A large amount of computer errors can be traced back to registry problems. This article focuses on using the System Restore application belonging to Windows to roll back files and changes that have been made to the Windows registry.

The Windows registry file is one of the key configuration documents on the operating system. It maintains a listing of all customization settings for applications and users. It can develop faults, or key corruption, due to virus damage, application installations and many other system changes.

Fixing registry faults is not something that you should attempt to do manually. Instead, you should resort to PC repair programs or registry cleaners which have the ability to reset keys based on healthy configuration settings. However, if even these tools fail to fix your registry problems then you can resort to using the System Restore tool.

The tool maintains copies of important system programs and files on a regular basis. These copies are saved to disk whenever Windows update is run or new applications are installed. The restoration process can then pick and choose a date stamped version of the original healthy files and load them onto the system for you.

Running the tool could not be simpler:

1. Start up the application via start/all programs/accessories/system tools/system restore.
2. Pick the option to restore my computer to an earlier time and click the next button.
3. Pick a day on the calendar from the recent past which is highlighted in bold font. This indicates a day upon which a snapshot was actually taken. Click the next button to agree to restore into this checkpoint.
4. The computer will restart using these new configuration settings and hopefully your registry problem will have been resolved.

Using this tool to solve registry problems is by no means faultless. There is the potential that applications which had changed after the snapshot date may now be corrupted or behave oddly due to the fact that registry settings have been reverted back to an earlier date. The simple workaround for this is to reinstall the application, which seems like a relatively small punishment for having a fully working system.

Related posts:

1. All About Registry Cleaners
2. Improving Windows XP Slow Startup Performance
3. Registry Error Tips
4. Fix Error Messages Using Free Tools And Advice
5. Standard Ways To Recover Lost Data

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