How to turn off and turn on System Restore in Windows XP

This article describes how to turn off and turn on the System Restore feature in Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition or in Windows XP Professional Edition.

When you turn off System Restore, Windows XP removes the restore points that track changes in Windows. After you turn off System Restore, you can no longer restore Windows XP to an earlier time.

When you turn on System Restore, Windows XP creates restore points to track changes in Windows. After you turn on System Restore, you can restore Windows to the time of the earliest available restore point.

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.

By default, System Restore is turned on in Windows XP. To turn off System Restore, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Guided Help to turn off or turn on System Restore

Guided Help is available to turn on or to turn off System Restore. Guided Help can guide you through the steps or Guided Help can automatically perform the steps for you. The actions that this Guided Help performs cannot be undone after Guided Help is finished. For more information about Guided Help, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 915092  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/915092/ ) Description of Guided Help for Microsoft Knowledge Base articles Requirements to install and to use this Guided Help You must be logged on to Windows by using a computer administrator account to install and to use this Guided Help. You must be running Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Media Center Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition to install and to use this Guided Help. You must first download Guided Help. To start, click the following link. Download Guided Help (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405/ )

Method 2: Manual steps to turn off or turn on System Restore

Steps to turn off System Restore

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the System Restore tab.
3. Click to select the Turn off System Restore check box. Or, click to select the Turn off System Restore on all drives check box.
4. Click OK.
5. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm that you want to turn off System Restore:
   You have chosen to turn off System Restore. If you continue, all existing restore points will be deleted, and you will not be able to track or undo changes to your computer.
   
   Do you want to turn off System Restore?
   After a few moments, the System Properties dialog box closes.

Steps to turn on System Restore

1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, click the System Restore tab.
3. Click to clear the Turn off System Restore check box. Or, click the Turn off System Restore on all drives check box.
4. Click OK.
   
   After a few moments, the System Properties dialog box closes.

To view a Support WebCast for more information about how to use System Restore in Windows XP, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about System Restore, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about how to troubleshoot System Restore, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: