It often happens that after downloading a malicious program or a file infected with a virus, important system data is damaged or deleted, as a result of which the PC starts working worse or not working at all. In this case, system recovery or rollback will help correct the situation.
What is it?
Rollback (the system name for this function is data recovery) is the return of the operating system to the restore point, which was created before the problem arose due to damage to the OS or its individual components. There are plenty of reasons why it can be damaged:
- The system file may be “eaten up” by the virus, after which the OS refuses to work. Or it is simply struck by a virus program, after which it is blocked or removed by the antivirus.
- An important component is deleted by the user himself accidentally or unknowingly.
- There was an installed third-party program that harmed the OS.
- Downloaded Windows updates began to conflict with the old ones, as a result of which the computer began to "slow down" and work worse.
We can say that rollback is like a lifeline for the user, because he is able to return Windows 7 to its normal state. You do not have to reinstall it.
Restore system
Go to Start // All programs // Accessories // Utilities and click on “System Restore”.
When it opens, click "Next", after which we select from the list of recovery points the one that was saved before the problems appeared.
If you are interested in which programs will disappear, click on the “Search for affected programs” button. We go further and begin the rollback. This will put the OS in order, but some utilities or drivers will need to be reinstalled.
Through safe mode
It often happens that some kind of error occurs during startup, so it’s not possible to load the desktop and roll back the settings. Therefore, you can log in using the "Safe Mode".
We reboot the computer and before loading Windows 7, press the F8 key. It is worth noting that on some laptops, the F1-12 keys are activated only in combination with the Fn switch button (in most cases, you can find it at the bottom left). In this case, hold down Fn and press F8.
From the list of functions that appear, select “Safe Mode”. Do not be afraid of a screen resolution of 600x400 or 800x400, this is normal. Next, we find the system recovery program in "Start" and follow the previous instructions on how to roll back.
Using a boot disk
It happens when you cannot enter the computer using the "Safe Mode", and, accordingly, it is impossible to roll back. This is solved quite simply by using a boot disk. All that is needed is to have it. We insert the boot disk into the disk drive, restart the computer. If the drive is not in priority, that is, it is not on the first place in the list of priority startup, go to the BIOS in the Boot section and put it in the first place, save and exit. When the "installer" of Windows 7 starts, set the language to Russian (although you can use another one) and click on the inscription "System Restore" located at the bottom left. From the list, again select “System Restore”, after which we go through the already known procedure and roll back updates and settings.
By the way, if there is a bootable USB flash drive, the treatment order is the same, only it will be necessary to put it in the boot priority.
Create a restore point
You can restore your computer only if you have a saved restore point. If it is not there, this is a problem, since it will be impossible to roll back. Therefore, it is necessary to create it.
Right-click on the “My Computer” shortcut (if there is no such desktop, then open the “Start” menu and do it there) and select “Properties”.
In the “Toolbar” on the right side, click on the “System Protection” section and look at the plate where the disks are displayed.
If opposite to some disk (mainly system one) there is an inscription “Enabled”, then there is no need to worry, as there is a function for saving the return point. If there is “Disabled”, click “Configure”. There we put the switch on the item “Restore system settings and previous versions of files”. And from the bottom we select the size of disk space (it is desirable to take a minimum of 1.5-2 GB). Click “Apply” and “OK”. You can also create a return label manually. To do this, click "Create", somehow call it, and you're done.
Now a copy of the system will be saved from time to time, and it will be possible to roll back. It's a good news. But there is a slight nuance. Protection settings will be saved mainly before installing some programs and will be constantly interchanged when there is not enough space for new saves. Therefore, it is better to allocate 5-10 gigabytes for this operation (it all depends on the capabilities of the disk), so that there are more tags with an earlier date in the return list.
Auto Creation
You can make sure that the recovery data is saved strictly on schedule. The easiest way to do this is as follows:
- Press Win + R or open “Start” and in the search write “Run”.
- In the line we write taskschd.msc, click OK. The scheduler opens.
- In the tree on the left side, open the Library \\ Microsoft \\ Windows \\ SystemRestore. Double-click on the SR file.
- Go to the “Triggers” tab, select the desired one and click change. Here we set up the schedule at our discretion (for example, configure one trigger for weekly creation every Saturday at 0 o’clock, and the second when you turn on the computer).
- Next, go to the “Conditions” tab and configure some conditions for creating an automatic save point. If they are not needed, you can disable them.
Now you don’t have to worry about having a restore point and how to roll back the system to Windows.