Do a System Restore

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You’ve just installed a new program, but before you can start using it, Windows decides to give up the ghost. Now what? System Restore is a powerful tool that allows you to revert Windows to a recent point when everything was working fine. It will undo any changes to the registry and settings, and will uninstall any programs that were installed since the point was created. You can perform a System Restore from within Windows, or even if you can’t get Windows to start. Read on after the jump to find out more.

Steps

Using System Restore in Windows

  1. Open the System Restore tool. The System Restore tool can restore your computer to any of the available restore points. Any settings, installations, and other changes that occurred between the restore point and the present will be rolled back, but your files will not be affected. This means that while System Restore can quickly fix problems with programs and settings, it cannot be used to retrieve documents and files. Accessing System Restore is slightly different for different versions of Windows, but the tool is the same:
    • Windows 8 – Open the Start screen and type “recovery”. Select “Recovery” from the list of search results. This will open the Recovery window. From there, click the “Open System Restore” link.
    • Windows 7 and Vista – Click Start and type “restore” into the Search box. Select “System Restore” from the top of the search results list.
    • Windows XP – Click Start and then select All Programs → Accessories → System Tools. Click on System Restore.
  2. Choose your restore point. Windows will automatically select the most recent restore point in which something was installed or changed. The change will be displayed underneath the date the point was created. If you want to select a different point, click the bottom option and click Next. You will be provided a list of available points with a short description of what occurred to create the restore point. The number of points available will depend on your Create-a-System-Restore-Point.
    • For more details about what will be affected by the restore, select a point from the list and click the “Scan for affected programs” button. This will open a window which will display all of the currently-installed programs and drivers that will be deleted and currently-uninstalled programs and drivers that will be restored by this restore point.
    • Check the “Show more restore points” box to display points that Windows thinks are less useful.
    • The interface for Windows XP is different than Vista-8. You will need to manually choose which restore point to use from a calendar interface. Each point will have a short description as to why it was created.[1]
  3. Confirm that you want to restore. When you select your point, you will be given one more chance to ensure that you want to proceed. Review the point you selected and click the “Finish” button and then “Yes” to start the restore.
  4. Wait for the restore to complete. Your system will reboot and the restore process will begin. Be patient, as the restore process can take a while to complete. Once the restore is finished, Windows will load and you will be shown a message confirming that the restore was successful.
  5. Test the restore. Once the restore is complete, you can go back to using Windows as you normally would. Check to see if the problems you were encountering still occur. If you want to use restored programs, you will most likely need to reinstall them.

Starting System Restore from the Command Prompt

  1. Open the command prompt. Reboot your computer and load the Advanced Startup menu. You can access this by pressing the F8 key as your computer boots up. Select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt” from the list of options. You will be taken to a DOS-style command prompt.
    • For more details on starting in Safe Mode, see Start-Windows-in-Safe-Mode.
    • This method is for Windows 7, Vista, and XP. Windows 8 users should refer to the next section.
    • If you can’t access the Advanced Startup menu, insert your installation disc and Change-Computer-BIOS-Settings. Select “Repair your computer” and then select “System Restore”.
  2. Start System Restore. Once you are at the command prompt, you will need to start the System Restore program. The command is slightly different depending on your operating system:
    • Windows 7 and Vista – Type rstrui.exe and press Enter.[2]
    • Windows XP – Type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe and press Enter.[3]
  3. Choose your restore point. You will be presented with a list of available restore points, sorted by date. There will be a short description of what the change was that caused the point to be created. Select the point to start the restore process.
    • Restoring from the command prompt is irreversible, as no Undo restore point will be created. You can always restore to a different point.
  4. Wait for the restore process to complete. The restore process can take quite a while to finish. Once it is complete, your system will be rebooted and you will be returned to Windows. A message will be displayed confirming that the restore was successful.
    • If you changed your boot options to load Safe Mode, you will need to change them back so that you load into Windows regularly.
  5. Test the restore. Once the restore is complete, you can go back to using Windows as you normally would. Check to see if the problems you were encountering still occur. If you want to use restored programs, you will most likely need to reinstall them.

Accessing System Restore from Advanced Startup (Windows 8)

  1. Boot into the Advanced Startup menu. To set your computer to reboot into this menu, open the Charms bar by moving your mouse into the bottom-right corner of your screen, or by swiping from the right edge. Click “Settings” and then click “Power”. Hold the Shift key and click on the “Restart” option.
    • If you cannot access Windows, insert your installation disc and select “Repair your computer”. The Advanced Startup menu will open.
  2. Select Troubleshoot. This will open a menu of tools that you can use to repair your computer. Click “Advanced Options”, and then select “System Restore”. You may be asked to log in, and then System Restore will open.[4]
  3. Select your restore point. Windows will automatically select the most recent restore point in which something was installed or changed. The change will be displayed underneath the date the point was created. If you want to select a different point, click the bottom option and click Next. You will be provided a list of available points with a short description of what occurred to create the restore point.
    • For more details about what will be affected by the restore, select a point from the list and click the “Scan for affected programs” button. This will open a window which will display all of the currently-installed programs and drivers that will be deleted currently-uninstalled programs and drivers that will be restored by this restore point.
  4. Confirm that you want to restore. When you select your point, you will be given one more chance to ensure that you want to proceed. Review the point you selected and click the “Finish” button and then “Yes” to start the restore.
  5. Wait for the restore to complete. Your system will reboot and the restore process will begin. Be patient, as the restore process can take a while to complete. Once the restore is finished, Windows will load and you will be shown a message confirming that the restore was successful.
  6. Test the restore. Once the restore is complete, you can go back to using Windows as you normally would. Check to see if the problems you were encountering still occur. If you want to use restored programs, you will most likely need to reinstall them.

Video

Warnings

  • System Restore will not recover deleted files or documents, and is not a substitute for a backup system.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084
  2. ↑ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-system-restore-command-prompt#1TC=windows-7
  3. ↑ http://bertk.mvps.org/
  4. ↑ http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/system-restore-from-windows-8-recovery-environment/
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