Section 69. Restore the System

69. Restore the System

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Create a System Restore Point

You can tell when you are having a system problem: The system slows way down, you get error messages that software windows need to close, or software fails to start. In some cases, Windows does not boot successfully and the system repeatedly restarts.

In cases where your system restarts without shutting down correctly, the system will boot and provide you with the option of booting Windows in Safe Mode. Safe Mode uses a basic Windows configuration and does not load all the drivers you have installed for your various hardware items. Safe Mode is useful because it allows Windows to at least load so that you can try to fix the problem.

After the system is up and runningwhether you booted to Safe Mode or were able to start Windows normallyyou can use System Restore to restore the system files to an earlier time. You should pick a restore point with a date before your system started to run poorly and you began to see that there was some sort of problem.

Be advised that System Restore basically "resets" the system to an earlier time. This means that drivers and other system settings are set to the earlier time. You might have to reinstall drivers for some hardware if you use System Restore. For example, if you added a driver and configured a WiFi USB adapter on your system and then had to restore the system to an earlier time, you will have to reinstall the driver for the adapter. Network settings that can be effected by a system restore include your default network client and TCP/IP settings. For example, if you had your system configured to use a specific IP address in the past but then changed the settings so that the IP address was received dynamically from your WiFi router, you might have to "redo" your more recent settings if you restore to an earlier time that used different settings. System Restore is designed to get a computer that is malfunctioning in a major way up and running again; having to reconfigure some system settings is really a small price to pay.

Any Windows updates you have added to your system after the date of the restore point are also "rolled back" by System Restore, so you should use System Restore only when you are really experiencing a problem with the Windows operating system. Files you have created and saved (such as photos you have downloaded or documents you have created and saved) are not affected by System Restore; these files will still be on your computer where you saved them after you run System Restore.

Tip

Hardware driver problems and resource conflicts caused by drivers are probably the most common reason a system will begin to act up. Restoring to an earlier time removes this conflict. However, when you reinstall the offending driver, the system problem returns. Always check out the manufacturer's website for a particular device if you think the driver is causing system problems. Typically, the site provides information related to the problem because you probably aren't the only user having the problem.

Restore the System

Open the System Restore Window

Open the Performance and Maintenance window by clicking the Start button and clicking the Control Panel icon. Then click the Performance and Maintenance icon to open the Performance and Maintenance window. Then select the System Restore link on the left side of the window to open the System Restore window.

Select Restore My Computer

Click the Restore my computer to an earlier time option button and then click Next.

Select Date and Restore Point

Use the calendar to select a date that contains a restore point (or restore points). The dates with restore points are in bold in the calendar grid. After selecting a date on the calendar, a list of the restore points created on that date appears on the right side of the window; select one of the restore points from the list. Then click Next to continue.

Tip

When you have a choice of multiple restore points for a date, it makes sense to select a restore point that was created before you began experiencing the problem. It also makes sense to select the restore point that is closest to the actual appearance of the problem (but doesn't contain the problem) because this negates the necessity of making a lot of changes in system settings and driver installations, because there probably have not been that many changes to the system since the particular restore point was created.

Confirm Selection and Restore the System

The next screen asks you to confirm the restore point selection. The date of the restore point and the restore point name appear at the top left of the System Restore window. When you are ready to begin the restore process, click Next.

Your computer will reboot and the system restore will take place. When Windows starts, you are notified that the system restore is complete; click OK to close the System Restore notification window. Your system will finish loading, and you can once again use your various Windows applications.

Tips

If System Restore does not fix the problem with your system, you have a couple of choices: You can choose a different restore point or you can use the various troubleshooters that Windows provides to help you work through software and hardware problems. Click the Start button and then choose Help and Support. From the Pick a Task list on the main Help and Support screen, select Use tools to view your computer information and diagnose problems. This option will walk you through different possibilities for troubleshooting the problem you are having with your system.

If you are experiencing a problem on a computer and you find that a hardware driver such as the driver for a WiFi network adapter was the culprit (and you have replaced the driver with a new driver from the manufacturer), replace that driver on any other computer on the network that might be using the same brand of adapter. Replace the driver even if the other computer doesn't seem to be having the same problem you experienced on the original computer.