The correct functioning of the Windows 7 OS depends on the contents of the registry files and information in it. If they are removed or damaged, the computer will malfunction. You should also expect problems such as incorrect operation of the necessary programs or the inability to download them, or slow PC operation. This problem can be resolved by returning the system to its previous state. The system recovery procedure requires the use of so-called restore points. This is a snapshot of the most important computer files for the functioning of the system.
Restoring the operating system to a previous state allows you to return your computer to the state when it was functioning normally. Violations can be caused by the deletion of individual system files that are necessary for the operation of a particular program or for solving specific problems. The reasons for this may be:
If you use the computer to work with accounting or play computer games, the complete procedure of reinstalling the OS is unacceptable. The situation can be further complicated by the fact that a particular PC is the only source of data and there are no backup copies. Then restoration will be the optimal solution, and you can do it yourself.
At its core, the procedure is protective because it allows you to save important information. There are several types of returning the OS to its normal operating mode:
- in automatic mode (“System protection”);
- by downloading the latest favorable settings;
- preliminary manual backup.
Typically, the Windows operating system creates restore points on a weekly basis. This is also done at the time of installing or updating the OS. The seventh version provides the “System Protection” function, which works by default. However, its use is regulated by settings and is only necessary for local system disks. For the rest, the user makes the settings independently.
Note! To restore the operation of the operating system, a special one is created, which is the engine of the return procedure.
It acts as a carrier of registry settings and other information used by Windows 7. The functioning of the point is similar to the game checkpoint; if the OS fails, it provokes a restart of the PC.
Video - How to create a Windows 7 restore point
Automatic recovery point creation mode
The Windows 7 operating system automatically saves the working state. In most cases, this happens before installing critical updates, major registry changes, driver updates, complex software updates, or other operations that significantly affect the functioning of the OS.
There are two automatic type methods:
- full automatic – created without user notification;
- semi-automatic - the user independently enters the name of the point each time the system starts.
Such computer activity allows you to use ready-made recovery points at any time, which have already been stored in memory for some period of time. But if the OS is damaged and there are no relatively recent saves, difficulties may arise, since old saves require restoring the entire system and reinstalling all programs. It takes too much time and is not worth the effort. If the default is to disable OS updates, which is done by users for a specific purpose, you will need to use the manual configuration option.
Manual mode for creating restore points: method 1
Users are given the opportunity to create their own restore points using standard Windows tools. To perform such an operation, you need to follow a few simple steps:
- Go to the Start menu on your computer and select Control Panel.
- Select “System” from the listed icons.
- After the transition, information about the computer’s operating system will open in front of you. On the left side of the panel, select “System Protection”.
- We are interested in the “Settings” category, where you need to select the disk that requires recovery. Next we move on to the settings.
- Select the required recovery options option. If necessary, you can turn them off completely. Click “Apply” to save your changes.
- Once the parameters are configured, you can start creating a point. To do this, in the “System Protection” window, you need to click on the button located at the bottom right.
- A window will pop up in front of the user, allowing him to create a restore point himself. You must enter a name for identification purposes.
- When the name is entered, click on the “Create” button. Next, the user will need to wait some time, which is necessary to create a new point.
Manual creation, method 2
The procedure is also performed using a different method. Suitable for those users who have not disabled automatic creation of restore points. There are even fewer steps involved here.
Note! If there were no previously created restore points, the procedure will not be completed.
The computer will act on those points that were created automatically. It is also possible to select the point that suits the user. Typically this is the latest saved version.
When working on the Windows operating system, it is very important to create operating system restore points in order to restore the Windows operating system in case of problems. Because sometimes it happens that the Windows operating system starts to produce errors, slow down, and respond poorly to commands.
This may happen after installing some program or driver. If problems begin with the operating system after some actions, you can rollback (restore) the system to its working state.
System Restore helps you avoid having to reinstall the operating system. The Windows operating system automatically creates restore points weekly and when you install new programs or install operating system updates. You can also create a system restore point yourself.
Make sure that you have System Protection enabled on your system drive so that you can use System Restore.
Creating a Windows 7 restore point
A restore point is the state of system files and settings at a specific point in time. You can start the process of creating a restore point in different ways, in this article I describe the easiest way to create a restore point for the Windows 7 operating system.
To create a restore point, you need to go to the Start menu, right-click on Computer, and select Properties from the context menu. In the “System Protection” tab, click on the “Create” button.
In the “System Protection” window that appears, enter a description of the recovery point (you can write whatever you want, in the example I wrote “New recovery point”) and click on the “Create” button.
In the System Protection window, you will see that a system restore checkpoint is being created.
After the process of creating a system restore point is completed, the message “Restore point created successfully” appears in the “System Protection” window.
Creating a Windows 7 restore point (video)
Creating a restore point in the Windows XP operating system
To create a restore point for the Windows XP operating system, go to the Start menu => Accessories => System Tools => System Restore => Create a restore point.
In the “Create a recovery point” window, write “Description of the recovery point”, then click on the “Create” button. After this, a new recovery checkpoint is created.
Windows 7 System Restore
Now let's look at the most typical case of restoring an operating system. To restore the system, you will need to follow the same path as described when creating a restore point.
You need to go to the “Start” menu => “Computer” => “Properties” => “System Protection” => “System Restore”. Next, you need to click on the “Restore” button.
Another option to launch System Restore is to go to the “Start” menu => “Control Panel” => “System and Security” => “Restore your computer to a previous state.” In this window, click on the “Start System Restore” button.
In the “Restore system files and settings” window, click on the “Next” button.
In the “Restore your computer to a previous state” window, select a recovery point from those proposed, or select another recovery point by checking the box next to the “Show other recovery points” item.
For information, you can click on the “Search for affected programs” button. The system is scanned for affected programs and drivers.
After scanning, you can view a list of programs in the window that will be affected by a specific system restore point. After that, click on the “Next” button.
In the next “Restore Point Confirmation” window, click on the “Finish” button. After this, the process of restoring the operating system begins and this process can no longer be stopped.
The Windows 7 operating system is completely restored, and at the end of this process the computer restarts.
After the operating system restore process completes, a message indicating that the system restore was successful appears.
The Windows 7 operating system is restored to the point at which you selected the restore point. If there is a problem with the operating system, you should not be afraid to carry out this operation. I have used System Restore many times, and using Operating System Restore has often helped me out.
After problems with the system, you need to start the process of restoring it. Then the Windows 7 operating system is restored, and after that you will no longer need to reinstall the Windows operating system.
If problems with the operating system continue, then try performing this operation with a different recovery point.
In more complex cases, for example, if you cannot boot your computer, the operating system can be restored from an operating system image using a Windows installation disk, or using a bootable USB flash drive, which can be created using special software programs, which you can read about at on my website in the “Programs” section.
To ensure that the failure of the operating system or hard drive does not create problems for you, you will need to start archiving the operating system and your data using built-in tools, or use appropriate programs for backup.
In this case, you can always restore the operating system and your data from a backup copy.
Restoring the Windows XP operating system
To restore the system in the Windows XP operating system, you will need to go to the “Start” menu => “Accessories” => “System Tools” => “System Restore”. In the “System Restore” window (here, by default, the “Restore the computer to an earlier state” option is activated), click on the “Next” button.
In the “Select a recovery point” window, select a system restore point from those suggested by the operating system. First, select a day, and then a specific restore point, then click on the “Next” button.
In the “Confirm recovery point selection” window, click on the “Next” button. After this, the process of restoring the Windows XP operating system begins.
Conclusions of the article
If necessary, the system can be rolled back to a working state using a Windows 7 restore point.
Restoring Windows 7 (video)
Every day, a huge number of file structure changes occur in the operating system. While using a computer, files are created, deleted and moved by both the system and the user. However, these changes do not always occur for the benefit of the user; they are often the result of malicious software, the purpose of which is to damage the integrity of the PC file system by deleting or encrypting important elements.
But Microsoft has carefully thought out and perfectly implemented a means to counter unwanted changes in the Windows operating system. A tool called "Windows System Protection" will remember the current state of the computer and, if necessary, roll back all changes to the last restore point without changing user data on all connected drives.
How to save the current state of the Windows 7 operating system
The way the tool works is quite simple - it archives critical system elements into one large file called a “recovery point.” It has a fairly large weight (sometimes up to several gigabytes), which guarantees the most accurate return to the previous state.
To create a restore point, ordinary users do not need to resort to third-party software; they can do it using the internal capabilities of the system. The only requirement that must be taken into account before proceeding with the instructions is that the user must be an administrator of the operating system or have sufficient rights to access system resources.
- You need to left-click once on the Start button (by default it is located on the bottom left of the screen), after which a small window of the same name will open.
- At the very bottom in the search bar you need to type the phrase "Creating a restore point"(can be copied and pasted). One result will be displayed at the top of the Start menu, you need to click on it once.
- After clicking on an item in the search, the Start menu will close and a small window with the title will appear instead "Properties of the system". By default, the tab we need will be activated "System protection".
- At the bottom of the window you need to find the inscription "Create a restore point for disks with System Protection enabled", there will be a button next to it "Create", click on it once.
- A dialog box will appear asking you to select a name for the restore point so that you can easily find it in the list if necessary.
- After the name of the recovery point is specified, in the same window you need to click the button "Create". After this, archiving of critical system data will begin, which, depending on the performance of the computer, can take from 1 to 10 minutes, sometimes more.
- The system will notify you of the completion of the operation with a standard sound notification and a corresponding inscription in the working window.
In the list of points available on the computer, the newly created one will have a name specified by the user, which will also indicate the exact date and time. This will allow you to immediately specify it if necessary and roll back to the previous state.
When restoring from a backup, the operating system returns system files that were modified by an inexperienced user or malware, and also returns the registry to its original state. It is recommended to create a restore point before installing critical operating system updates and before installing unfamiliar software. You can also create a backup copy at least once a week for prevention. Remember - regularly creating a restore point will help avoid losing important data and destabilizing the operating state of the operating system.
System Restore is a critical feature of the Windows operating system that allows you to return the system to a working state by rolling back to a previously saved backup copy. It is called a rollback or restore point and is a snapshot of the system registry, some system files and installed/removed programs before uninstalling or installing them, respectively.
Rollback points are created automatically by Windows 7 itself before making changes to the system registry (installation of software, updates, unsigned drivers) or manually by the user at a convenient time. Rollback is the replacement of current system files, registry files and applications with the original ones stored in a backup copy. Many people wonder where these backups are stored. Physically, they are located in subdirectories of the System Volume Information folder at the root of the partition for which the protection function is activated.
To access this directory, administrator privileges are required, although there is nothing interesting for the user in it.
Before we consider how to create a restore point in Windows 7, we will learn how to activate the system protection function, because in many builds of Windows 7 (and most users prefer to use them instead of original copies of the OS) it is turned off in order to save disk space and other resources.
Creating a rollback point is not possible if system protection is turned off for a specific volume. Usually it is enabled only for the system partition, because backups do not affect user data (games, multimedia and text files, archives). Yes, rollback points should be created for each partition separately. Basically, they are done only for the system drive, but if applications are installed on another volume, it is worth enabling system protection for it as well.
- Open the context menu of the “My Computer” directory and click “Properties” in the drop-down menu.
- In the “System” window, click on the “System Protection” link, which is located in the vertical menu on the left.
The second way to call this interface element is through the control panel, which takes a little longer.
- Call it and go to the “System and Security” section if the view of panel elements is switched to “Category”.
- We click on the icon or inscription shown in the screenshot and find ourselves in a well-known window.
- In the tab that opens, select the desired disk (usually a system volume) and click “Configure”.
- Move the checkbox to the desired position:
- Restore system settings and previous versions of files;
- Restore previous versions of files - system settings will not be affected.
- Below, using the “Currently in use” slider, we set the maximum amount of disk memory of the selected volume that will be used to store backup copies.
Once the specified volume limit is reached, the oldest points will be overwritten.
The “Delete” button will delete all previously added backups for the current disk.
- Click “OK”.
How to create a checkpoint
Taking a snapshot of system settings manually is no more difficult than activating the function of creating resuscitation points. There are three ways to manage resume points in Windows 7.
- Through Start - go to “Standard”, then to the “Service” directory.
- Through system properties, as shown in the previous section.
- Search the Start menu.
- In the window that opens, click “Create”.
- In the text field you should specify the name of the rollback point, by which you can understand the reason and conditions for its creation, then press Enter.
- We are waiting for the process of copying registry files to complete.
- In the dialog box with information about the successful completion of the operation, click “Close”.
System state rollback
Did a crash occur or did errors appear after installing something? It's time to use the function of returning Windows 7 to a previously saved state.
- Call up the “System Protection” window in any convenient way.
The fastest way to do this is through the “Run” dialog.
- Open it using the combination Win + R or a link in Start.
- Enter and execute the command “rstrui” to open the control dialog.
- In the first window, get acquainted with the program information and click “Next”.
- Select a rollback point.
It is used to cancel our erroneous actions when working on a computer, which led to its unstable operation. People who have been using the Windows 7 operating system for many years come to our computer service center for help, and only one in ten knows about restore points and one out of fifty about previous versions of files, but does not know how to use them correctly. Despite the apparent simplicity of using restore points, this function has many features that you need to know. This article contains information based on the author’s personal experience, for example, we will find out why when System Protection is turned on, restore points disappear or are not created at all. How to use a restore point when Windows 7 does not start and much more, I hope we will help you avoid many mistakes.
Windows 7 restore point
When choosing and applying a restore point, you need to know that the changes usually only affect the system and software settings of Windows 7. All programs that we installed after creating the restore point we selected will be removed.
- For example, if you created a restore point on January 8, and on January 12 you want to roll back to the state of January 8, then select the restore point on January 8 accordingly. All programs you installed between January 8 and January 12 will be deleted.
As regards your personal data, no changes should occur to them. In this screenshot, you can see that System Protection and creation of restore points is enabled by default only for the C:\ drive. Check your Start->Control Panel->System and Security->System->System Protection.
You also need to know that the point Windows 7 recovery, will not help you recover previously deleted files, but in this case you can use the function Previous file versions, only if System Protection was enabled for this disk and in Recovery options settings item checked Restore system settings and previous versions of files. In this case, Windows 7 System Protection archives users' personal data using shadow copies. You can also see that if you click on the Configure button (top illustration) of the System Protection window for the local drive (C:), a window will appear in which you can see that 10% of the disk space is allocated for disk recovery points (C:). Know that it is better to allocate 15%. The more hard drive space allocated for recovery points, the longer they are stored. If Windows 7 needs to create a new restore point, and there is not enough space to create it, the old one will be deleted and a new one will be created in its place.
Note: if System Protection is enabled for a volume in the Windows 7 operating system, then user data is archived by creating shadow copies and becomes available in Previous File Versions. Shadow copies do not exist forever; space is allocated for their storage on the hard drive, which is regulated in the System Protection settings; as soon as it ends, when new copies are created, the old ones are deleted.
For example, we have System Protection enabled for the C:\ drive, so you and I can use the Previous versions of files function, right-click on the C:\Program Files drive folder and select Restore previous version,
a dialog box will open Previous versions, which will list all available versions of previous files. Files can be restored or simply copied, keeping the previous and current versions.
Read the full article Previous versions of files.
When setting up System Protection for volumes storing only your files, you need to select Recovery options paragraph Restore only previous versions of files, since there are no system parameters on them.
If you are worried about saving only personal data, then you are better off using the feature Backing up computer data, this is a separate serious topic, also read it separately.
Windows 7 restore point planned and created once a week, after the same period of time has passed, such points are also called control points.
Windows 7 also creates restore points before installing any programs, and finally, you can create a restore point yourself before installing any application in the System Protection dialog box.
Let's first look at a simple example of creating and using a restore point, and then we'll look at more complex examples.
Created Windows 7 restore point Thus->Start->Control Panel->System and Security->System->System Protection. This dialog box is used to configure and create recovery points. For example, we want to install a serious program ourselves, but we are worried that we might do something wrong, let’s play it safe and create a restore point manually for the C:\ drive on which we will install our program.
Start->Control Panel->System and Security->System->System Protection->Create, then we will give a name to our point, for example 13.
Next, we install some program, but something went wrong, for example, the application does not start and we decided to roll back using a restore point to a time when the problematic program had not yet been installed on our computer. Go to System Protection and select not Create, but Recovery, then
system file recovery starts, click next and select our recovery point 13, pay attention to the item Show other restore points, if you check the box there, other earlier restore points will open to you.
Warning that the recovery process will not be interrupted before it is completed, we agree, then reboot.
The computer boots and the program we installed is gone. This is how restore points work.
Windows 7 restore point, you can use it if your computer does not boot by resorting to safe mode; it is impossible to create a restore point here, but you can use it to roll back to a stable state of the computer. To get into Safe Mode, you need to press the F-8 key on the keyboard immediately after starting the computer. A menu will open in front of you: Additional boot options: Troubleshoot your computer, then Safe Mode. To use the Windows 7 restore point in Safe Mode, click Start->Control Panel->Recovery, then System Restore and Start Recovery will load, select your restore point and go ahead.
Windows 7 restore points By default, they occupy approximately 10%-15% (as I said above) of disk space; you can adjust the disk space allocated for recovery points in the Configure - System Protection window. If a lot of hard disk space is allocated for recovery points, they will be stored for a long time. To delete all recovery points, in this window you need to click the Delete button and all recovery points will be deleted.
How to delete all restore points except the last one? Start->In the search field, enter Disk Cleanup, then select the disk that you want to clean, then go to the Advanced tab->System Restore and Shadow Copies->Clean up.
Why aren't Windows 7 restore points created?
