Re: What does 'System Restore' do?

Brian wrote: 
Howdy All,

I'm looking for a definitive answer on System Restore.

1) Does it 'restore' the registry to that date, cleanup ALL references added since then?

Yes, it restores the registry. It is possible that some references in the current user portion of the registry will remain.

2) Will it level files intact which were added since that date (i.e. docs, PDFs, etc.)? 

It will not touch your documents.

3) Does it remove programs installed since that date?

Partially, although some things may be left behind if they are files or locations not monitored by System Restore.

For additional info on System Restore, see the following articles:

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding System Restore in Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/faqsrwxp.mspx

Understanding System Restore
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/app_system_restore_hss_understand.mspx
--
Tom Porterfield
MS-MVP Windows
http://support.telop.org

Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup only.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Help Restoring Registry
    ... I have not shut down and rebooted since I aborted the registry editing and tried to install the registry back up. ... > When System Restore opens, select the option to: Restore my computer to an earlier time. ... > booting into Safe Mode: Press the F8 key between powering on, ...
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  • Re: Help Restoring Registry
    ... Go directly to System Restore. ... > I have not shut down and rebooted since I aborted the registry editing and tried to ... >> booting into Safe Mode: Press the F8 key between powering on, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
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    ... > What exactly happens when you chose to restore the registry.. ... Several system hives, an all user hive, ... System Restore monitors changes to the portions of the registry that apply ...
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    ... I exported the entire registry with regedit as a ... don't despair :-) If you had System Restore turned on you can ... The navigate to the folder System ...
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