How do you do a System Restore in Windows 8?

System Restore in Windows 8 is accessed from the Control Panel or by opening the System Restore utility from a search query on the Start menu. System Restore alters your registry settings but does not affect your saved data. Not all problems can be fixed with System Restore.

1. Open Control Panel

   Move the mouse cursor to the right edge of the screen, and click on the Settings option at the bottom of the menu. Click Control Panel, and a separate window opens.

2. Navigate to System Restore

   From Control Panel, click System and Security, then System. Then, click System Protection from the left-hand menu. The System Restore button appears in the System Properties menu.

3. Pick a restore point

   After going through the restore wizard, pick from a list of available restore points. The computer usually creates a restore point after a system update or after installing programs. However, you can create them yourself. Choose a date from the list.

4. Save other work before continuing

   Press Alt and Tab to get to other windows quickly, and save any open work. The computer restarts as part of the restore process and deletes work currently in RAM.

5. Continue through the System Restore wizard

   Click Next from the restore-point menu, confirm your choice and confirm that you want to initiate the restore. The computer restarts one or several times; this is a normal process and does not need to be interrupted. Doing so could corrupt data.