Restoring a System
Having created a restore point, I could install Crystal Reports on my Windows XP machine with the confidence of knowing that I could restore my system if anything went wrong. During the installation, several error messages reported that the system couldn't find a particular DLL. The installation finished, and Crystal Reports didn't start. I was immediately glad that I'd created the restore point.
Before performing a restore, I used the Crystal Reports uninstallation program to try to delete the application's program files and registry entries, but the procedure overlooked one registry entry. Instead of deleting the registry entry manually, which could destabilize the system, I decided to use System Restore to restore the registry safely.
I started the System Restore utility. At the Welcome screen, I chose Restore my computer to an earlier time, then clicked Next. To prompt me to select a restore point, the utility presented the various options in a calendar format, which Figure 3, page 61, shows. The calendar format lets you click through dates and see the existing restore points. Restore points that System Restore creates appear as System Checkpoint.
I clicked July 23 and saw the Before Crystal Reports restore point that I had created earlier. I selected that restore point and clicked Next, then confirmed the restore point selection and clicked Next again. System Restore closed all programs and proceeded with the restoration. The computer then rebooted. I logged back on, and the Restoration Complete screen appeared to let me know the restore was finished and had succeeded, as Figure 4 shows.
I then checked the hard disk and the registry and found no sign of Crystal Reports. In addition, the files I created between installing and restoring my system remained on my system. My data files were safe, and the system was stable.
If your system no longer boots to the OS, start the computer and press the F8 key as Windows begins to run. When the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, choose Last Known Good Configuration and press Enter. If the damage isn't too bad, a boot menu will appear, and you can select Microsoft Windows XP, then press Enter. Windows XP will restore the computer to the most recent restore point.
If a restoration fails to resolve a problem, System Restore lets you try to select another restore point or undo the restoration. So, if you chose the wrong restore point earlier, you get a chance to correct your mistake. Remember, performing a restore is one of the events that triggers the system to create a restore point. Now you know why.
Troubleshooting
I've found System Restore to be stable and reliable. However, as with most programs, you might occasionally experience problems with System Restore. Should you need to disable it, you can do so (for details, see the sidebar "Disabling System Restore"). But first, try troubleshooting:
- Read any error messages and address any issues that the messages identify.
- Check your hard disks for free space. You must have at least 200MB of free space on each disk on which you've enabled System Restore. You can use the Disk Cleanup utility to reclaim space. If necessary, you can also use this utility to delete all but the most recent restore point.
- Confirm that the System Restore service is running.
- Try to run the utility in Safe mode.
- Check the System log for any errors that relate to sr or srservice.
If these steps don't help, run srdiag.exe to troubleshoot further. Srdiag creates a .cab file, which it places in the \%windir%\system32\restore folder by default. You can double-click the file or right-click it and choose Extract. You can then examine the 14 extracted files to troubleshoot your problem.
System Restore's scope, ease of use, and reliability are impressive. It's a useful utility that power users, technical support staff, and administrators should familiarize themselves with. System Restore has the potential to significantly reduce administrator work and user downtime.