Unless you've disabled System Restore (which we don't recommend) or Windows has disabled it due to a lack of hard drive space (System Restore needs a full 200MB of free space to keep running properly), Windows is quietly gathering restore information and automatically creating a restore point every day that the computer is running. Restore points are created during idle time when there is no mouse or keyboard activity. Your system is also triggered to create a restore point when installing most software, upon performing a system restore, when installing Microsoft's AutoUpdate software, and before recovering a backup set. Restore points are marked on a calendar and easily accessed through the System Restore tool.

Troubleshooting tip: If System Restore isn't operating, the problem is probably the lack of space available on your hard drive. System Restore requires a full 200MB of free space for minimum data storage. Once you've freed up space on your hard drive, System Restore will automatically re-enable itself.



Put It Into Action

First, be sure System Restore is running by checking out your system properties from within the Control Panel. In WinXP, open the Start menu, point to Control Panel, click Performance And Maintenance, and then double-click the System icon. This will display numerous tabs for monitoring your computer's system, including the System Restore tab. Click System Restore and make sure that the Turn Off System Restore checkbox does not have a check mark. (By default, System Restore should be on, unless you don't have enough available hard drive space.)

From here, you can also change the amount of hard drive space dedicated to System Restore. Use the slider to decrease or increase the amount of space used—from the minimum of 200MB to the maximum space Windows will make available for System Restore, which will vary depending upon the size of your hard drive. The more disk space you reserve for System Restore, the greater number of restore points you can save.

When you're ready to use System Restore, you can access it in two ways, depending on how you like to navigate WinXP. One quick and user-friendly way to find it is in the Help And Support Center. To get there, open the Start menu, click Help And Support, and then look under the Pick A Task heading. Choose the Undo Changes To Your Computer With System Restore option. From this window, you can choose the Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time or Create A Restore Point option. Or you can find the same window by opening the Start menu and selecting All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and System Restore.

To check out (and configure) System Restore in Vista, click the Start button and then right-click Computer. Select Properties from the context menu and then click System Protection in the Tasks menu. Click the Continue button if the UAC (User Account Control) window appears. At this point, the System Properties window will appear, displaying the System Protection tab. This tab includes System Restore information, such as the most recent restore point that was created, as well as a list of the drives System Restore is currently protecting. Click the System Restore button for more options.

By creating a restore point manually, you are able to pick a point when your system is running smoothly and freeze that moment in time. This feature is best used before installing a new device driver or software program. That way, if your new configuration wreaks havoc on your system, you can easily return to an earlier setup.

After launching System Restore, you can begin the system restoration process or designate a restore point of your own.

To reclaim some hard drive space, open the System Properties dialog box, select the System Restore tab, and adjust the Disk Space Usage setting. Remember, System Restore needs at least 200MB of free space to keep running properly.

You can think of the Device Driver Rollback feature as an adjunct to System Restore. Sometimes your system becomes unstable simply because you've upgraded a device driver. These upgrades don't necessarily affect your entire system, so performing a full system restore could be overkill (and could create unnecessary work in the form of software reinstallation and configuration changes).

If a driver is causing your system problems, open the Start menu, click Control Panel, Performance And Maintenance, System, the Hardware tab, and then Device Manager. From here, click the plus sign (+) next to the class of of the device you need to fix, such as Display, and then right-click the device that's causing problems to display the device's Properties dialog box. Choose the Driver tab and click the Roll Back Driver button.

There are certain times that the Device Driver Rollback feature cannot successfully reinstall a previous driver. This is typically when the driver is "unsigned," which means it has not passed Microsoft's certification process, so it is not completely workable with or known to WinXP. Usually, you will be alerted to this fact prior to the device's installation (although earlier versions of WinXP have been known not to recognize unsigned drivers at the time of installation). In this case, System Restore will be your best recourse for eradicating the driver from your system.



Another Safety Net

To use System Restore, your system must be able to function well enough to boot to the Windows screen in either Safe Mode or its normal mode. If it can't boot up, all is not lost. There's another option: the Last Known Good Configuration. This feature lets you start your computer using the most recent settings that worked. Essentially, the Last Known Good Configuration restores the system Registry information and driver settings that were in effect the last time the computer started successfully.

The way this works is simple: Start booting your computer, and when you see the Please Select The OS To Start message, press the F8 key. Once you see the Windows Advanced Options menu appear on-screen, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select Last Known Good Configuration, and then press ENTER.

When you start your computer using the Last Known Good Configuration, you'll lose any changes that you made since the last successful startup, so you may have to reinstall applications and drivers.

To find the Automated System Recovery feature, launch the Backup utility. Windows XP Home Edition users need to manually install Backup.

ASR stands for Automated System Recovery, and it is your last line of defense when it comes to restoring a system that is not responding to the standard System Restore or Last Known Good Configuration options.

ASR is a two-part process: backup and restore. First, you'll need to make sure the Backup utility is running in Windows. WinXP Professional installs Backup by default, while WinXP Home Edition offers it on the CD-ROM but does not install it by default. If you have WinXP Home Edition, you'll need to install Backup manually from the CD-ROM (double-click the Ntbackup.msi file in the \VALUE ADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP folder), but even then ASR is not available. The button to launch the utility shows up when Backup is switched to Advanced mode, but clicking it does nothing. WinXP's Service Pack 1 did not enable the feature, and Microsoft has no plans to make it available to WinXP Home users.

In WinXP Pro run the Backup Wizard by opening the Start menu, selecting All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Backup. The Backup Wizard will run automatically. Click the Advanced Mode button and then run the Automated System Recovery Wizard. This will create a floppy diskette with all of your system settings on it, as well as a backup of all your data. The wizard also creates a file containing information about the backup, the disk configurations (including basic and dynamic volumes), and how to accomplish a restore.

To perform a system recovery using ASR, you'll need the ASR diskette you just created, your backed-up data on storage media (such as tapes, disks, or CD-RWs [CD-rewriteables]), and your original WinXP CD-ROM. Put the CD-ROM into the drive and start the computer, press F2 when prompted to do so, and then you'll see a prompt telling you to insert the ASR diskette into the diskette drive. ASR will do a simple installation of Windows, read the diskette and restore the system files, and then automatically start restoring your computer's data using the backup storage media.



Possible Over Bloat

With restore points saved every 24 hours, as well as through triggered events such as installations, it doesn't take long for your Restore folder to bloat to extreme sizes. According to Microsoft, the minimum amount of storage you must allow for System Restore is 200MB, but this tool can easily swell to more than 400MB if you let it. And once your Restore folder gets this bloated, your system may become bogged down with unnecessary restore points. Microsoft does include a "safety valve" so that System Restore purges itself of about 50% of its contents once it gets close to capacity. But if you're a little daring, you can also completely clear out System Restore and start over if you want.

To do this, open the Control Panel again, click Performance And Maintenance, click System, and choose the System Restore tab when the dialog box opens on-screen. From here, click the checkbox next to Turn Off System Restore and click OK. The computer will then prompt you to reboot. By doing so, your System Restore data will be completely purged. Once the system boots up, immediately go back to this dialog box and deselect the checkbox next to Turn Off System Restore to enable the tool once again. Then, open the System Restore Wizard again and follow the steps to set a manual restore point.

Another way to avoid an overstuffed Restore folder is to adjust how much space you let System Restore use. To modify this, open the Control Panel, click Performance And Maintenance, System, and the System Restore tab. If you have more than one drive listed, click one of the drives, click the Settings button, and then use the slider in the middle to choose a preferred size.



Potential Problems

Because viruses often attack your system files, there is a chance that an old virus could be resurrected while performing a System Restore. But there is a way to easily avoid this catastrophe. After your system eradicates a virus, simply follow the steps we just discussed to ensure that System Restore has been completely cleaned out.



The End Result

Microsoft has finally made it next to impossible to completely destroy your system's operation. Although System Restore can create some additional work for you, such as creating a need to reinstall applications and reconfigure changes made to the system, its benefits far outweigh any potential negatives. And with the addition of Device Driver Rollback, Microsoft has really created a user-friendly OS that addresses the needs of users.

But there is one negative that you may not have thought about: You're less likely to get away with using the excuse that your computer crashed the next time you miss a deadline.

by Cassandra Cavanah and Tracy Baker