Just for the record I never advise using System Restore. System Restore creates restore points in Windows so that if something happens a previous configuration can be retrieved. See the MS link:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...emrestore.mspx.
Some users say they use it on their personal machines and swear by it. But of course I only see what happens when things don't go so smoothly. For instance:
Viruses, Trojans, and spyware have been "restored" after a long and extensive cleaning process. For some reason, Windows has automatically gone back to the previous restore point and restored them without user decision to do so.
Each restore point is stored on the hard drive in sub-folders that can take quite a bit of space. I have seen some smaller hard drives run out of space and grind to a halt.
Corruption can occur anywhere/anytime with Windows but I have seen problems disappear or improve when system restore was turned off.
It can also slow down the boot process because I think it has to read every restore point and there could be quite a few.
More information from the web:
"Unwanted software installations and especially in-place software upgrades may be incompletely reverted by System Restore, because only certain file types are restored, instead of the full changed contents of folders.
If System Restore fails to completely remove a new program, there may be little or no practical impact (aside from wasted disk space) because the Start Menu, Registry, and DLLs are restored. However, if an existing program is upgraded without first being uninstalled, and then this is "reversed" by System Restore, the result can be an unusual mix of old and new program files and folders. Since the restored Registry will reference only the original program version, which may no longer be intact, issues may arise when attempting to run or remove that application."
Needless to say, I don’t use it on my home computers and we turn off and disable on company machines.