What System Restore does....

[William B. Lurie]

I could use a bit of clarification. It is my understanding that
restoring to a stored Restore Point restores the "System" to
the way it was at that time. I'd like to know what it does
with regard to non-Windows system files. Specifically, what
about files in C:\Program Files that have stored data......will
they revert to the stored data as of the Restore Point? And,
similarly, what about mail and other application packages
with history, stored in C:\ but not part of Windows.....Will
they end up restored to Restore Point data, i.e., losing all
data stored after the Restore Point?

Thank you.

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

System Restore doesn't monitor data files. You can see what SR does/doesn't
monitor in the following file, but please don't alter anything in it:

%systemroot%\system32\Restore\filelist.xml

 

[HillBillyBuddhist]

|I could use a bit of clarification. It is my understanding that
| restoring to a stored Restore Point restores the "System" to
| the way it was at that time. I'd like to know what it does
| with regard to non-Windows system files. Specifically, what
| about files in C:\Program Files that have stored data......will
| they revert to the stored data as of the Restore Point? And,
| similarly, what about mail and other application packages
| with history, stored in C:\ but not part of Windows.....Will
| they end up restored to Restore Point data, i.e., losing all
| data stored after the Restore Point?
|
| Thank you.
| --
| William B. Lurie

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding System Restore in Windows XP;

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/newsgroups/faqsrwxp.mspx

--
D

I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details.

Remove shoes to E-mail.

 

[Vanguardx]

I could use a bit of clarification. It is my understanding that
restoring to a stored Restore Point restores the "System" to
the way it was at that time. I'd like to know what it does
with regard to non-Windows system files. Specifically, what
about files in C:\Program Files that have stored data......will
they revert to the stored data as of the Restore Point? And,
similarly, what about mail and other application packages
with history, stored in C:\ but not part of Windows.....Will
they end up restored to Restore Point data, i.e., losing all
data stored after the Restore Point?

Thank you.

System Restore is *NOT* a backup or drive imaging program to let you
recover data files. It lets you revert registry changes and recover
*system* files. That is why it is called *SYSTEM* Restore. System
Restore is used to return the computer to a previous system state. Data
files are not part of the system state. In fact, imagine the wail of
users that would lose all their changes to their documents after they
did a system restore. Everything you edited or composed after the
selected restore point would disappear. If you had used the included
"Start -> Help and Support" then you would've seen mentioned under the
"System Restore Overview" topic the following comment:

"Restoring your computer does not affect or change your personal
data files. For information about backing up personal data files, see
'Backing up files and folders'.

There is much more information in the included help. Also read the
topic titled "Understanding System Restore".

If you want to backup your data then do so using NT Backup, a 3rd party
backup program, copying files to other media, save drive images, etc.

 

[Ken Blake]

In

I could use a bit of clarification. It is my understanding that
restoring to a stored Restore Point restores the "System" to
the way it was at that time.

Yes.


I'd like to know what it does
with regard to non-Windows system files.

Nothing.


Specifically, what
about files in C:\Program Files that have stored data......will
they revert to the stored data as of the Restore Point? And,
similarly, what about mail and other application packages
with history, stored in C:\ but not part of Windows.....Will
they end up restored to Restore Point data, i.e., losing all
data stored after the Restore Point?

No and no. System Restore does nothing to data files.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

Most everyone has given you the answers you seek.

All that said, you should realize that there are times when data files will
be removed. For example, people have reported losing recently downloaded
files after doing a System Restore. Hence, it is advisable to place any
such files in the My Documents folder or some sub-folder of the My Documents
folder as that folder is specifically protected from System Restore.