Is “Undo” your favorite tool in your menu? Is the “Delete” key a close, personal friend of yours? Have you ever wished you could undo things on your PC when they go horribly wrong?  We have good news. There is help for you! It’s called a restore point, and if you've got an older computer; it's a good idea to be aware of your system's backup potentials.

What is a Restore Point?

A restore point is kind of like a giant “undo” for your PC. It is a previous point in your computer’s existence where everything is working correctly. So if something goes wrong with your PC, you have the option of revisiting that previous point and restoring your system.

What's more, if you're thinking about upgrading to a newer version of Windows, you may want to re-assess the files you have.  Windows Restore is designed to revert a system to an older set of configurations - a way to undo bad program and driver installs - but it won't erase the files you've made.

Windows Restore Points

All PCs with Windows come with an existing, preset restore point. Windows periodically creates restore points in your system, almost like snapshots. These points are created automatically at regular intervals and some systems, like Windows XP, will also create them during significant installations of programs or updates too.

But you don’t have to depend on Windows’ points. You can create your own.

How Do I Create a Restore Point?

1) Click on your Start button and then All Programs.
2) Open Accessories followed by System Tools.
3) In this menu, click on System Restore.
4) In XP, Click “Create a restore point” and then click on the Next button.
5) There will be a box that says “Restore point description” and here you can type your name for this particular poin.

6) Finally, just click “Create.”

How Do I Go Back to a Restore Point?

1) Click on your Start button and then All Programs.
2) Open Accessories followed by System Tools.
3) Click on the System Restore icon.
4) Select “Restore my computer to an earlier time.”
5) On the Select a Restore Point screen, all of your restore points will be listed by date and name. Select the date of the appropriate restore point. Your PC will begin the restore process.

Microsoft cautions that using System Restore on your PC isn’t a replacement for uninstalling bad files or programs.

In order to remove any problem programs:

1) Click on your Start button.
2) Go to your Control Panel.
3) Click Add or Remove Programs.
4) Select the program you wish to uninstall and click “Remove.”

Keep in mind, any time you return to a prior restore point, you will lose any software or applications that you installed after said point. So regularly creating restore points is a good idea.