If your Windows 10 computer stops working after you’ve installed a program or an update,
you probably wish it had a big ‘Undo’ button.
Well it does, and it’s called System Restore, and in this video I’m going to show you
how to use it.
This is Dave’s Tech Rescue, where I solve your problems with computers, Internet and
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Today’s question:
My computer has stopped working. It was fine before Windows installed the latest updates.
How do I get it working again?
Well, you might not realise it, but Windows is always making plans in case something goes
wrong.
Every time you install a program, Windows takes a snapshot of your computer’s settings.
If the program causes serious problems, like the computer turns off for no reason or you
get strange error messages, then you should be able to turn the clock back to when the
snapshot was made, and everything should work again.
It’s called System Restore, and it protects you whenever you install updates, programs,
or new hardware - like if you add a printer.
You don’t have to worry about losing any documents or other personal files, because
System Restore doesn’t affect these. However when your computer starts having problems
like this, it’s a good time to think about making a backup if you don’t already have
one.
There are a couple of ways to access System Restore, depending on whether or not you can
start your computer. I’m going to show you both ways, and I’m also going to show you
how you can check that your computer is being protected by System Restore, because never
know when you might need it.
Before you start, you should remove anything that you’ve plugged in recently. If you’ve
installed new hardware, like a new graphics card, then you should shut down the computer,
unplug it from the mains power supply, and remove the new hardware.
IF YOU CAN START YOUR COMPUTER
If Windows starts up, but you’re getting strange error messages or other symptoms,
then you can access System Restore from within Windows.
First though, if you know you’ve installed a program recently, it’s a good idea to
remove that program and see if it makes a difference.
Let’s take a quick look at how to remove a program.
Make sure you close and save anything you have open.
Then click on the Start Menu, and click on Settings, which is the gear symbol.
Then go into Apps.
You should see a list of all the apps on your computer. You can put this list in date order
- click Sort By, and select Installation Date.
The newest apps should be at the top. If you suspect one of these caused your problem,
you can select it, and click Uninstall.
I'm just showing you this as an example, I don't have a problem with this app.
Then you should restart the computer, and see if the problem has gone.
If you still have the same issue, then you should open System Restore.
Click on the Start Menu or Cortana, and type Recovery. When you see Recovery, click on
it. Its icon has a blue screen with a clock and a green arrow.
Then click on Open System Restore.
System Restore should appear, and it shows you when the most recent program or update
was installed. It’s a good idea to start with this as a restore point, but I’m going
to show you how to choose other restore points.
So click on the other option, Choose a different restore point, and click Next.
You’ll see the most recent Restore Point again, and you can see if there are more restore
points by ticking this box below. It looks like my computer has made a few restore points
over the last few weeks.
This is good to know, because if the most recent point doesn’t help, there are other
things we can try.
But for now, I’m going to select the most recent restore point, and click Next.
Now pay attention to the notices below, and if you’re happy to go on, click Finish.
Then read this message, and if you’re happy to proceed, click Next.
Then your computer will go to a screen like this. You'll need to wait a while for the
System Restore - It took about 25 minutes on my computer.
When it’s finished, you get a notice telling you whether the System Restore was successful
or not.
You can click Close on this.
If the Restore failed for some reason, you can open System Restore again and choose a
different Restore Point.
Click on Choose a Different Restore Point, and click Next.
And then Show more Restore points.
Then you just need to try a different Restore point. You can work through them all until
you find one that works.
Something I've found is that System Restore can sometimes tell you that it’s failed,
but the problem seems to be fixed anyway. So if that happens, I think you can assume
that it has worked.
After you've done a System Restore like this, you can normally work out what caused the
problem in the first place, from the label of the System Restore point that worked.
Sometimes you can just install the software or update again and the second time round
it just works, but if you get the same problem the second time round, you’ll need to roll
it back again with System Restore, and then you’ll need to work out if there is a problem
with what you’re trying to install.
So, now we’ve covered a basic System Restore, we can now look at what we need to do if the
computer won’t start up.
IF YOU CAN’T START YOUR COMPUTER
If your computer won’t start up, you’ll find that it goes into Automatic Repair, where
it tries to diagnose the fault and fix it.
If Automatic Repair can’t fix the problem, you’ll see this screen - Your PC did not
start correctly.
So, now you'll need to try System Restore.
You can get to System Restore by clicking on Advanced Options.
Then click on Troubleshoot,
And Advanced options.
Now click on System Restore.
Click on your user name and enter your password. If one of your user accounts is an administrator,
you should sign in as that user.
When System Restore starts, click Next.
Now you’re on same screen we saw in the first part of this video. Choose a Restore
point from the list, and follow the instructions on the screen to restore from it.
Once the System Restore has finished, you should be able to start your computer as normal.
While we’re looking at System Restore, it’s worth knowing how to check your computer is
being protected by System Restore.
Open file Explorer.
Click on This PC, then right click on it, and click Properties.
Click System Protection.
Look for the Protection Settings box, and make sure protection is turned on for your
main hard drive.
If it isn’t, click Configure.
Then select Turn on System Protection.
Then click OK.
Then you can close all these windows.
Now you can be confident that your computer is making Restore Points whenever it needs
to.
Did System Restore work for you? Please let me know in the comments below how you got
on, and if you found this video useful please give it the thumbs up.
If you’d like to see more tutorials from me, click on my face below, and hit the red
subscribe button.
And while you’re here, why not check out one of my other videos, like how to back up
your Windows 10 computer.
Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.