Article ID: 959063 - Last Review: November 13, 2008 - Revision: 1.1

What is System Restore?

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Summary

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Article Summary:

This document provides:

An overview of what System Restore does.
A list of the operating systems that offer System Restore.
Links to documents that provide instructions on how to use System Restore.

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System Restore is a Microsoft® Windows® tool designed to protect and repair the computer software. System Restore takes a "snapshot" of the some system files and the Windows registry and saves them as Restore Points. When an install failure or data corruption occurs, System Restore can return a system to working condition without you having to reinstall the operating system. It repairs the Windows environment by reverting back to the files and settings that were saved in the restore point.

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Note:
It does not affect your personal data files on the computer.

The utility creates restore points once a day by default. It continually monitors system activity and creates a restore point when particular activities occur. Types of activities that trigger automatic creation of restore points include: