About System Restore

System Restore monitors system changes and saves the system state as a restore point. If a system problem develops as a result of a system change, the user can return the system to a previous state using the data from a restore point.

Applications and the system can create restore points when system changes occur. System Restore can also be configured to create restore points at regular intervals and users can create restore points at any time. System Restore in Windows 7 checks every day and creates a scheduled restore point if no other restore points have been created in the last 7 days. System Restore in Windows Vista creates a restore point if no other restore points were created in the last 24 hours. System Restore in Windows XP creates a checkpoint every 24 hours of absolute time.

System Restore does not restore user data or documents, so it will not cause users to lose their files, e-mail, browsing history, or favorites. System Restore is also made available to users in the Windows Recovery Environment or safe mode, making it easier for them to restore their computers to a state before problems occurred.

For more information, see the following topics: