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Since Windows ME, the System Restore tool has been bailing us out of those strange and mysterious situations where it seems our computers just stop working properly. Not because of a hardware problem, not because we've spilled coffee down the keyboard, but because of some sort of mysterious update or install gone wrong. The tool allows you to restore your computer's state back to a previous "restore point" when it did work properly, without losing your data, and the tool has been kept around in Windows Vista. I will discuss how to use it to restore your operating system to an earlier point, as well as how to set restore points yourself.

"Restore Points" are created when your operating system is updated, when software is installed or un-installed, at certain intervals such as daily, when a new driver is installed, or when these points are manually created. In Vista, these points are allowed to take up to 15% of the available hard drive space, with older points being deleted to make room for newer ones. There also must be 300MB of hard drive space free for its use, and you must be logged in as a user with Admin. rights in order to use the tool (3).

So how do you restore your computer to an earlier point? In Vista, there are often a number of ways to get to the same tool, so there is more than one way to access System Restore. One of these ways (similar to in XP) is to navigate to it using Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. If you see a "user account control" window, click Continue and you will arrive at the System Restore screen (3). There will be an option there for a recommended restore point, or you can choose to select a different restore point. Make your choice and click Next. If you have chosen to select a different restore point, you will see a list of available ones to choose from. Click Next after doing this and you will see a window showing the restore point you have chosen, and when ready you can click Finish to begin the restore process (or "Back" to choose a different restore point). After clicking Finish, you will see a windows asking if you are sure you would like to perform the system restore. Click Yes or No here, and if you have clicked yes the system restore process will begin. It may take a few minutes and your computer will reboot once it has finished. A message will come up telling you that your system has been restored to an earlier point and showing the details. If unsatisfied with the results, you can go back

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