AUGUST 2003 TIP OF THE MONTH
Understanding System Restore.

Some of the housekeeping for successfully migrating to a new machine has been covered in previous tips, but this tip will deal with how best to prepare the new computer and roll out the welcome mat, ensuring the settings, preferences and data feel at home on your new computer.

A. Set a restore point in Microsoft® Windows® XP:

Windows XP has a feature called System Restore that will allow you to set up a snapshot point in time where users can return if the machine starts to misbehave. The thought being that if we have problems with applications, drivers or any modifications we bring to the new machine, we can return to a previous state of the machine that will return us to trouble-free computing. Below is Microsoft's summary on this really great feature from Windows XP.

System Restore performs the following tasks:

  1. Restores your computer to a previous state
  2. Restores your computer without losing your personal files
  3. Locates dates associated with restore points
  4. Ensures that all restorations are reversible
  5. Provides several types of restore points
  6. Initial System checkpoints
  7. System checkpoints
  8. Program name installation restore points
  9. Windows XP Professional automatic update restore points
  10. Manually created restore points
  11. Restore operation restore points
  12. Unsigned device driver restore points

B. Install all software applications on your new machine.

A prudent philosophy would be to protect the integrity of your new computer and exclude moving applications to the new machine through using migration software. Testing has shown applications can corrupt the new Operating System if improperly transferred. Applications should be installed from the original media. This will ensure XP can determine if the application is compatible with the new operating system. The safest way to use these software applications is to ensure they are compatible and installed from a licensed copy of the software.
C. Just prior to migration, run a virus check on your new system to check any data that resides for data integrity, then disable the software so it will not interfere with the transfer by slowing the speed of the migration. Disable all other tasks. On the new computer, with the XP operating system, the only programs that usually require attention are anti-virus software. Find the anti-virus icon on the system tray (usually at the right-hand end of the task bar at the bottom of the desktop screen). Then right-click the icon and choose the option to disable the anti-virus protection.

D. Ensure the cabling has no conflicts. If you plan to use the USB Transport Cable, remove any unneeded USB devices that may interfere with our USB Transport cables. If you plan to use the Parallel Transport Cable, the printer usually uses this port. Sometimes this can cause a conflict.

Here are some steps that may help you establish connectivity:

  1. Please remove all printer software from the Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.
  2. Select all printer icons in the Printers folder in the Control Panel and place in the recycle bin. This will allow easy access to return them after we have performed our migration. This should reduce confusion without having to remember the driver name or location.
  3. Reboot the computer.
  4. Use the migration software
  5. Open the recycle bin
  6. Select, restore all, and the drivers will be returned to their original locations and your printer will never know they were gone.
E. Enjoy your new machine with all the new technology enhancements and all the "homey knickknack's" from your old computer.


A1. Restores your computer to a previous state.
System Restore automatically tracks changes to your computer at all times and at specific intervals by creating restore points before changes occur. Restore points are stored states of your computer.

You can also manually create restore points to record your computer state and settings before you make changes to your computer. This allows you to restore the computer to a previous state, by choosing a restore point on a date or time prior to when you made the change.

For example, if you accidentally delete monitored program files (such as files that have the .exe or DLL file name extensions), or monitored program files become corrupted, you can restore your computer to a state that existed before those changes occurred.

By default, System Restore monitors and restores all partitions and drives on your computer. It also monitors all installations of applications or drivers that users perform through delivery mechanisms such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, Systems Management Server (SMS), or IntelliMirror.

In some rare instances, during the restoration process System Restore restores a folder that has the same name as an existing folder. To avoid writing over the existing file, System Restore renames the folder by adding a numeric suffix to the name.

A2. Restores your computer without losing your personal files.
System Restore does not cause you to lose your personal files or password. Items like documents, e-mail messages, browsing history, and the last specified password are saved when you revert to an earlier state with System Restore.

System Restore protects your personal files by not restoring any files in the My Documents folder. It also does not restore any files that use common data file name extensions, such as .doc or .xls. If you're not sure whether your personal files use common data file name extensions, and you do not want the data files to be affected by System Restore, save them in the My Documents folder.

If a program was installed after the restore point that you are restoring to was created, the program might be uninstalled as part of the restoration process. Data files that are created with the program are not lost. However, in order to open the files again, you must reinstall the associated program.

A3. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

A4. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

A5. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

A6. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

A7. Restores your computer to a previous state.
System Restore automatically tracks changes to your computer at all times and at specific intervals by creating restore points before changes occur. Restore points are stored states of your computer.

You can also manually create restore points to record your computer state and settings before you make changes to your computer. This allows you to restore the computer to a previous state, by choosing a restore point on a date or time prior to when you made the change.

For example, if you accidentally delete monitored program files (such as files that have the .exe or DLL file name extensions), or monitored program files become corrupted, you can restore your computer to a state that existed before those changes occurred.

By default, System Restore monitors and restores all partitions and drives on your computer. It also monitors all installations of applications or drivers that users perform through delivery mechanisms such as CD-ROM, floppy disk, Systems Management Server (SMS), or IntelliMirror.

In some rare instances, during the restoration process System Restore restores a folder that has the same name as an existing folder. To avoid writing over the existing file, System Restore renames the folder by adding a numeric suffix to the name.

A8. Restores your computer without losing your personal files.
System Restore does not cause you to lose your personal files or password. Items like documents, e-mail messages, browsing history, and the last specified password are saved when you revert to an earlier state with System Restore.

System Restore protects your personal files by not restoring any files in the My Documents folder. It also does not restore any files that use common data file name extensions, such as .doc or .xls. If you're not sure whether your personal files use common data file name extensions, and you do not want the data files to be affected by System Restore, save them in the My Documents folder.

If a program was installed after the restore point that you are restoring to was created, the program might be uninstalled as part of the restoration process. Data files that are created with the program are not lost. However, in order to open the files again, you must reinstall the associated program.

A9. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

A10. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

A11. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.

A12. Locates dates associated with restore points.
When you run System Restore, a calendar is displayed to help you find dates associated with restore points. If you don't use your computer every day, some days might not have any restore points. If you use your computer frequently, you might have restore points almost every day, and some days might have several restore points.