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This is a great way to "turn back the sands of time" if you make a mistake on your desktop or a more permanent change.
Steps
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Click on your "start" button. -
Go to "All Programs."Advertisement -
Go to "Accessories." -
Then to "System Tools." -
Then to "System Restore." -
System Restore appears on the screen. Select "Restore my computer to an earlier time." Click next button -
A calendar should appear with dates; select a date that has a bold number with your mouse. Make sure the date is before you made the mistake on your computer. Click "next" and close all open programs to ensure a safe restore. The keep clicking "Next," and the computer will then gather some information and restart your computer to the restore point. -
When your computer is restarted, a similar window will be presented. It will tell you if the restore was successful and if any files were renamed in the process.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionThe window says "cannot restore to the earlier settings". I tried different dates - same answer! What can I do?Community AnswerOne last chance (if you have already done a back-up of all data before doing the System Restore) :- Go back one year earlier to the current date. It might work. If not, maybe your OS is corrupt. Therefore, try to format Hard Disk and re-install Windows XP.
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QuestionDoes using system restore affect any previous data?Community AnswerUsually, recently installed programs are uninstalled during a System Restore. It's important to keep the setup executables or archives of your programs on a separate drive or an external hard drive if you don't want to download them again.l
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Tips
- If "System Restore" is not in your start menu, it is then usually in "C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore" with the executable named "rstrui." Be sure to make a shortcut somewhere if "System Restore" isn't in your start menu.Thanks
- This is a great tool if you add a program or do an update and your computer goes down. You can also follow these steps and create a restore point as well. This works by going to the System restore window and selecting "Create a restore point". Just put the name you want (eg. Before install of Firefox), and if things do not well after the install of Firefox, then you can do the restore.Thanks
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