From the System window, select System protection on the left of the screen

Overview

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As you may know, System Restore works by automatically takingrnsnapshots of your system’s state before any operation that makes significantrnchanges to the operating system. These snapshots are called restore points and include crucial operatingrnsystem files and certain parts of the registry that could be altered by thernpending change operation.

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For example, System Restore will automatically create arnrestore point anytime you install a new application or perform a major WindowsrnUpdate operation. If something goes awry during such an operation and yourrnsystem begins behaving oddly, you can then use System Restore to bring yourrnsystem back to the state it was in right before the change was implemented.

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While System Restore does a good job of automaticallyrncreating restore points, what about when you make changes to the operatingrnsystem? For example, maybe you want to implement a technique that involvesrnediting the registry. Fortunately, you can manually create a restore pointrnbefore you perform those types of operations.

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Getting started

rnrnThere are several ways thatrnyou can launch System Restore in Windowsrn8; however, the easiest way to do so is with a Windows key shortcut. To usernthis shortcut, press [Windows] + [Break] to bring up the System window. Then,rnselect System protection on the left of the screen, as shown in Figure A.

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System Restore lives on the System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box

You’llrnthen see the System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box, asrnshown in Figure B, where you can launchrna restore operation, configure System Restore’s settings, and manually creaternrestore points.

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You can change System Restore's default settings

As you can see, I have two hard disks connected to thisrnexample system – the main hard disk and an external USB hard disk. By default, systemrnprotection is turned off for secondary hard disks. Since additional drives usuallyrnstore data or data backups, there’s no reason to have System Restore monitorrnthem.

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Configuring System Restore

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While System Restore is automatically configured when yourninstall Windows 8, you may want to change its settings. Fortunately, doing sornis easy.

rnrnFrom the System Protectionrntab, select the Configure button. When you see the configuration dialog box,rnshown in Figure C, the first thingrnthat you will notice is that at you can disable System Restore. It’s notrnrecommended, but you can do so if you wish.

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If you want to start with a clean slate, you can delete all the current restore points

By default, System Restore is configured to use between onernand three percent of the space on your hard disk. The amount that it uses willrnvary depending on the total size of your hard disk. As the allotted of spacernfills up with restore points, System Restore deletes older restore points tornmake room for new ones. This system works well, but if you want to be able tornhave more restore points available, you can increase the size by adjusting thernposition of the Max Usage slider.

rnrnNow, if you decide that yournwant to start with a clean slate, you can click the Delete button to delete allrnof the current restore points. When you do, you will be prompted to confirm thernoperation. The Delete operation is illustrated in Figure D.

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Manually creating a restore point is a quick and easy operation

Creating a restore point

rnrnAs I mentioned, there mayrnbe situations where you should manually create a restore point before you makernchanges to your system, such as editing the registry. To manually create arnrestore point, just click the Create button on the System Protection tab and you’llrnbe prompted to give the restore point a name. When you initiate the operation,rnit will take a few minutes to occur. The creation process is illustrated in Figure E.

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After System Restore starts, you'll see the first screen in the wizard driven interface

Restoring your system

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When a change causes your system to act strangely, you canrnundo that change by performing a system restore operation. If Windows will notrnstart, you can use the RecoveryrnDrive to launch System Restore. If Windows does start, you can launchrnSystem Restore from within Windows.

rnrnTo do so, access the SystemrnProtection tab and click the System Restore button. In a moment, System Restorernwill begin an initialization process and you’ll then see the introductoryrnscreen in the wizard driven interface, as shown in Figure F.

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The second screen lists the available restore points

Whenrnyou click Next, you’ll see a table showing the most recent restore points, asrnshown in Figure G. If you select thernShow more restore points check box, you will see any older restore points thatrnare still available.

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Running the scan for affected programs can be a real timesaver

Once you choose a restore point, the Scan for affectedrnprograms button is activated and you should click it to see a list of anyrnprograms or drivers that have been added to the system since the last restorernpoint and will be lost by restoring your system to an earlier point in time. Itrnwill also show you any programs or drivers that were uninstalled since the lastrnrestore point and that will be revived by restoring your system to an earlierrnpoint in time.

rnrnAs you can see in Figure H, on my particular examplernsystem, the list is blank. However, I can’t stress enough how important it isrnto run this check before you perform a system restore. Knowing ahead of timernabout any side-effects caused by restoring can save you time and frustrationrnlater.

rnrnCredit: Images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic

As the restore operation gets underway, your system will restart

Whenrnyou click Next, you’ll be prompted to confirm the restore operation. When yournclick Finish, you’ll encounter warning dialog box, as illustrated in Figure I.

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As the restore operation gets underway, your system will restart

Whenrnyou click Yes, System restore will prepare the restore operation and then restartrnyour system, as illustrated in Figure J.rnThis part of the operation runs rather quickly.

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The restore operation goes through several steps

Oncernyou system restarts, the restore operation will begin and you’ll see a screenrnthat lets you know the progress of the operation as it cycles throughrninitializing, restoring the registry, and finally removing temporary files. Thisrnprocess will take some time and is illustrated in Figure K.

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System Restore lets you know the outcome of the operation

Afterrnthe temporary files are removed, System Restore will once again restart yourrnsystem. After you login to your system, you’ll see a dialog box in the centerrnof the screen, as shown in Figure L,rninforming you that the restore operation was successfully completed.

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You'll see the Undo System Restore option on the first screen

Undoing a restore operation

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If after you perform a restore operation you determine thatrnthe problem still exists or new problems are now present, you can undo the restorernoperation. However, keep in mind that if you plan to undo a restore operation,rnyou should do so before you make any major changes to the operating system.

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When you run System Restore soon after you have performed arnrestore operation, you’ll see that the System Restore screen now contains an UndornSystem Restore option, as shown in FigurernM. As you can see, the screen shows you the exact time and date that the restorernoperation was performed. You’ll also notice that you have the option to checkrnto see if any programs will be affected by undoing the restore operation.

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When you click Next, the undo operation will commence andrnfrom this point forward it will function exactly the same as running a restorernoperation. Your system will restart, the registry will be restored, temporaryrnfiles will be deleted, and your system will restart again.

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What’s your take?

rnrnHavernyou used System Restore in the past? If so, what was your experience?As always, if you have comments or informationrnto share about this topic, please take a moment to drop by the TechRepublicrnCommunity Forums and let us hear from you.

rnrnCredit: Images by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic