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How
to turn off or turn on Windows XP System Restore provided by Symantec
Situation:
You want to know how to turn off or turn on the Windows XP System
Restore feature.
Solution:
System Restore, a Windows XP feature, is similar to the "Last
Known Good Configuration" in Windows NT and Windows 2000. You
can use System Restore to restore the computer to a previous
state, using the backups that it makes of selected system files
and program files. However, "Last Known Good
Configuration" restores the computer back to the last state
that Windows determines might work, whereas System Restore gives
you a choice of previous states to restore the computer to. That
is, System Restore maintains multiple restore points instead of
one last restore point.
While this is a desirable feature, in some cases it should be
temporarily turned off. For example, if the computer is infected
with a virus, then it is possible that the virus could be backed
up by System Restore. By default, Windows prevents System Restore
from being modified by outside programs. As a result, there is the
possibility that you could restore a virus-infected file, or that
the on-line scanners would detect the virus in that location.
Notes:
- You must be logged in as an Administrator to do this.
If you are not logged in as an Administrator, the System
Restore tab will not be displayed. If you do not know how to
log in as Administrator, contact your system administrator (if
you are on a network), the computer manufacturer, or
installer.
- Turning off System Restore will clear out all previous
restore points.
To turn off Windows XP System Restore:
Note:
These instructions assume that you are using the default
Windows XP Start Menu and have not changed to the Classic Start
menu. To re-enable the default menu, right-click Start, click
Properties, click Start menu (not Classic) and then click OK.
- Click Start.
- Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
- Click the System Restore tab.
- Select "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn off
System Restore on all drives" check box as shown in this
illustration:
- Click Apply. The following message appears:
- As noted in the message, this will delete all existing
restore points. Click Yes to do this.
- Click OK.
- Proceed with what you need to do. For example, removing
viruses. Restart the computer and follow the instructions in
the next section to turn on System Restore.
To turn on Windows XP System Restore:
- Click Start.
- Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
- Click the System Restore tab.
- Clear the "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn
off System Restore on all drives" check box.
- Click Apply, and then click OK.
Above information provided by Symantec |
