How to Restore Your PC

There may come a time when you need to restore your PC. Sometimes, a program may not act as you’d like or might be causing issues with your system. To begin the process, follow these steps.

1. Enter Create a restore point in Cortana’s search field and then press Enter.
2. In the System Properties dialog box that appears, click the System Protection tab and then click the System Restore button.
3. In the System Restore window, click Next.
4. In the window that appears, choose the date and time of the restore point, and then click Next.
5. Click the Finish button to start the restore.

   A dialog box confirms that you want to run System Restore and informs you that System Restore can’t be interrupted — and in most cases can’t be undone.

6. Close any open files or programs, and then click Yes to proceed. The system goes through a shutdown and restart sequence.

System Restore doesn’t get rid of files that you’ve saved, so you don’t lose your Ph.D. dissertation. System Restore simply reverts to Windows settings as of the restore point. This can help if you or some piece of installed software made a setting that’s causing some conflict in your system, making your computer sluggish or prone to crashes. If you’re concerned about what changes will happen, click the Scan for Affected Programs button.

System Restore doesn’t always solve the problem. Your very best bet is to be sure you create a set of backup discs for your computer when you buy it. If you didn’t do that, and you can’t get things running right again, contact your computer manufacturer. The company may be able to send you a set of recovery discs, though it may charge a small fee. These discs restore your computer to its state when it left the factory, and in that case, you lose applications you installed and documents you created, but you can get your computer running again.