Using Windows 7 or Vista System Restore

Using Windows 7 or Vista System Restore

Windows 7 and Vista has a feature called System Restore that automatically backs up registry and system files whenever you install new software or drivers. This feature is useful when you install evil software that makes your computer run really slow. But don’t worry, System Restore won’t remove Windows Vista.

Using System Restore in Windows

There are two places that you can use the system restore feature from. From within Windows, you can just type restore into the Start menu search box, and you’ll immediately see System Restore at the top of the start menu:
Or you can type rstrui into the search box and hit enter. Your choice.

You will immediate see a screen where you can choose to roll back the system to the last restore point. You can select “Recommended restore”, and just click next, or you can choose a different restore point.
If you do choose a different restore point, you will see a list of restore points that you can choose from. How many times have I typed the word choose at this point?

You’ll notice in the screenshot below that the last thing I did was install Virtual CloneDrive to mount ISO images, but right before that I installed the NVIDIA drivers.

Click one of them, and you will have to confirm and then restart your computer to roll the system back.
Note: For best results, you should run System Restore from safe mode.

If you receive an error while restoring, then use it from safe mode and it should work fine. To get into Safe mode, you can reboot and use the F8 key right before Windows starts up.

If Your System Won’t Boot

Click next on the next screen, and then choose System Restore from the System Recovery dialog. It will take a few seconds to come up, and you will see the same screen that you would see in Windows:

Click next, and on the next screen select the drive that your copy of Windows 7 or Vista is installed on.

Click Finish, and Windows will roll back to the previous restore point. Really pretty simple stuff.

Conclusion

I’d absolutely recommend keeping the system restore feature on in Windows 7 or Vista.

How To Use Windows System Restore XP

Using System Restore in XP

Windows is well-known for having driver and .dll conflicts, as well as all sorts of software that causes problems with your computer. Luckily there’s a System restore feature that can return your computer back to a known working configuration, as long as you’ve created a restore point.

Note that some software installations will create restore points automatically, but you should run it manually before installing any questionable applications. (Or better yet, don’t install questionable applications!)



Creating a Restore Point Manually

To create a Restore Point click on Start \ programs\ Accessories \ System Tools \ System Restore, and you’ll be given a wizard screen.



Click on “Create a restore point” and then click the Next button. You’ll be brought to a screen where you can type in a description for your restore point. Use something memorable if possible.




Once your restore point is created (which might take a while), you will get a confirmation screen.
All done creating the restore point!




Restoring from a Restore Point

To restore from a previously created restore point, open System Restore the same as above, but this time we’ll select “Restore my computer to an earlier time”. Note that System Restore is going to reboot your computer in order to restore.

Click the next button, and you’ll be shown a calendar with bolded dates wherever there is a restore point. Click on the date, and then click a restore point in the right hand side.


You’ll get a confirmation screen asking if you really want to do this. We’ll assume that there’s a problem requiring you to restore, so go ahead.

Your system will reboot and then restore your computer back to the previous configuration.

Speed Up Your Computer

On of the major problems I run into while working on others computers is fragmentation of the hard drive. Getting rid of spyware malware or virus infections are very time consuming when the hard drive isn't healthy.

What is "fragmenting" and why do I need to "defragment" my hard drive?

Imagine a large library of books arranged in volumes. Also imagine that the librarian for this particular library re-shelves the books in a way which moves the individual books in the volumes further apart from each other. As more books are added to library, the further apart and more mixed up the books in the volumes become. Now imagine that you come to the library and want to check out an entire volume of books. You would have to search all over the library to find each individual book in the volume that you want. In computer terms, what is happening when the individual books are re-shelved in this way is called fragmenting, and this is what happens to your computer as you install programs, download files, or just use your computer in general.

When running programs that contains hundreds of files, fragmenting can degrade the performance of your computer. As the clusters of files on your hard drive become fragmented, they grow further apart and it takes longer for your computer to find and assemble all the pieces necessary to run the programs. This is where defragmenting comes in. It rearranges the files on your hard drive so they are back in order, which cuts down on access latency (the time it takes to access your files). It is as if the library has hired a new librarian who goes through and arranges the books so that the volumes are intact and contiguous. This would greatly reduce the time it takes to find whole volumes or individual books in those volumes.

Defragmenting your Windows XP hard drive

1. To defragment your hard drive in Windows XP, open My Computer and right-click on the C: drive. Select Properties, then click on the Tools tab and select Defragment Now...

2. The Windows Disk Defragmenter program will open and all drives are listed in the top window pane. Since the program is going to be arranging files on your hard drive, it is important that no files are being accessed during the process, or the program won't be able to move them. Close all open programs.

3. The C: drive is where operating system files and programs are installed by default, so make sure that it is selected, then click Defragment. While the program is running, it is recommend that you not use your computer. The time is takes to run the defragmenting process is dependent on the size of your hard drive and amount of fragmentation.

While the program is running you will see a graphical representation of the blocks of files on your hard drive being moved and the fragmented segments joined together. Usually the less gaps of free space between the contiguous segments the

better, but as long as the fragmented files are put together into contiguous segments, it will help your computer's performance.

4. Once the process is complete, the graphic should display most of the contiguous files on the left and the majority of the free space on the right. Close the Disk Defragmenter window and resume using your computer.

If you have not ever done this it will take a long time to complete. The procedure for doing this other operating systems is very similar.