Did it ever happen to you that you accidentally modified or deleted a system or a program file and your computer started acting-up? Or you have installed a new software that messed up your computer settings, and you wish you could go back in time when everything was running smooth? Well, if you are running Microsoft Windows 7 you can travel back in time and return your computer to the working state with System Restore Point.
System Restore Point is a feature in Windows 7 and other previous versions that saves information about your computer’s system files, settings and previous version of files that you have modified; then when your computer is running slows or in case it is just not working properly, you can undo the changes and get your computer working properly again — Note as a great technology as this feature is, it might not fix the problem, but it is a good way to start troubleshooting –. This feature not only is going to save you troubleshooting time, but also money because you wont have to call the computer tech guy to fix the little problem.
Windows 7 by default creates automatically a System Restore Point every 7 days or in an important event, like installing new drivers, updates, or a new programs in your system. But also it is also good idea to create a manual restore point when you are making changes to Windows or installing a new program. One reason to do this is because sometimes installing programs from a known, but mostly from unknown sources, wont trigger the event to create a restore point and when you try to revert back you might not find a restore point to go back to.
One thing that you should know about System Restore Point is that it only affects system files (Windows) and certain programs files, but not your actual data (music, documents, images, etc.), so not to worry about losing any of it. Also this Windows feature isn’t a computer backup replacement solution, for that you should use a different approach like Windows Backup feature or many other products that you can buy or find for free in the Internet.
Reverting Windows 7 to normal working condition using System Restore Point
1. Go to start 
and type Create a restore point in the search box and press Enter.
2. Next under System Restore click the System Restore… button.
3. System Restore window will appear and click Next.
4. Now you will see a listing with all the possible System Restore points that you can access.
Select from the listing Restore Point that you wish to roll-back and click Next.
5. A summary will be displayed and to confirm your restore point just click Finish. Note that depending on your system this may take a while and Windows is going to restart.
To create a System Restore point do the following
1. Go to start and type Create a restore point in the search box and press Enter.
2. Click the Create… button. In the next text box, type a descriptive name for the your new System Restore Point, and click Create.
3. Wait for a few seconds until Windows creates the restore point, click Close, OK and you are all done.
Now that you have created a System Restore Point and the computer is more protected, you can test new changes or install a new program. If for any reason the computer starts acting-up, use the “reverting” guide above and choose this last restore point to undo all the changes.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].