Restoring Your Operating System From A Created Restore Point
Restoring Your Operating System From A Created Restore Point
Do you realize how important it is to learn how to do this? We last talked about creating a restore point, and I showed you how to create one in my post called “The Importance of Creating System Restore Points On Your PC“. Now, we will walk through the steps you will need to take if you ever need to restore your system to a previous state using the available restore points made through the System Restore user interface.
OK, your PC is acting up – now what? It’s freezing, locking up, or maybe you downloaded a file you shouldn’t have. System Restore can fix many of these issues. This is why it’s vital to create a restore point at a time when your PC is in a good state and free from any malware or virus. I can’t tell you how many times System Restore has saved the day for me personally.
I especially found it handy when I installed software that for one reason or another wasn’t compatible with windows. Maybe, I didn’t read the software specs closely enough, or maybe the developer had a glitch in the software they weren’t aware of. Even if you update a driver you can unknowingly create an issue on your PC. This can happen quite frequently if you install beta software as well. As I mentioned in my earlier post about creating a restore point, be sure to create them right before you install any new software or hardware for your system. This way, if there is an issue you can restore your PC right back to the state it was before the install.
Here are the steps you need to take to restore your PC to the restore point of your choosing.
Note: I’m using Windows 7 so if you are operating on a different OS (operating system) be sure to check the net for the correct restoring procedure as it might be a tad different.
Step 1: Just like last time, click on your Start menu and this time you are going to type the words ” System Restore” and press enter – as shown in the image below.
Step 2: Once you see the System Restore icon highlighted in blue as above image, click that.
You will see this message:
Step 3: You will be prompted to click the “next” icon as shown below. Click that.
Step 4: You will see a screen with Restore Points available – be sure to check the box that says, “Show more restore points” per the below image.
Step 5: Once you tick that box, additional restore points will become available. Choose the one that works best for you – depending on your situation. As you can see below, Windows automatically created restore points because there were some critical updates. These occurred after I manually created a restore point. If you choose a restore point before the critical update, you will have to update Windows manually again unless you have Windows set to update automatically – then it will install those updates for you.
Step 6: You can scan your PC for any programs that might be affected by the system restore – programs that will have to be reinstalled or updated. Click the “Scan for affected programs” icon to continue – or not. It all depends on if and when you have installed any new software or made any important changes since your last restore point.
Step 7: Now, you will confirm your restore point by clicking the “finish” icon.
You will see a warning message letting you know once you start this process there is NO going back.
Now your system is preparing to restore itself back to the date you chose.
Once completed, you will see another message telling you that System Restore is completed!
Don’t be afraid to do this – most folks see system utilities and become a train wreck! There is no need to fear. System Restore is your friend :) Now, your system should be functioning exactly how it was during the time it was restored.
Just be sure to always back up your important documents, music, or any other files of value to you. Oh, and when you do a System Restore, your documents will not be deleted! It only affects your OS and software! With that said, it’s always a best practice to backup your data weekly if not daily – depending on the changes or additions you make to it.
If you aren’t backing up your data, then you must check out my earlier post on one of my favorite backup utilities called Bvckup 2 The Simple and Fast Way To Backup Your PC – all the links and info you will need to understand how it works and where you can download this software, can be found at that link above.
Conclusion: Now you know how to create a restore point, and use that restore point to fix any PC issues as well as the overall health of your computer. This utility will make your life easier when you need to get your computer back up and running efficiently again!
If you have any question, please leave them in the comments below.
And as always, thanks so much for visiting my site and if you like this post Restoring Your Operating System From A Created Restore Point please subscribe via email below and never miss a post again!
I was just to reinstall windows in my laptop becuase I was facing hanging and lagging issue which was caused by some notorious software which I installed unknowingly :( I searched alot about this issue here and there and tried every solution to fix it but was not succeeded until your blog comes up in the search.
I had never restored my laptop earlier and it was my first experience. So I acted upon your instructions and found that luckily there was a restore point of an earlier date and so my laptop was successfully restored :)
Now I am facing an issue that my skype is not responding well. Whenever I try to open install, it opens and logins well but after logging in, it just became irresponsive and always turns to not responding :( Is there any way to fix this issue?
Other than above mentioned problem, now all is well and this all was possible due to your precious article I came across from search engine. I want to thank you for such nice explnation of how to restore computer. You are great tech expert Carolann and life saviour for me as well :)
Thank you :)
“Hello, consultant? I need help!” That would be me. I don’t want to have to do this stuff.
LOL Carol! Too funny! Say’s the lady with the MAC! lol
Well glad to know that helped! Yes, uninstall Skype and reinstall it…bam ..problem solved! :) thanks much for wonderful comment :)
I like this and keeping it for reference. Really good tutorial for restoring your operating system Carolann.
I visit this site first time, Iam really happy to read good points you have shared about, Restoring Your Operating System From A Created Restore Point, you have brilliant described, how to create a restore point, and use that restore point to fix any PC issues as well as the overall health of your computer. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks sassy, keep sharing this kind of stuff in future, I’ve decided to become a regular reader of your blog. :)
aww thanks so much Solomon…that means a lot to me :) Can you please subscribe to my newsletter too? I really appreciate that. Checked out your blog as well. :) way cool! The link for your last post about SpyHunter…that’s your blog correct?
Hi Robert, I’m so glad you enjoyed the posts! It means a lot to me that you did! Stay tuned for more awesome tech stuff :) Have a great weekend!
Oh yes Sue. If you ever need help just call me…you know where I’m at :)
I am always a train wreck when the computer is not working. thanks for the step by step information. I will comment back http://www.oldefashionmom.com
Hi Joyce, oh yes computer problems make me a wreck too! That’s why I love system restore. It works like a charm every time! Have a great weekend. See you soon!
No more explanation needed. Its all included in this article about how to restore pc to an earlier time. Salute to your skills Sassy. You are awesome in writing and also resolving pc issues. I want to say just two magical words which will bring smile on your face, hopefully. Thank you :)
Hi Raheel, Your comment made me smile! Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great week.
Sure Sassy! subscribed for newsletter. and yes that’s my blog and I’ve started it few weeks ago. thanks for taking so much interested in me and my blog; wasn’t expecting this much importance from a famous blogger girl like you. :)
lol you flatter me…thank you! I will be sure to sub to your blog too! Thanks for your kind words and have a great day!
woww sassy your tech articles are very impressive and informatic. you’ve explained clearly with screenshots, i appreciate your work..
Hii..you give very good information to create a restore point, and use that restore point to fix any PC issues.This utility is very important when we need to get our computer back up and running efficiently..very useful information..thanx for sharing this informative blog…
Hii..you give very good information to create a restore point, and use that restore point to fix any PC issues.This utility is very important when we need to get our computer back up and running efficiently..very useful information..thanx for sharing this informative blog…nice
Thank you Michael, I appreciate that. I was surprised at how many folks do not know how to use this utility. I am enjoying your blog as well! Great tips and tricks for sure! I hope you stop back sometime soon.
Thanks Michael!
Hi Matthew, thanks so much for your lovely comment! I also visited your site and am really enjoying your how to’s as well! You just got a new fan! Hope to see you again soon and have a great week!
This is very nice and informative post. Thanks for share your valuable content.
Thanks Amir! I appreciate you stopping by to comment!
Awesome and thanks for the tip. Will restoring from retore point delete the personal files that icreated after the restore point?
Hi Geremy, to answer your question no. System restore does not delete personal files. Only system files, like software or updates. Thanks much for stopping by and commneting!
No more explanation needed. Everything is clear and precise. I will bookmark this page for future use. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jacob! Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks much for stopping by!
Hi,
Great tips indeed!!I like the way you have explain your ideas and make it interesting.I really think it is beneficial and helpful too.I like the ideas and thought about it.The best part of this article is choice of words which makes it simple and easy to understand too.
Glad you enjoyed the post! I appreciate your kind comment!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.Excellent description of system restore. Pictorial representations are great learning tools.So it’s very helpful for me to understand system restore.
Glad you enjoyed the post! Hope to see you again soon and have a great weekend!
I have worked in IT for over 20 years mostly in a service capacity, either telephone support or face to face PC repairs and I would estimate the above instructions would have solved a good 25% of all the problems I have come accross. Software problems atleast.
One thing thats important to be sure of never ever turn off system restore, and after you install antivirus software check that the installation did not disable system restore either as that is common especialy with some of the free AV packages out there.
Nice article. 2thumbs up, DT
thanks so much for stopping by with valuable info. I can’t believe the amount of folks that don’t even know about this feature or do disable it. Thanks much for stopping by and have a great weekend!
Also system restore can be run in safe mode, worth a shot if your system will not boot.
Yes for sure. I’ve had to do that a few times myself and it works great! I’m going to do a post on that next. thanks much
i have tried all of steps but still i am continuously getting error. is there any way that i can use my computer system restore point in my laptop? Pls suggest me ASAP if this could be the solution
Hi Mona, I would suggest doing system restore in Safe Mode. Do you know how to do that? If not, let me know and I will happy to help.
Hey Sassy, You saved my life. Gosh i though my data is now lost but thanks to some googling landed me here and i successfully restored my data :) Thanks again for the well written and easy to understand guide.
So glad you found it useful Jack! Have a great week!
In all kind of information of Restoring of our system it quietly helpful for us and thanks for that kind of information such a very useful of us.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by.
Amazing! Its really awesome piece of writing, I have
got much clear idea about from this piece of writing.
thanks much. So glad you enjoyed it!
My pleasure Sassy :-) Good work keep it up ..
Thanks much! Be sure to come back and vist me again soon!
I agree that its important to do things to prepare for computer issues. There are times when it can be hard to prevent computer issues. In such cases, it is good to have a system in place, not only to more easily repair any damage, but also to have files backed up. I’m grateful for cloud-based storage services, as well as for external hard drives and other devices which can save your files, even if it can’t always save your actual software or hardware.
Hi Rob,
I couldn’t agree with you more. I too use cloud services, a great backup system, and additional internal hard drives but with all that knowing how to restore your system is still an essential tool. It’s has save me many times from additional grief and loss of data. Thanks much for your insightful comment, and I hope to see you again soon!
Carolann