System Restore - Understanding WHAT it does exactly!

  • Thread starter Thread starter camarosource
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camarosource

I am confused on what exactly SYSTEM RESTORE DOES.

My friend has Windows Xp on a Laptop with 512 ram and is having problem
and has gotten worse from the time we started to fix the original
problem. If we were to SYSTEM STORE back to say 3 days previous, WHAT
EXACTLY does that do??

We have updated and changed Windows Media Player.
We have installed SP2, then deleted, then returned back to SP1

If use SYSTEM RESTORE, will all the following be now lost??

- Windows Media Player upgrade and changes
- new programs that were installed (ie. adware scanners that were 3
days ago it was NOT installed)
- MSN files that were uploaded...

I would ask that she SYSTEM RESTORES back to the day the original
problem occured but am worried she will LOSE all the programs and
updates that happened since then as I'm not too sure what System
Restore does and does not do.

Thanks!

ALSO. If we restore back say 3 days and for whatever reason we want to
just go BACK to before the restore, can we do that with NO PROBLEMS? I
don't want to interfere with her Wireless Internet connections or
settings.
 
camarosource said:
I am confused on what exactly SYSTEM RESTORE DOES.

My friend has Windows Xp on a Laptop with 512 ram and is having problem
and has gotten worse from the time we started to fix the original
problem. If we were to SYSTEM STORE back to say 3 days previous, WHAT
EXACTLY does that do??

We have updated and changed Windows Media Player.
We have installed SP2, then deleted, then returned back to SP1

If use SYSTEM RESTORE, will all the following be now lost??

- Windows Media Player upgrade and changes
- new programs that were installed (ie. adware scanners that were 3
days ago it was NOT installed)
- MSN files that were uploaded...

I would ask that she SYSTEM RESTORES back to the day the original
problem occured but am worried she will LOSE all the programs and
updates that happened since then as I'm not too sure what System
Restore does and does not do.

Thanks!

ALSO. If we restore back say 3 days and for whatever reason we want to
just go BACK to before the restore, can we do that with NO PROBLEMS? I
don't want to interfere with her Wireless Internet connections or
settings.
Click to expand...

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding System Restore in Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/faqsrwxp.mspx

--
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I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details. :)

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It sounds like you now have a mix-and-match system.

If you installed SP2, then update Media Player, and then un-installed SP2,
don't expect anything you installed AFTER SP2 to operate correctly.

If you wanted to uninstall SP2, you should have uninstalled EVERYTHING you
installed AFTER SP2 installation.
Then uninstall SP2.

Unless you have a System Restore Checkpoint prior to SP2, it will be, in my
past experience, to get Windows to operate totally without problems, due to
the fact you installed applications after SP2, that are dependent on SP2 and
may have modified parts of SP2 that were installed.

System Restore does not backup third-party applications unless they impact
Windows DLLs, Drivers, or support files. Applications installed more then
likely will still be installed in some shape or form physically, but more
than likely all Registry entries will be gone.
 
Here goes:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301224/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300044/
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/517d3b8e-3379-46c1-b479-05b30d6fb3f01033.mspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/sr/sr/about_system_restore.asp
---> Best article to read

How often are restore points created?

Restore points are created automatically every day and right before
significant system events, such as installing a program or device driver, or
when using System Restore. You can also create a restore point manually.

System Restore has an automatic restore point space-management feature that
purges the oldest restore points to make room for new ones, while still
enabling the user to recover from any recent destructive changes. System
Restore takes a maximum of 12 percent of the disk space in systems with hard
drives over 4 gigabytes (GB), and a maximum of 400 megabytes (MB) for hard
drives under 4 GB. To reduce the maximum storage limit, use the System
application in the Control Panel.

The following describes the triggers that cause System Restore to create a
restore point.


Event-triggered restore points

System Restore automatically creates a restore point before the following
events:


a.. Application installation (provided the application utilizes an
installer that is System Restore compliant). If the application install
causes system problems, the user can restore the system to a state before
the installation of the application.
b.. AutoUpdate installation. AutoUpdate provides an easy way for users to
download critical Windows updates. After the update is downloaded, the user
can install the update on the system. If the user chooses to install the
update, System Restore creates a restore point before the installation of
the update begins.
c.. System restore. For example, if a user accidentally chooses the wrong
restore point, the user can undo the restore operation by choosing a restore
point before the system restore took place. The user can then choose the
correct restore point.

Scheduled restore points

System Restore provides users with the ability to restore the system to its
state on a specific days. It does this by creating a restore point every 24
hours. These restore points are saved and compressed, and these choices are
available to the user through the System Restore user interface. Users can
also manually create and name a restore point at any time from within the
System Restore user interface.
 
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