Getting the Most out of Windows System Restore

"Don't be angry, it makes you look fat..."

You say something like that believing, at the time, it to be good natured humor;
that it would lighten up a tense situation -- It doesn't, and now you really
wish you had a Ctrl-Z (undo) for your life. Life is good with a Ctrl-Z key combo
at hand. You type something you didn't want to type, hit the Ctrl-Z and wala,
it is no longer there. Delete a needed file, Ctrl-Z brings it back.

Unfortunately, if you say something like that to your girlfriend when she is
already mad, you are probably going to need something bigger than a Ctrl-Z combination...
which is why we have System Restore.

Windows System Restore is a powerful tool. It is designed to bring a whole system back
to a certain point in time. This can be a huge blessing, or if used without
a full understanding of the tool, a massive curse. Getting the most out of this
tool means understanding what it does and doesn't offer.

Windows System Restore, as the name suggests, restores a system. This doesn't mean
program files, data files, your Word documents or anything in the My Documents
folder. Just the system... so Windows System Restore does not replace the need for a
Backup System. Nor is it a good idea to rely on Windows System Restore for virus protection.
While it is true that Windows System Restore will replace the infected files with previously
good copies, with the designs of most viruses the replaced files would soon
be infected once again.

So why use it? If we have a good backup and a virus protection program, what
does System Restore offer us?

Windows System restore comes into play when we have installed a program, hardware drivers,
or perhaps a video codex and suddenly our operating system (Windows XP for example)
starts acting up, crashing, not shutting down properly, or starting up with
errors. In the normal life cycle of a computer, we know there are times when
everything is working just fine, and then suddenly there are problems everywhere.
Windows System Restore allows us to put the system back to the way it was prior to the
problems, without messing up our email, favorites lists, and other data areas
that we want to keep the way they are.

If you haven't changed anything in your Windows XP setup, then your system
is already taking snap-shots periodically, called restore points. When the worst
comes to pass, and your PC starts acting up, you can use the System Restore
calendar to rewind your machine to its configuration the last time you remember
it working well.

So, when is "periodically"? Another fine question, I'm glad you are
showing an interest. Typically the Restore Points are created:

• The first time you boot up Windows XP.


• After every 10 hours of operation.


• After every 24 hours of real-world time (unless your PC is turned off
  all day; then you get a restore point the next time it's turned on).


• Every time you install a new program (provided it uses a recent version
  of the Microsoft Windows Installer or InstallShield).


• Every time the Automatic Update feature updates a component of your
  operating system.

These Restore Points are collected in a hidden area on your C:\ drive called
'System Volume Information'. This is a protected folder, and one that you shouldn't
try to edit or delete. Restore Points are kept for 90 days and then over-written.
Of course, with all of these Restore Points being created and saved -- you might
be thinking to yourself -- we are probably using up quite a bit of disk space
on our hard drive, and you would be spot on. The default setting is 12%, so
for your 40 gig laptop drive that is 4.8 gigs of space! Thankfully we can change
that setting to be a bit more reasonable.

To alter the settings of our System Restore feature, we go to Start -> Programs
-> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore. On the left side
of this window we see a hyper link "System Restore Setting" which
pops up the System Settings applet at the System Restore Tab.

If you have external drives or more than one drive and you don't install programs
or system files on these other drives (and there is no good reason why you should
be doing that) then it is probably a good idea to turn off System Restore for
these other drives. Especially if these are external drives; again, System Restore
is only going to recover System Files, and so it is doing nothing but taking
up space on these external drives.

For the main C:\ drive, adjusting the settings down to 6% or even 3% is probably
a good idea. While system restore saves Restore Points for up to 90 days, or
to the limit of its disk space allotment (which ever is exceeded first), we
probably only need about a weeks worth. I have mine set at 3%, which on my 40
gig drive is 1075 megs, which is a good size for general operations on my laptop.
You will notice in the Calendar area however that this is only keeping the last
few days. For your system, you may feel you need a few more days worth the Restore
points. I run a very lean system.

One thing to keep in mind, is that if your disk is too full, then System Restore
will turn itself off automatically, without warning, and then turn itself back
on when some free space is available, so this is another reason to keep your
drive as free as possible (speed of the system is also an excellent reason).

Most users go through their whole lives never knowing this tool exists, so
taking it off external drives and leaning down the amount of disk space it takes
up is probably a good idea for you. Knowing that it is there and what it offers
you is an added bonus to be sure, and might save you hours of re-installing
your computer system because of some poorly created driver installation. Keep
in mind that it does not replace a good backup system for your data and document
files, nor is it a good tool to rely on for virus protection.

Happy computing!