by Maxwell Payne

Created on: March 20, 2009

What is a restore point and how does it help protect data?

A restore point is like a snapshot of your computer's hard drive and all of the data on it at a certain point in time.

Restore points are extremely useful in the event of a computer crash or hard drive failure. In the event that a hard drive fails or a computer crashes and data is damaged or lost, using the latest restore point can help get the computer back to the way it was before the incident.

Many of the newer operating systems create automatic restore points and keep real time updates on those restore points.

Generally when a file is changed or data is removed or added, the newer operating systems will update the previous restore point to match the current 'snapshot' with the changes. Most operating systems will replace the previous restore point with the updated version.

Restore points have become more common in recent years such as in the following examples.

In 2008 Apple released a new operating system that used a program called 'Time Machine' that allowed the user to go back in time by restoring the state of the computer to the way it was on a previous date.

This software allowed multiple restore points to be saved on a daily, even hourly basis and took away the concept of having just the most recent restore point available. It also allows users to browse through the 'past' points without having to fully restore their computer back to it's original state.

Time Machine when combined with an external hard drive serves as an advanced back up system, keeping up to date backups of your hard drive and all data on a separate drive.

Recent versions of Microsoft's operating systems include newer versions of System Restore, a program that allows you to restore your computer back to it's state that it was in at the last restore point.

System Restore also relies on restore points being up to date to bring back lost data or get your PC up and running quickly on a new hard drive after a disk failure.

Restore points are essentially exact images of your hard drive and all your data at the point the latest restore point was created. Improvements in back up software and operating systems have made the use of restore points prominent again and given users the ability to access different points in time when accessing old files.

All computer users should consider investing in a good external hard drive as well as utilizing back up software such as Time Machine or System Backup to ensure that data is protected and saved in the event of a crash or hard drive failure. Be prepared and back up your data regularly.

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