The System Protection Tab
The System Protection tab in the System Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 5, provides options for managing the configuration of System Restore. Access this tab by completing the following steps:
-
In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click System.
-
In the System console, tap or click Change Settings, or tap or click Advanced System Settings in the left pane.
-
In the System Properties dialog box, tap or click the System Protection tab.
You also can access the System Protection tab in the System Properties dialog box by typing SystemPropertiesProtection in the Apps Search box and then pressing Enter.
Unlike Windows 7, System Restore no longer includes Previous
Versions as a subcomponent. With Windows 8, you create previous
versions of personal files using File History backups. The sections that
follow discuss techniques for working with and configuring System Restore.
Note
REAL WORLD File servers running
Windows Server 2012 have a Previous Versions feature. Previous versions
come from shadow copies and are created for folders that are shared on
the network. In File Explorer, the Properties dialog box for a shared
folder that has been mapped as a network drive will have a Previous
Versions tab. Use the options on this tab to restore previous versions
of files in a folder shared by a file server.
Understanding System Protection
With System Restore enabled, a computer creates periodic snapshots of the system configuration. These snapshots are called restore points.
System settings tracked include Windows settings and lists of programs
that have been installed. If the computer has problems starting or isn’t
working properly because of a system configuration change, you can use a
restore point to restore the system configuration to the point at which
the snapshot was made. For example, suppose that your system is working
fine, and then you install a new service pack release for Office.
Afterward, the computer generates errors and Office applications won’t
run. You try to uninstall the update, but that doesn’t work, so you
decide to run System Restore. Using System Restore, you can restore the
system by using a snapshot taken prior to the update.
Note
System Restore can provide several different types of restore points. One type, System
Checkpoint, is scheduled by the operating system and occurs at regular
intervals. Another type of snapshot, Installation Restore Point, is
created automatically based on events that are triggered by the
operating system when you install applications. Other snapshots, known
as Manual Restore
Points, are created by users. You should recommend that users create
Manual Restore Points prior to performing an operation that might cause
problems on the system.
System Restore manages restore points on a per-drive basis. Each
drive with critical applications and system files should be monitored
for configuration changes. By default, System Restore is enabled only
for the system drive. You can modify the System Restore configuration by
turning on monitoring of other drives. If a drive isn’t configured for
System Restore monitoring, configuration changes are not tracked, and
the disk cannot be recovered if problems occur.
Note
Protection points are created daily for all drives being monitored by
System Restore. Previous versions are not saved as part of a volume’s
automatically or manually created protection points. Use File History
backups instead.
Configuring System Restore
You control how System Restore works by using the System
Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box. The system process
responsible for monitoring configuration and application changes is the System
Restore Service. This service is configured for automatic startup and
runs under the LocalSystem account. System Restore won’t work properly
if this service isn’t running or configured appropriately.
System Restore saves system checkpoint information for all monitored
drives and requires at least 300 MB of disk space on the system volume
to save restore points. System Restore reserves additional space for
restore points as necessary, up to 100 percent of the total disk
capacity, but this additional space is always available for user and
application storage. System Restore frees up additional space for you as
necessary. If System Restore runs out of available space, the operating
system overwrites previously created restore points.
You can configure the amount of disk space used by System Restore. By
default, System Restore reserves at least 1 percent of the total disk
capacity for saving restore points. For example, on a hard disk with a
total capacity of 930 GB, System Restore would reserve 9.3 GB of disk
space by default.
Complete the following steps to configure System Restore for each drive:
-
In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click System.
-
In the System console, tap or click System Protection in the left pane.
-
To configure System Restore for a volume, select the volume in the
Protection Settings list, and then tap or click Configure. This displays
the System Protection For dialog box, shown in Figure 6.
-
Choose one of the following options:
-
Turn On System Protection
Choose this option to keep copies of system settings. This option is
recommended for the system volume to ensure that you can restore the
computer.
-
Disable System Protection
Choose this option to turn off System
Restore. This option is not recommended for the system volume because
you will not be able to restore the computer after configuration
changes.
-
If you’ve enabled system protection, you can use the Disk Space Usage
slider to adjust the maximum disk space that System Restore can use. If
the maximum size is reached, System Restore deletes older restore
points to make room for new ones.
-
Tap or click OK. (If you’ve turned off system protection, Windows
removes all saved system settings, and you must confirm that you want to
do this by tapping or clicking Yes. When Windows finishes removing all
the restore point data, tap or click Close.)
If you are using System Restore to protect a computer and are
absolutely certain that the system is in a stable state, you can remove
all saved system settings to recover space on disks or to ensure that
users don’t apply a restore point that you don’t want them to use. To do
this, follow these steps:
-
In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click System.
-
In the System console, tap or click System Protection in the left pane.
-
In the Protection Settings list, select the volume you want to work with, and then tap or click Configure.
-
Tap or click Delete, and then tap or click Continue to confirm that
you really want to delete all saved system settings. Repeat steps and 3
and 4 for other volumes, as appropriate.
-
When Windows finishes removing all the restore point data, tap or click Close.
The Remote tab in the System Properties
dialog box controls Remote Assistance invitations and Remote Desktop
connections.
