Microsoft KB Archive/283081

= System Restore Should Not Be Enabled During Program Installations =

Q283081

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
 * Microsoft Windows XP Professional

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SUMMARY
When you first enable System Restore, this creates an initial restore point. If you enable System Restore during a program installation, this may corrupt the initial restore point.

MORE INFORMATION
System Restore tracks changes to the registry and system files. By keeping a record of changes, System Restore can undo the changes to set the computer back to a previous state, which is also called a restore point. To create a restore point, use the System Restore program in the System Tools folder, which is on the Start menu.

In Control Panel, you can enable and disable System Restore in System properties on the System Restore tab. When you disable System Restore, all previous restore points are lost because System Restore is no longer able to track changes and is therefore unable to undo those changes.

When you re-enable System Restore, it creates an initial restore point. If you enable System Restore while you are installing a program, this may corrupt the initial restore point as well as all subsequent restore points. There is no way to determine if the initial restore point is corrupted.

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbtool

Issue type : kbinfo

Technology : kbWinXPProSearch kbWinXPHomeSearch kbWinXPSearch

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