All of us have gone through this. You turn on your PC to write that school report or business presentation and there you have it, our computer wants a holiday today. It may be the word processor, spreadsheet, or financial package which is not working, many of the users dont know that Microsoft Windows XP has an intrinsic feature which can save the day for them. That feature is known as "System Restore".

Essentially, system restore works behind the scenes of your operating system, taking "snapshots" of different components of the computers workings. In this way, if a part of the operating system fails, the system restore utility is able to look back at the snapshots it took and restore the system from a previous day when the component was working properly. This snapshot strategy allows all your current data like documents, projects and pictures to be preserved and only changes the flawed part of the system to it's previous functional state.

To restore your computer, initiate the following steps: First, close any open programs. Next, click on the Windows "Start" button, normally located on the bottom left-hand corner of your computer desktop. Click on "All Programs" at the bottom of the screen. Go to "Accessories". Now click on "System Tools" and click on "System Restore". The System Restore Wizard will appear and launch. Your two options are to "Restore my system from an earlier date" or "Create a system restore point."

If you want your computer to begin working correctly again, you need to restore your system. Select option "a" and click "Next". From this screen, select a calendar date you would like to restore from. For example, if your computer worked correctly two days ago, select that date from the calendar and then click "Next." The following screen is the confirmation window. Confirm the information on the screen and click "Next". Windows XP will reboot and restore your system to the previous settings on the calendar date you selected.

The operation of returning to a previous state will take a minimum of a few minutes to a maximum of half an hour. The time needed depends upon the speed of your machine, and how much the configuration files have been altered from the native state. Once the process is completed, the machine will tell you whether it worked or failed. If all went well, your machine should reflect the previous save state, allowing you to log in and start restoring files. Ideally, the machine should now perform as mediocre as Windows will allow.

I mentioned the "Create a system restore point" option. This option is for when you want to force Windows XP to take a snapshot of your system just before you install a program or alter any system settings that you are not sure of. It is like a safety net for when you install any internet programs (sometimes riddled with spyware) or system drivers (video, audio, etc). If you want to revert back to a virgin state just create a restore point "before" installing any software. This way, if your machine starts acting weird, you can just restore your settings from the selected point. With a little practice, the System Restore utility is easy to use and a great way to help ensure the safety of your computer.