perhaps to remember the reason for this creation and confirm.
To use system restore, if this service was already active, you can search for it from the Start menu and in the System Protection tab press the button in the center " System Restore ".
Then a wizard opens where you just need to go next and choose which recovery point to use.
Here you can click on the " Show more restore points " button to see all the automatic restore points created by your computer.
After selecting the restore point to use, before going on, you can click the " Search interested programs " button in order to detect all the programs that will be uninstalled during the process.
The recovery tool will then show two lists, one with the programs that will be removed, one with programs and drivers that will instead go back to being installed (although, as mentioned above, they may not work well).
Once ready, go ahead and confirm the system restore by clicking on Finish .
The system restore procedure can no longer be interrupted once it has started and requires a restart of the computer and some time before finishing, at least 15 minutes.
In the end, when Windows restarts, a message warns you if the restore has worked or if no file has been modified and, if so, to cancel the restore and return to the previous state.
In a previous article we also saw how to manage recovery points using external programs as well.
While in a guide like this we explained how to restore the system configuration even if the PC no longer starts, starting the tool from a dos prompt via the rstrui command.
Luckily, in Windows 8 and Windows 10, if your PC doesn't boot properly, you can always use the advanced boot options to use system restore.
In Windows 10, then, there are other ways to correct all the errors in one fell swoop using the reset of Windows 10 or the refresh to clean the PC of all programs.
