Re-installing Windows XP is a very tedious job. I agree it only takes less than an hour or possibly only around 30 minutes on a fast dual-core processors but that is not the point.

If you re-install Windows XP, you need to re-install a lot of other stuff. You would need to re-install as well the device drivers for your computer. You will go looking for your motherboard device driver disk, your soundcard's installer, your printer's setup disk, and the list goes on.

We are talking here of Windows XP and the device drivers and have not touched the subject on application softwares. We would need to re-install our application softwares too, like the Microsoft Office Suite and Cyberlink PowerDirector for our graphics software. And well, how about the games?

It's tedious, time-consuming, and sometimes even frustrating when installation fails due to defective CD installers and you need to go and find the installers on the internet. In my experience it could take you from two hours to a whole day depending on the availability of the installers.

And, oh, yes, you would need to test each and every single thing to make sure what you installed were properly installed and configured.

There are several tools and techniques available to mitigate this situation. There are backup utilities that you can use to restore a damage Windows XP installation. Restoration of backups is a lot better than totally re-formatting the hard drive and re-installing Windows XP. In restoring full hard drive backups, you do not need to re-install the device drivers and the different application programs. It restores everything you on the backup disks.

Window XP System Restore is not a full backup like the one I am talking about above. It is a utility program to restore any damaged Windows system files, setup files, or configuration file that may be preventing Windows from booting up or working normally.

It reverts Windows back to its previous state, back to its previous setting and configuration. This includes system configuration and setting in the Windows Registry, installed system files and device drivers, and other programs necessary for Windows XP's normal operation. This is usually necessary as kind of repair facility in case Windows XP system files and/or system configuration become corrupted.

It is therefore a restoration program for mild system damage that may have been caused by malwares and viruses or by simple misconfiguration of Windows. If System Restore does not fix the problem then a complete backup restoration or a full re-formatting and re-installation of Windows XP is in order.

Windows XP by default monitors system file changes and creates system snapshots called restore checkpoints. This is usually automatic and needs no user intervention as long as the System Restore facility is turned on.

This means that we you try to install a new device driver, Windows knows that you are changing a system configuration, and it would create a system snapshot before allowing you to install the device driver. In that case, when the newly installed device driver messes up the system, let us say, because it was a wrong version, you may be able to revert to the previous condition.

That is, rollback the changes made by installing the new device driver. In that way, Windows normal operation will be restored.

Settings - System Restore - The System Restore function in Windows XP can have its uses but generally speaking, in its default setting, it is a disk hog. The default setting for the System Restore function is 12%. That's nearly 9 GB if the computer has an 80 GB hard drive and nearly 28 GB on a 250 GB drive. I recommend that your System Restore be sized to between 2 and 5 GB, or turned off completely (if you have another means of backing up your system). It should also always be turned off for non-system drives.

Fix Major PC Problems With "System Restore" - That's right! You can fix Major PC Problems With the "System Restore" feature on your PC ! Use the System Restore facility to remove any system changes that were made since the last time your computer worked correctly. System Restore does not affect your personal data such as your browsing history, favorites, mail so you won't lose changes made to any of these files.

How to Perform a Windows XP System Restore - Learn how to make a system checkpoint, useful for any future need. Also, learn how to restore your system using these checkpoints. You just never know when a bad software/hardware installation or virus will permanently cripple your operating system.