System Restore is one of the best features introduced in Windows XP. Sometimes your computer may behave strangely after you install a new application. Even uninstalling the application may not bring your computer back to normal. However, if you know how to use System Restore, you can bring your computer back to the original state it was in, before you installed the application.
But..(there is always a but..), there is a catch. You would only be able to restore your system to an earlier time only if Windows had created a Restore point. While Windows, automatically creates a Restore Point, with most new installations of applications, there are times when Windows doesn’t create it when you wish it had.
The safest way is to create a restore point manually before you make any critical changes to your computer. Mind you, mere installation of a screensaver could turn out to be critical later. You can create a restore point in the System Restore window.
Alternately you can use a free tool called SysRestorePoint to create Restore Points. SysRestorePoint.exe is a small VB utility that will allow you to create a System Restore Point, with no user intervention.
Download the zip file and extract the contents to your hard drive. Create a shortcut to the EXE that you extracted. This shortcut can be placed in your Start Menu, on your Desktop or even your Quick Launch bar. Everytime you want to create a restore point just run the utility.
To run this utility every time the system starts, simply place a shortcut in Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup folder. Restore Points are listed in the System Restore Calendar as “Automatic Restore Point” along with the time it was created. The tool also works with Windows Vista.
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