Recently, Microsoft has launched their Windows XP suite together with a function that should have been integrated already in its predecessors. Now, both Home and Professional versions boasts of the System Restore feature, a technical support tool proven to be useful in altering or reversing the damages made to your computer.

If you know how to use this feature of the operating system, you can have the option of going straight to the system settings before any kind of damage has been done to your computer. Another good thing about this is that you also have the chance to build a restore point and reverse the latest restorations made on your system. The recent restorations may have no significant or subsequent effect on the performance of the computer. Without prior knowledge on the matter, your computer system may experience frequent crashes or contain more unusable files, thereby having your computer in a bad, if not worse, shape. However, if you have the System Restore feature on your Windows XP, there is no need to panic and you can rest with the knowledge that your restore points would be made automatically. The better thing is, you can also customize the restore points on the System Restore function for the flexibility you need from your computer system.

The System Restore function of the Windows XP operating system can actually be found on the Start Menu tab. Navigate on the Programs tab within the Start Menu, then click on the Accessories tab located within it. This action would lead to the appearance of another pop-up. From the menu of the pop-up box, choose the System Tools option. A new pop-up menu selection would appear, containing the System Restore control. Clicking on the System Restore directs you to one dialogue box, which in turn contains a document-styled interface located inside an Explorer window. If you are a newbie in need of computer help and would like to know how to go about the System Restore settings of Windows XP, the aforementioned steps should be simple and easy enough for you to follow.

In this window, there are three options for you to choose from. The first option is to functionally restore the computer system to an earlier time. This option is labeled with maximum readability in mind. The second option on the radio button selection is the function to "Create a Restore Point" and it is labeled just so for maximum usability. The last option on the radio button selection is the "Undo" your last restoration feature. This particular feature is very helpful if you have restored your computer system to an earlier time without any changes being made unto it or if you have a restoration that has worsened your computer system's state.

The System Properties dialogue box has a menu tab labeled System Restore. On this tab are the features for customizing the System Restore settings of each drive. This tab provides you with a list of all the disk drives or disk partitions, that you have on your computer. If you want to monitor all the drives and access the System Restore function in the future, you could go to the default setting of the operating system. It is important to be wary of the system partition because this is the disk partition where the Windows XP is installed. Disabling the monitoring feature on this area subsequently disables the System Restore feature of the operating system. This is not advisable to do so, for the System Restore function of your Windows XP Operating System is very useful in times of viral infections and the like.

You should turn off the System Restore monitoring feature on all disk partitions except on the system drive. This step would bring about the reversal of your entire computer system, excluding the disk partitions. This means that even though there have been changes made to these partitions on the computer, switching off the System Restore of the operating system would not reverse the changes.

Carefully select all your important files on your system partition. Copy them and put all these files in a single folder on another disk drive. From this time on, you should save all your important documents and other equally important files the selected disk drive. This would prevent any document corruption or other file losses after restorations have been made on your computer system.

If this is your first time to access the System Restore function of Windows XP, it is highly advisable for you to create a restore point when your computer is in A1 condition. Just follow the procedures as explained above, and check on the "Create a Restore Point" radio button. Click the Next button to resume. This step would lead you to a new web document styled Explorer window. This window has a text box where you can label the restore point you have chosen to create. Labeling your chosen restore point with something that you can easily remember is highly advisable. After doing so, click on the Next button again. This would take you to the confirmation window, which tells whether your System Restore point creation has been successful or not.

Armed with a restore point that you yourself have created, your computer system is now safe from most, if not all, malware infections and harmful changes that are typical when installing programs. Just remember to regularly create restore points when your computer has new programs and updates installed on it and when the machine itself is still in tiptop condition. If ever your computer system encounters and experiences any malware infection, regular system crashes or speed and performance deterioration, all you have to do is restore the computer to the most recent restore point you have created.

Regularly deleting past restoration points should also be done so as to save precious disk space on your system partition. This could be done by accessing the Disk Cleanup function of your system partition. Go back to your desktop and double click the My Computer icon. This would open an Explorer window, which displays the disk drives and other removable data storage devices on your computer. Right click on your system partition, which is usually a C: or the C drive, and click on the Properties option. Click on the Disk Cleanup button on the Properties tab of your system partition. This would provide you with a new pop-up dialogue box. Click the More Options tab, and select the System Restore Cleanup button. Follow the instructions on the succeeding pop-up dialogue boxes. After doing so, your computer system is now clean from the past restore points that both you and your Windows XP operating system have created on your system partition. You are now left with the most recent restore point you have created, the only computer help function you need to reverse harmful changes that might have an affect on your computer system.

Also remember not to change your computer system's date and time settings before accessing the most recent restore point you have created. Make sure that before establishing a new restore point using the System Restore feature of the operating system, the time and date settings have already been adjusted. Altering these settings in your computer after accessing the most recent restore point you have created would confuse the system and not give you an actual list of the most recent restoration points made.