Dell PRECISION 530 - Manual (Page 223)

Advanced Features 223
System Restore
The System Restore feature of Windows XP provides the capability to
restore the operating system, in the event of a problem, to a previous state
without losing personal data files (such as Word documents, drawings, or e-
mail).
System Restore actively monitors system file changes and some application
file changes to record or store previous versions before the changes occurred.
System Restore maintains a rolling record of restore points; in order to limit
the amount of space used, older restore points are purged to make room for
newer ones.
In the event of a serious operating system problem, System Restore can be
used from Safe Mode or Normal Mode to go back to a previous system state,
restoring optimal system functionality.
NOTE: System Restore does not revert user data or document files, so
restoring does not cause loss of work, mail, or browsing history and favorites.
NOTE: It is important to make regular backups of your data files. System
Restore does not monitor changes to or recover your data files. In the event the
original data on the hard drive is accidentally erased or overwritten or
becomes inaccessible because of a hard-drive malfunction, backup files are
required to recover lost or damaged data.
Using System Restore
System Restore monitors a core set of system and application program files,
recording and sometimes copying states of these files before changes are
made. System Restore automatically creates restore points; no user
intervention is required. In addition, you can create restore points manually,
if desired.
Restore points are created to allow you to choose previous system states.
Each restore point gathers the necessary information needed to restore to a
precisely chosen system state. There are three types of restore points:
• System (automatically created) checkpoints (scheduled by your
computer)
• Installation (event-triggered) checkpoints (when a program is
installed)