Every 10 hours if your PC is left on continuously. Otherwise every 24 hours by the calendar. This doesn't necessarily mean every day. For example, a Restore Point is created at 1:00 PM. You turn your PC off and back on again at 10:AM the next day but off again at 12:00 PM. No Restore Point was created that morning because it was scheduled for 1:00 PM. However, the next time you turn on the PC past 1:00 PM it will create one at startup.
How often should I a Restore Point?
We create them nearly every day but it depends of any changes you're making. If you're ready to try a new program it would be advisable to create a Point before installing it in case the program is defective, causes problems or you just don't like it. Other times could be cleaning out junk files, installing new hardware or any change that could possibly cause a problem.
Can I restore a Point from 2 weeks ago?
Yes but keep in mind you may lose other programs and/or files you have installed since that time.
Is Windows Millennium System Restore the same as XP?
There are similar however not quite the same and XP works much better. Most of the instructions in this tutorial can also apply to Millennium.
How can I protect files I don't want changed during a System Restore?
Copy or move them into My Documents. System Restore ignores that directory and it's sub directories.
How low can I adjust the disk space usage?
It would depend on the size of your hard drive but I recommend 5%. In any case System Restore needs a minimum of 200 Megabytes to operate properly.
When looking at past Restore Points I see the words System Checkpoint. What does this mean?
This is what Windows names the Restore Points it creates along with the date and time.
What if I can get Windows started to get to System Restore?
When your computer first starts to boot up right after it shows the drives installed press and hold the F8 key. This will show you the Boot menu with restore options.
Use the arrow keys to highlight "Last Known Good Configuration" (your most recent settings that worked) and press Enter.