How to roll back the system Windows 7 if it began to notify about errors in its work, slow down, refusing to function in the mode set by the manufacturer, but still starts. It is fashionable to return the state of files to a restore point, in which critical information of the OS registry is stored. It is created automatically when performing certain tasks that affect system data (for example, removing drivers).
The most simple, convenient and effective way. Does not require special skills and knowledge. To carry it out, you must perform the following steps on your computer or laptop:
- Launching the OS and entering the "Start" button menu.
- Entering the "Restore" command in the search bar.
The system will open a window corresponding to the request, in which you must select and activate the "System Restore" value. After the reboot, a rollback will occur to the point after which the action was taken, which served as the beginning of the incorrect operation of the equipment.
Carrying out the rollback procedure through the "Run" line
The method is considered quite effective and is kept in the arsenal for fixing Windows for many users. To start rollback, you must turn on the device and bring up a window on the screen for performing the assigned tasks by pressing the "Ctrl + R" keys. Then enter in the line "rstrui.exe", and then go to the recovery procedure:
- After the introduction of the task, the "System Restore" dialog box will open in which you need to study the information provided. She confirms that the proposed actions will not affect the safety of the user's personal files.
- After pressing the "Next" button, in the window that appears, select the available option for the date and time until which the rollback will be carried out, select the system disk and start the execution procedure.
- The OS will once again offer to confirm its intentions in the agreement to make the necessary changes to it. Checking "Yes" will launch to automatically restore to the specified point and restart the OS.
If the rollback procedure is successful, a window will appear with the relevant information, which you need to close and check the performance of your device. If the problem has not been resolved, try a different method, repeating the same one several times in a row does not make sense.
Selecting and Rollback to Last Known Good Configuration
This method is based on the ability of Windows 7 to automatically record registry information about the last time it was loaded. The method must be used if the computer refuses to boot and the use of the "System Restore" menu becomes impossible for the user. The procedure should be performed using the following sequence of actions:
- Disconnect and restart the device.
- Pressing the "F8" key and going to the additional parameters menu to start the OS.
- Using the cursor of the navigation keys of the keyboard, set the value "Last Known Good Configuration".
After pressing "Enter", the device should reboot, and Windows OS should roll back to the point and install again. The method does not always end successfully, and if there is no reaction to the actions taken, you must try the next option.
Installation via "Safe Mode"
The procedure should be started after restarting the computer. If the OS has not been installed, you need to wait for the BIOS to load and do the following:
- Call the required dialog box by pressing the "F8" key.
- Use the arrow keys to select the Safe Boot Mode value and activate it.
- After starting the OS, select the "System Restore" line.
- Log in through the "Start" button menu and enter "Recovery" in the command line.
- Select the "Recovery point" option, and activate the search by clicking the "Next" button.
- After selecting the point required by time and date, as well as selecting a disk, activate rollback using the "Finish" value.
After confirming your actions, the rollback will be carried out to the selected values. After rebooting the device, the OS should start to function properly in normal mode.
Using the listed options for rolling back the operating system to the selected checkpoint, the user will always be able to quickly and accurately debug its work without resorting to the help of a service department or a computer wizard. In some cases, if the attempts did not lead to the desired result, which may mean the incorrect functioning of the existing drivers, it will not be superfluous to think about switching to a more "fresh" updated version of Windows.
In contact with
System Restore has been successfully used to troubleshoot Windows crashes and problems for many years. You will find it in Windows 10 too; details on how to use the Restore function are described in the article “Windows 10 Recovery”.
But soon you will find out that Windows 10 includes many other useful tools designed to keep your computer functioning at the proper level and to fix problems that have arisen during its operation.
In the following sections, you will find descriptions of many of the new operating system tools, how and when to use them, and which ones are best suited for troubleshooting your particular case.
How to roll back windows 10. Resetting the operating system.
The Rollback or Reset tool described below allows you to delete all user data, including account settings, personal settings, and files, during a system restore, if necessary. In this case, after reinstalling Windows 10, you will receive a completely new computer, in which important information of its previous owners has not been preserved, and you do not have to worry about its safety. To return the operating system to its original state, follow these steps
1.
Click on the button Start and run the command Parameters... The Settings application window will appear on the screen.
2.
In the Options window, click the Updates and security... On the next settings page, go to the left pane and click on the section Recovery... In the right pane, locate the Reset this computer subsection and click the Start button in it.
If the operation is continued, a window will appear on the screen prompting you to choose one of two methods to restore the original state of the computer.
3. Select one of the options and click on the button Further.
You are prompted to choose one of two ways to reset systems
- Save my files... This is the most common way to reinstall Windows 10 and keep your accounts and user data safe. In this case, you will need to reinstall all separately installed programs (but not applications from the Windows store). After choosing this option, go to step 5 of the instructions.
- delete everything... In this case, all user files and account data are deleted from the computer, and then a complete reinstallation of Windows 10 is performed. You can start working on the computer from scratch. If you choose this method, go to step 4 of the instructions.
4.
If you stopped at the complete deletion of user data, then specify whether you want to wipe the entire disk. As before, you are presented with a choice of two options.
- Just delete my files... If the computer will continue to be used in your home, then you can safely choose this option. Despite the complete removal of personal data, attackers equipped with special hardware and software can easily recover previously deleted user data and use it to obtain important information about the previous owners of the computer.
- Deleting files and cleaning up the disk... By choosing this option, you can safely sell your computer to others, even unfamiliar people. It is guaranteed not to contain any personal data available for recovery. And all because after deleting user files, the disk is additionally cleared of all information stored on it.
5. After choosing one of the above options, click on the button Reset... The operating system will start the procedure for deleting data on the system hard disk and then reinstalling it. After its completion, you will receive the computer in the state in which it was purchased - with completely "zeroed" Windows 10 settings. You can safely start working on your computer.
Reinstalling Windows 10 takes 15 minutes to an hour. After resetting the operating system, your computer gets a new life, which implies full or partial customization.
Revert to a previous version of Windows
It was previously discussed that Windows 7 and 8.1 users get an unprecedented opportunity to upgrade their operating system to Windows 10 for free, but only during the first year of its sales. The question immediately arises: can you change your mind and return to the previous operating system after switching to Windows 10?
To restore a previous (original) version of the Windows operating system on your computer, you will need to go to the Update and Security category in the Settings application (as described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of the instructions above). But now, instead of going to the Recovery section, in the left pane, click on the title Reset this computer to its original state. Next, click on the Start button to initiate the transition to an older version of Windows, which was once already installed on your computer. All programs installed in it are restored along with the operating system, and files associated with Windows 10 are permanently deleted.
The bulk of Windows 7 crashes and malfunctions, to the delight of experiment enthusiasts, is easy to "treat". To do this, in Windows, starting with XP, a special tool is included - "System Restore" or or a rollback tool, as some users call it.
To be able to roll back Windows 7 to a previously saved state, checkpoints must be created. This can be done in automatic and manual mode. Automatic is more convenient, since you do not have to constantly remember about it, but manual will help out when you need to change something in the system: install or uninstall a program, change the theme, make edits to the registry, etc.
In Windows 7, a system rollback can be done from normal, safe mode, as well as from the Windows RE recovery environment.
How to create checkpoints
- Open the shortcut menu of the Computer folder and click Properties
or click the “System” applet in the control panel.
- Click the "System Protection" button in the transition panel of the properties window.
- On the properties tab of the same name, in the “Protection Settings”, select the disk for which you are going to create a checkpoint and click “Configure”.
- Next, check "Restore system settings and previous versions of files" and set the size of the disk space for storing the backup. This will configure the automatic creation of restore points.
- To delete previously created points, in the same window, click on the "Delete" button.
- To manually create a checkpoint on the "System Security" tab, click "Create". In the next window, enter a short description and click “Create” again. The current state of Windows will be saved.
Launching System Restore from Normal and Safe Modes
- Open Start >> All Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools. Select "System Restore".
The same can be done by typing the command in the Start search bar rstrui and running the file of the same name.
- After opening the application, in the "Restore system files and parameters" window, click the "Next" button.
- The next window will display a list of one or two of the most recently created checkpoints. To see more, check the box next to Show other restore points.
- Clicking “Find Affected Programs” will help you navigate whether rolling back will solve the existing problem - you can see which applications and drivers will be removed or changed.
- Select one of the suitable control points and click “Next”. To confirm your choice in the next window, click “Finish” - the program will start working. After a few minutes, the state of the Windows registry and files will revert to the saved state.
How to restore a system from Windows RE
This method will help you roll back the system when it won't start.
- Before starting Windows, press the F8 key several times as quickly as possible. Select from the download options “Computer troubleshooting”.
- After entering the user password, go to the selection of recovery options. Select from this list the second item from the top. Then everything is done as described above.
How to roll back Windows 7 to its post-installation state
The Factory Reset function - restoring the computer to the factory settings, is available on most laptops with Windows 7. A copy of the system on them is stored in a special, hidden partition of the hard disk, where the user has no access.
Factory restore is performed differently on different machines. On some, for this purpose - special utilities that allow you to start the rollback process directly from under Windows.
On others, the recovery program is launched from the Windows RE environment (the last item in the recovery options).
On the third, to roll back the system, you need to press one or a certain key combination after starting the computer:
for ASUS - F9
on Acer - Alt + F10
for Samsung - F4
for Sony vaio - F10
on Toshiba - F8 or 0 (on latest models)
for Packard Bell - F10
for Fujitsu Siemens - F8
on Dell inspiron - Ctrl + F11
After starting the recovery tool, follow the instructions and watch it progress. It is important that the laptop battery is fully charged during rollback in the event of a power outage. As power outage at this time may irreparably damage the system.
At the end of the recovery, the Windows 7 initial setup window will open. Nothing from the previous system will remain in it - no user accounts, no activation, no user documents, no programs.
After the appearance of such a window, you will have the same actions as if you had just installed Windows from scratch.
Completely remove Windows 7 from your computer
If you are tired of the "seven" so much that you decide to remove it, you will need an external bootable media. It can be an installation disk with a distribution of any operating system, a Live CD with a portable version of Windows (for example, a BART PE distribution), disks with programs like Acronis Disk Director, or another copy of the system running on the same computer.
To remove the system, you need to boot the PC from one of these media and format the hard disk partition where the Windows files are located.
However, more often there are situations when you need to remove the old system after installing a new copy of it in the same partition. If you did not format the partition during the installation process, all legacy system files will be placed in the Windows.old folder. It is located in the root directory of the C drive - in the same place as the newly created Windows folder. Just remove it.
If the computer has several operating systems, the remote “seven” may remain in the selection list of boot options. To remove it from there, start a fresh copy of Windows, open the system setup utility Msconfig by entering its name in the Start search bar.
In Msconfig, click the Boot tab. The window of this tab contains a list of operating systems, which is displayed in the start menu.
Check it Windows 7, which is no longer on the disk, and click the "Remove" button. After that, it will not be displayed among the available download options.
Windows provides several self-defense methods. That is, by default, the operating system contains mechanisms that allow you to quickly restore the computer's performance after a failure.
Windows restore points are one such mechanism.
What is Windows restore point
Recovery point Is a set of parameters and important system files that determine the state of the operating system at a particular point in time. That is, when creating a restore point, Windows "canned" the most important things that are responsible for its performance. All conserved information is stored in a protected area of the hard drive. In the event of an operating system failure or failure, you can use a restore point and bring the operating system back to the state it was in when the restore point was created.
It is IMPORTANT to understand that we are talking ONLY about the state of the operating system, that is, about the state of its most significant files, and not about the user's files or the image of the entire system disk.
For example, a virus can damage system files due to which the computer will stop loading or a blue screen of death will appear. Incorrect driver installation, operating system updates, or even the installation of a program can lead to this.
In such a situation, a restore point will allow you to very quickly solve the problem by returning the system files to the state in which they were before they were damaged or changed.
Restore points allow you to undo the latest changes in the operating system, but their use will be really effective only if they are created in a timely manner. This means that restore points must be created regularly, as well as before each potentially unsafe action, such as installing a driver or a new application on the computer.
Usually, the Windows operating system itself copes with this task, but here it is worthwhile to understand that you will have to pay for such insurance, and in this case it is not about money, but about hard disk space. Recovery points can be significant, especially if they are created on a regular basis.
Many users are unaware of the existence of restore points, but have encountered. Quite often there is a direct connection here and deleting old restore points can free up additional gigabytes, and sometimes tens of gigabytes on the system disk.
I also want to note that restore points are not always useful and I personally disabled their creation in Windows. But this does not mean that they are completely useless. Each user has his own algorithm for restoring the operating system to work, and this algorithm depends on how a person uses a computer, that is, on how his work is organized on a computer. For example, a certain practically unchanged set of programs has been formed on my computer for a long time, and my personal files have always been on a non-system disk. For this reason, in the event of a failure, it was easier for me to use a pre-created image of the system disk and restore the system partition with all the applications I need in half an hour, rather than tinkering with restore points without a guarantee. But still, sometimes their use is quite justified.
If you experiment with programs, periodically install something new, or are going to change something, then restore points will help you avoid possible problems.
So let's turn to the recovery settings.
Configuring system recovery options
Recovery settings can be found in the window System properties... You can access this window in different ways, for example, through Windows 10 search.
Or by calling the context menu on the element This computer in the Explorer program, select Properties.
In the window that opens, go to.
Creation of restore points can be enabled for all disks, but it is logical to use this tool only for the system partition. In the area of Protection parameters we see for which disks protection is enabled or disabled.
If you want to use restore points for the system disk, and you have disabled its protection, then select the disk and click on the button Tune... Then we turn on system protection and immediately we can determine the amount of disk space that we are ready to donate to create restore points.
And here again a compromise is needed. The fact is that the more disk space you allocate for recovery points, the more they will be saved. As soon as the allotted space is filled, the oldest points will gradually be removed, being displaced by the newly created ones.
If you allocate too little space, then this can lead to the fact that restore points will simply not be created even with disk protection enabled.
Also, quite often, users have a completely logical desire to transfer recovery points to another disk or even removable media, for example, to a USB flash drive. Unfortunately, this cannot be done, since restore points must be stored on the disk being protected.
How to create a Windows restore point
So, if protection is enabled, restore points are created automatically when you install new applications, drivers or Windows updates, but sometimes you need to create them manually. For example, you are about to make some changes to the Windows Registry. In this case, it is worthwhile to play it safe and create a restore point in case of unforeseen complications.
To create a Windows restore point, click on the button Create(in the window System properties, tab). Next, you can specify an arbitrary name for the restore point. The date and time will be added automatically.
 
It will take some time for the restore point to be created, after which a message will appear stating that the operation completed successfully.
Where are Windows restore points
As I already mentioned, restore points are stored in a certain area of the protected disk - this is the folder .
It is hidden and located in the root of the protected disk. You can see it by turning on the mode of displaying hidden folders and files in Explorer... But you will not be able to enter the folder and delete something in it, since it is protected by the system.
For the same reason, programs do not have access to this folder. Therefore, if you are using the program Conductor If you try to estimate the amount of free disk space, then this folder will not appear in the displayed volume, which makes many users wonder about the loss of free space on the system disk.
But there is no need to work directly with the folder. I mention it only because some novice users have questions about its purpose.
How to roll back Windows to a restore point
So, if Windows suddenly starts to junk, then one of the solutions to the problem is to roll back its state to the last successful restore point.
There are several ways how you can do this, and the easiest one is through the section System Restore.
Click on the button Restore and the recovery wizard starts. Here we are immediately informed that the recovery does not affect the user's personal files, however, applications, drivers and updates installed after the creation of the restore point may be removed.

If restore points were created automatically in the system, then the wizard can recommend one of the last points. You can also manually select a restore point by listing it.
After selecting a point, click on the button Ready and Windows will be restored to the specified state. After restarting the computer, a message about the successful completion of this operation will appear.
How to delete restore points
If you do not use and do not plan to use restore points, but find that protection is enabled for one of the disks, then in the disk protection settings you can delete the already created restore points and then disable protection.
Also, many optimizers allow you to delete system restore points, and some of them clean them up by default. Therefore, if you use some kind of cleaners and clear everything that the utility offers by default, then most likely you will also delete all restore points.
I have said many times and will repeat again: any program is just a tool and cannot be relied on unconditionally... That is why I do not recommend that novice users clean their computer with the help of such utilities, since in inept hands these programs do more harm than good.
But in any case, it is worth knowing that all "cleaners" can delete restore points. For example, the program does an excellent job with this - in the section Service subsection System Restore you can select and delete unwanted restore points.
Recovering a deleted restore point
A fairly common question is how to restore a restore point if it was deleted accidentally or by mistake.
Unfortunately, NO.
One time I was present while trying to restore mistakenly deleted restore points. To do this, the hard drive of the computer was connected to another computer, on which, using a program for recovering deleted files, a person tried to restore a deleted restore point. But this did not lead to anything, only a lot of time was spent.
I see no point in such dubious operations. Once the restore point has been deleted, it is much easier and faster to reinstall Windows in case of problems. Well, and even more correct - to have a system image with all the necessary programs. And I will talk about creating such images in the next post.
Don't miss the opportunity to do a good deed:
The method is suitable if the system is stable starts up and included the function of creating points without user intervention or there is a backup collected by the system itself.
To start the process, you need to open a special software utility. To run it, follow the instructions:
In the opened window select disk protected from data loss. Usually the volume on which the OS is installed is usually selected.
After, you need to press the button "Recovery…"
The program will open to restore the previous state of the OS. We press the button " Further"And we see the menu in which select point recovery. The menu contains those that were created by the operating system itself.
To see all available rollback points, check the box “ Show other restore points»
We follow further instructions, agree with reboot system and the fact that it will be impossible to cancel the restoration in the future. System will reboot and the rollback will take place.
It should be remembered that after a rollback, a password which was in use at the time. To avoid problems with the entrance, make sure that you have utility reset password... When will happen return OS to the previous state, the previous points will disappear, but a new one will appear, created just before the reset attempt.
Returning to original settings
If items recovery are absent, or returning to previous states did not help, then it is worth trying to return the PC to factory condition.
Often, most Windows laptops have this option, regardless of the version, the instructions can be found from the manufacturer.
If you are the owner stationary A PC with Windows 7 installed, it is unlikely that the method will work, since usually in this case the OS requires a disk.
For newest Windows starting from the eighth version, you can use the following algorithm:
Open the menu " Parameters"- Go to the section" Updates and security» — « Reset the computer to its original state"→ Button" To begin» 
Roll back the system using a disk
This option is suitable if the operating system flatly refuses to start. A disk can be almost any external data storage, even a USB flash drive. 
For creation recovery media will need to go to control Panel and in the category " system and safety"Select the item" Archiving computer data". After that, click on the inscription " Create recovery disc". In the new window, select the drive you want to use, then click " Create disk».
Now you will always have the opportunity to fix a system problem without resorting to a complete reinstallation.
Create an image
This method is also suitable for those who have lost the ability to start the OS, it is important honors this option from the previous one is that using full image disk, absolutely all user settings, files and applications are restored. Recommended make an image at a time when the PC has all the basic drivers and programs, but there is no extra software. 
To create an image, follow the same instructions as described in the previous method. Only at the last stage should you follow the link “ System imaging«.
In the opened window offered select the location to save the image. A typical storage location is DVD, as it can be used if the hard disk is damaged, which is very convenient. The best way is to write in network storage, it would be better to use this particular item, since in this case, the probability of losing the image will be reduced to zero. 
The recovery itself begins during the restart of the computer: “ Diagnostics» — « Extra options» — « System image recovery».
