Using System Restore
Once the initial backing up of your data and programs is done, and if you are not going to reformat and reinstall Windows XP, you need to create a new System Restore point as an additional safeguard before doing any tweaking. Using System Restore means that even if you make a large number of changes you can undo these changes using System Restore.
It is strongly recommended that you create a new Restore Point prior to implementing any major tweak or system change at any time by following these steps:
1. Go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools and launch System Restore, or open MSConfig by click on Start>Run>MSConfig, and click the Launch System Restore button.
2. In the System Restore Wizard, click Create a Restore Point and follow the prompts to save your system state in a new restore point.
3. At any time, if you wish to return your computer to the state it was in when you created a particular Restore Point, follow step 1 above to get to the System Restore Wizard. Then click Restore my computer to an earlier time, and select the date on which you created the restore point you wish to return to.
Note if System Restore is enabled, Windows automatically makes restore points under certain circumstances, such as during the installation of drivers, or prior to installation of certain applications. This gives you additional protection against catastrophic changes on your system. However a restore point is not a guarantee that you can just go back to the way things were. In some cases trying to undo a change by going back to a recent restore point won’t work, so only use System Restore as an additional layer of protection and you should always make backups of your important information often, regardless of whether you use System Restore or not.
If your system is currently stable and problem free, and you have made a recent restore point, you can clean out all older restore points except for the latest one by using the Disk Cleanup utility. This frees up a great deal of hard drive space. Finally, note that System Restore will not function if you’ve disabled the System Restore service.