Surely each of you has encountered a situation when the operating system of your PC suddenly began to glitch or stopped working altogether. This happens for various reasons: the consequences of viruses, system errors, failures that occur when the PC is turned off incorrectly, etc. The most unpleasant thing in this situation is the process of reinstalling the OS, as well as the likelihood of complete loss of personal data. To avoid this, every self-respecting PC user should know how to perform a system restore on Windows 7.

Before proceeding directly to the restoration process, it is perhaps worth explaining to those who are not yet aware of what it is all about. From time to time, your system automatically makes a kind of self-save, which is stored in a compressed format. When you have certain problems with it, you can use the recovery function and load this same save, thereby returning the files to the state in which they were at the time of its creation.

Simply put, you roll back all system files to a few days, weeks or months ago (depending on when the last restore point was created), allowing you to return to the moment when problems with your computer did not yet exist and prevent them from occurring. Unfortunately, all files that were downloaded, installed or created on your PC during this time will disappear. But you will be able to save everything that was on the computer at the time of saving.

How to perform a system restore on Windows 7 using the system utility

The easiest option to restore data from the Windows 7 operating system is to use the system utility built into it. Here's how to do it:

This recovery option is the simplest, however, it has one significant drawback - it can only be used if your computer is functioning normally. You will learn further about how to roll back a Windows 7 system if you cannot boot your computer normally.

Reverting the system from safe mode

If the system files on your PC are so damaged that it is impossible to boot it normally, you can try starting Safe Mode and rolling back from it. How to do it? The first thing you need to do is, of course, turn on the system in safe mode. Typically, if system files are damaged, your computer will automatically prompt you to sign in to Safe Mode at startup. But if this does not happen for you, then immediately after turning on the PC you should click on “ F8”, after which the options will definitely appear on your screen. Then everything is done as in the previous instructions.

As you can see, this method is not much more complicated than the previous one, and differs by only one action. Of course, it is also not always possible to start the system in safe mode, and therefore there is a way to restore the system on Windows 7 without directly starting it.

Restoring the OS via BIOS

This method should be used only as a last resort, as it is quite complex and requires a pre-created boot disk. If you don’t have this, then you won’t be able to restore the system on Win 7 through the BIOS.

If you have it, then here's what you need to do:

This method, if you have a prepared disk, will allow you to reliably return your system to working condition.

The easiest way to restore the system on Windows 7: video

As you can see, restoring the system is no more difficult than reinstalling it again, but it is certainly much more convenient. This way, you can keep all your data and files virtually untouched. Therefore, every user should know how to perform a system restore on Windows 7. And of course, don’t forget about creating timely restore points (except automatic ones).

Computer owners are often faced with the need to roll back their operating system to factory settings. Windows with complete erasure of all data. Performing such actions may be required in several cases:

• Computer sales.
• System software failure.
• Installation of incorrect drivers and programs.
• Lost productivity.
• Contamination with remnants of previously installed applications.
• System failure caused by a virus.

Only probable causes of system rollback are listed Windows 7 to factory settings. There are other reasons for doing this. To execute reset Windows 7 settings, follow the instructions in this manual, and the process will be much faster and more productive.

If you decide to reset your computer, you need to take care of your data stored on the hard drive that has been accumulated while using the Windows system. This is very important to do, because in addition to files, the system stores program data and passwords, so simply formatting the hard drive is not enough. In addition to personal data, videos, photos and music, you must separately save additional program files, without which the software will not be able to function. A striking example of this is the program Keeper from Web Money, which will be impossible to launch without a special file, which will result in loss of access to your wallets with all the funds in them. Therefore, resetting the settings must be carried out thoroughly prepared.

Returns using integrated capabilities

Additional manipulations

To do this, you will need to press the key several times in a row. F8 until a small menu appears offering to boot available systems on media connected to the system unit. If you cannot call the boot menu and specify the initial boot from USB. Thus, the next startup will start not from the hard drive, but from removable media. Instead of reinstalling, you need to choose recovery mode, which will return Windows to factory settings. This method may not delete all data, so if it fails, the installation memory card can be used later for reinstallation, but more on that later in the article.

Resetting the system through the control panel

Erase Windows data with third-party applications

Laptops

This ensures a complete return to the factory configuration. If the system remains incompletely cleaned, you can perform a reinstallation. To do this, you need a pre-prepared installation card or Windows distribution disk. You can use an assembly or a license, the process is identical in both cases.

First, you will need to download the finished image and copy the contents to a card or hard drive, depending on how you created the rollback point. If you cannot find or create a similar installer among your friends, you can contact other people on the Internet who can provide a pre-created point for resetting the resources of the installed operating system. Fortunately, the capabilities of the network make it possible to perform the procedure very simply using a file hosting service.

Complete reinstallation

System Restore is a critical feature of the Windows operating system that allows you to return the system to a working state by rolling back to a previously saved backup copy. It is called a rollback or restore point and is a snapshot of the system registry, some system files and installed/removed programs before uninstalling or installing them, respectively.

Rollback points are created automatically by Windows 7 itself before making changes to the system registry (installation of software, updates, unsigned drivers) or manually by the user at a convenient time. Rollback is the replacement of current system files, registry files and applications with the original ones stored in a backup copy. Many people wonder where these backups are stored. Physically, they are located in subdirectories of the System Volume Information folder at the root of the partition for which the protection function is activated.

To access this directory, administrator privileges are required, although there is nothing interesting for the user in it.

Before we consider how to create a restore point in Windows 7, we will learn how to activate the system protection function, because in many builds of Windows 7 (and most users prefer to use them instead of original copies of the OS) it is turned off in order to save disk space and other resources.

Creating a rollback point is not possible if system protection is turned off for a specific volume. Usually it is enabled only for the system partition, because backups do not affect user data (games, multimedia and text files, archives). Yes, rollback points should be created for each partition separately. Basically, they are done only for the system drive, but if applications are installed on another volume, it is worth enabling system protection for it as well.

1. Open the context menu of the “My Computer” directory and click “Properties” in the drop-down menu.
2. In the “System” window, click on the “System Protection” link, which is located in the vertical menu on the left.

The second way to call this interface element is through the control panel, which takes a little longer.

1. Call it and go to the “System and Security” section if the view of panel elements is switched to “Category”.

1. We click on the icon or inscription shown in the screenshot and find ourselves in a well-known window.

1. In the tab that opens, select the desired disk (usually a system volume) and click “Configure”.

1. Move the checkbox to the desired position:

• Restore system settings and previous versions of files;
• Restore previous versions of files - system settings will not be affected.

1. Below, using the “Currently in use” slider, we set the maximum amount of disk memory of the selected volume that will be used to store backup copies.

Once the specified volume limit is reached, the oldest points will be overwritten.

The “Delete” button will delete all previously added backups for the current disk.

1. Click “OK”.

How to create a checkpoint

Taking a snapshot of system settings manually is no more difficult than activating the function of creating resuscitation points. There are three ways to manage resume points in Windows 7.

1. Through Start - go to “Standard”, then to the “Service” directory.

• Through system properties, as shown in the previous section.
• Search the Start menu.

1. In the window that opens, click “Create”.
2. In the text field you should specify the name of the rollback point, by which you can understand the reason and conditions for its creation, then press Enter.

1. We are waiting for the process of copying registry files to complete.

1. In the dialog box with information about the successful completion of the operation, click “Close”.

System state rollback

Did a crash occur or did errors appear after installing something? It's time to use the function of returning Windows 7 to a previously saved state.

1. Call up the “System Protection” window in any convenient way.

The fastest way to do this is through the “Run” dialog.

• Open it using the combination Win + R or a link in Start.
• Enter and execute the command “rstrui” to open the control dialog.

1. In the first window, get acquainted with the program information and click “Next”.

1. Select a rollback point.

The majority of Windows 7 glitches and malfunctions, to the delight of experimentation enthusiasts, can be easily “treated.” For this purpose, Windows, starting with XP, includes a special tool - “System Restore” or a rollback tool, as some users call it.

To be able to roll back a Windows 7 system to a previously saved state, you need to create checkpoints. This can be done automatically and manually. The automatic one is more convenient, since you don’t have to constantly remember this, but the manual one will help out when you need to change something in the system: install or uninstall a program, change the theme, make changes to the registry, etc.

In Windows 7, a system rollback can be done from normal mode, safe mode, or from the Windows RE recovery environment.

How to create checkpoints

• Open the context 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 bar of the properties window.

• On the properties tab of the same name, in “Protection Settings”, select the drive 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 amount of disk space to store the backup. This will set up 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 Windows state will be saved.

Running 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 settings” window, click the “Next” button.

• The next window will display a list of the one or two most recently created control points. To see more, check the “Show other restore points” checkbox.

• Clicking “Search for affected programs” will help you determine whether a rollback will solve the existing problem - you can see which applications and drivers will be removed or changed.

• Select one of the appropriate control points and click “Next”. To confirm your choice, click “Finish” in the next window – the program will start working. After a few minutes, the state of the Windows registry and files will return to the saved state.

How to restore the system from Windows RE

This method will help roll back the system when it does not start.

• Before starting Windows, press the F8 key several times as quickly as possible. Select “Troubleshoot your PC” from the download options.

• After entering the user password, go to select recovery options. Select the second item from this list from the top. Then everything is done as described above.

Reverting Windows 7 to the same state as after installation

The Factory Reset function - restoring the computer to 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 drive, where the user does not have access.

Restoring to factory state works differently on different machines. On some, there are special utilities for this that allow you to start the rollback process directly from Windows.

On others, the recovery program is launched from the Windows RE environment (the last item in the recovery options).

Thirdly, to roll back the system you need to press one or a certain combination of keys after starting the computer:

on ASUS – F9

on Acer – Alt+F10

on Samsung – F4

on Sony vaio – F10

on Toshiba – F8 or 0 (on latest models)

on Packard Bell – F10

on Fujitsu Siemens – F8

on Dell inspiron – Ctrl+F11

After you run the recovery tool, follow the instructions and monitor its progress. It is important that the laptop battery is fully charged during the rollback in case of power outages. Because turning off the current at this time can irreparably damage the system.

Once the restoration is complete, the Windows 7 initial setup window will open. There will be nothing left of the previous system - no user accounts, no activation, no user documents, no programs.

After this window appears, you will have the same actions as if you had just installed Windows from scratch.

Complete removal of Windows 7 from your computer

If you are so tired of the “seven” 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, the 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 your PC from one of these media and format the hard drive 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 files from the previous system will be placed in the Windows.old folder. It is located in the root directory of drive C - in the same place as the newly created Windows folder. Just delete it.

If the computer has several operating systems, the deleted “seven” may remain in the list of boot options. To remove it from there, start a new copy of Windows, open the system setup utility Msconfig by entering its name in the Start search bar.

In Msconfig, open the Boot tab. In this tab window there is a list of operating systems that is displayed in the start menu.

Mark in it Windows 7, which is no longer on the disk, and click the “Remove” button. After this, it will not be displayed among the available download options.

The Windows system is constantly updated, new features appear, and bugs are fixed. It happens that after switching to a new version, a computer or laptop starts to work poorly. Incorrect user actions also disrupt operation. To fix these problems, you can roll back your Windows 7 system.

Restore point

The first way, which will allow you to roll back the system a few days ago according to the condition. This feature is suitable for cases where a recently installed program has changed Windows configuration settings.

You can also fight a few viruses using system restore points. They contain known-good files and drivers that are installed in their proper places.

Automatic creation of recovery points (RPs) is performed during risky operations, for example, when updating Windows through the appropriate Center or when installing and uninstalling many applications. This allows confidently undo changes introduced by unwanted or malicious programs. FAs can also be created manually. It should be noted that this rollback method affects program and driver files. Some of them are removed, while others are installed back. User-created content is not affected - this is one of the positive aspects of TVS.

Since there may be several such points, this allows you to restore the computer to a specific date or return the settings to a day ago. This operation can also be performed in Safe Mode if severe problems occur, such as constant rebooting or freezing.

To store information for recovery via TVS, a certain area is allocated on the system disk. If its volume is small, then you can reduce this parameter to make room for improved functionality.

Rollback Tools

The Windows system has an application that solves various problems that interfere with normal startup and operation. It is stored on installation media that can be burned to a laser disc (CD/DVD). If can't start the computer due to serious violations or damage in important files and drivers, you can try to restore it using the appropriate program. You can also roll back Windows to a previous version if the equipment turns out to be incompatible with the newer one. This often leads to loss or deterioration of the device's performance after the update.

To roll back Windows 7 from the installation disk, you must:

The same functionality is available in more recent versions. The procedure for starting Safe Mode is slightly different. To restore Windows 8, you need to go to the system setup program by checking the necessary boxes, or force restart your computer, turning it off and on three times. After which a menu becomes available through which you can perform the required operations using a restore point or image. As in previous versions of Windows, advanced users can use the Command Prompt to work with particularly advanced recovery tools, such as DISM.

Other nuances

It is worth noting that the system image, in addition to the main files and drivers, may also contain additional content, for example, personal documents and downloads that must be protected from loss. They will be transferred during recovery after replacing a computer or a faulty hard drive.

The restore point stores only system and program files and drivers. So, with the help of all these tools and utilities you can guarantee a system rollback on Windows 7 and newer versions. And also restore its functionality and save important content for the computer owner.