How to restore an old version of Windows. Restoring your computer to its previous settings

Twitter

The File History utility in Windows gets its name from its ability to restore older versions of a file. This feature is part of all backup programs, although it is often called "Restore". Although the idea is the same: you remove the old version of the file from the backup archive. The File History feature simplifies this process and working with files in general.

In order to return the old version of a file from a backup disk, you need to follow these steps.

If you need to replace the current version with a new one: select "Restore" and then "Replace file in target application." The current file is replaced with the backup copy.
In order to save both the current version and the restored backup, you must click “Restore” and select “Restore to”. Select the target folder for the recovered file.
To view an archived copy: Click Open. The file has not been recovered, but you can view its contents to see if it contains the information you need.

4. Then click close Properties window when done. If there are no previous versions, you will see the message "There are no previous versions available after step 2. This means that the file is new and was not copied, that the file has not changed, or that a backup copy of this file does not exist. The File History utility is not a replacement for recovering a file from the Recycle Bin; if you delete a file, you need to restore it from the Recycle Bin.

File History only works with files in the folders you selected when setting up the utility.

Video: How to recover an unsaved or damaged Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint document

How to restore Windows7 using the Windows.old folder. (step-by-step instruction).

It often happens that after a forced reinstallation of the system or some, often unconscious, manipulations, all information and all programs that are installed on the drive (C:) disappear without a trace. But not everyone knows that they do not disappear without a trace.

The whole point is that in Windows7, even after reinstalling Windows, the previous version is reserved in the folder Windows. old. This folder is located on drive C: and in itself is not functional, cannot be active, that is, the system boots from the Windows folder, but files, packs and programs of the previous operating system remain in Windows. old . So how can you restore the system from this folder?

Before starting the recovery, find out whether there is a Windows.old folder on the drive (C:) and whether there is enough free space on your hard drive to install the operating system.

Next, we carry out everything, strictly following this manual.

Click Start, and then select Computer;
In the View submenu, select Details.
In the “Free Space” column, carefully examine your local drive (C:) in the “hard drives” area.
Double-click in the hard drive area, local drive (C:), and then check to see if the Windows.old folder has been deleted (many people delete it after installing the system so as not to clog up the hard drive).
If the Windows.old folder is not available, then you should not perform further actions, as they will be meaningless.
Next, right-click on the Windows.old folder. We look at the properties of the folder and make sure that it is smaller in size than the amount of free space on the disk (C:).
Note. If the Windows.old folder is at least twice the amount of free space located on the local disk (C:), then it will not be possible to restore the previous version of Windows.
Next, launch the Windows Recovery Environment.
Insert the Windows 7 installation disc into the DVD drive and give the command to restart the computer.
When the message “” appears, select everything that you will need in the further operation of the system, namely: currency, time, language, but all this can be configured in the installed system. After all this, click the “Next” button.
In the “Windows Installation” window that appears, click the “ Restore your computer».
In the “” window that appears, select the version of the operating system that you want to restore, namely Windows7. After all this, click the “Next” button.
Next in the window that appears “ System Recovery Options"Open the command line, namely, select the command " Command line».
After all these manipulations, a command line window will open. Next, on the command line, you will enter the commands that are described below. The following steps are intended to move the Windows7 folders to a new Win7 folder.

Note. When you enter one or more commands at the command prompt and press ENTER, the following message may appear:

"The system cannot find the file specified."

If such a message appears, then follow these steps, proceed to the next step in this section, and enter the command at the command prompt.

Important! After each command, press the "ENTER" key.

And so, we enter:

Move Windows Win7Windows

Move "Program Files" "Win7Program Files"

Move Users Win7Users

Attrib -h -s -r ProgramData

Move ProgramData Win7ProgramData

Rd "Documents and Settings"

Important! We observe all separating marks and spaces in the strictest order with the sample.

In the next step, we move the entire contents of the folder " Windows.old ».

Note. When you enter one or several commands in the command line and press the “ENTER” key, the following message may appear: "The system cannot find the file specified".

If this happens, then enter the following commands on the command line.

Important! After each command, press the “ENTER” key, and also do not forget to observe punctuation marks.

Enter the following commands:

move /y c:Windows.oldWindows c:

move /y "c:Windows.oldProgram Files" c:

move /y c:Windows.oldProgramData c:

move /y c:Windows.oldUsers c:

move /y "c:Windows.oldDocuments and Settings" c:

In the following commands (D:) represents the DVD drive. If the DVD drive on your computer is designated by a different letter, then use that letter in the command.

Type the following command and press ENTER if the previous operating system was Windows, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows 2000.

D:ootootsect/nt52 c:

If the previous Windows operating system was Windows Vista, then enter the following:

Type the following commands and press ENTER after each command:

Attrib -h -s -r boot.ini.saved

Copy boot.ini.saved boot.ini

After all these steps, close the command prompt window, and then restart your computer.

After rebooting, enter the following command at the command prompt and press ENTER:

In this article, I will tell you about a way to automatically save the latest changes to your files in Windows 7 once a day, in case you accidentally delete some necessary document or, for example, change it and save it without leaving an old copy. This method consists of saving previous versions of files using the built-in function in Windows “System Protection”, i.e. by creating restore checkpoints.

When deleting files from a computer, the “Recycle Bin” usually comes to the rescue, in which the file is placed before final deletion. From there, you can always restore the file and continue working with it. However, there are several nuances here:

Firstly, the volume of the recycle bin is limited (it is configured by the user himself) and some large files will not always be deleted immediately, past the recycle bin.

Secondly, the recycle bin can be emptied as a result of careless work in some system optimization programs, or you can empty the recycle bin yourself and then remember that there was something important there :)

Thirdly, in Windows the Recycle Bin sometimes glitches and when you open it, sometimes you may not see any files, although they actually are there.

Therefore, you definitely shouldn’t rely completely on the Recycle Bin in the sense that it will save all your files from accidental deletion... Well, in the end, the Recycle Bin will not save your file in any way if you accidentally changed it, then saved it and after some time, you suddenly need an original copy of the same file (for example, if the changes you made were incorrect and you need to take the original file and start over). After saving a file, there is no way to return its standard copy.

To have additional protection for your files from loss or unwanted, unnecessary changes, in Windows 7 you can use the System Protection feature. This feature is part of a tool to restore the system to a previous state. Windows has a special program that constantly monitors the state of the system, monitors its changes and saves important changes in the form of recovery checkpoints. Thanks to these restore points, Windows can be restored to one of the previous states, for example, the last day, week, month (depending on which restore points were created).

More information on how to restore Windows to a previous state is described in a separate article.

Windows 8 and 10 have a simple and convenient “Backup Service” function for setting up a full backup of your selected files and folders to another hard drive at a specified time. This has been discussed.

In addition to the fact that the system protection function monitors system parameters and writes changes to special recovery checkpoints, it can also monitor changes to files that are also written to checkpoints, which then allows us to view the history of each file.

There is an important point. You can see previous changes only if you created a restore point in Windows before those changes. For example, you deleted a file from your desktop and a restore checkpoint was created up to this point. This means that you can then look at previous versions of the files in the desktop folder and see the file you deleted there. If a recovery point was not created before deleting the file, then you will not be able to restore it.

The same applies to changes in files. For example, you made some change to a file, saved it and then wanted to restore the original version of this file. This can only be done if a recovery checkpoint was created before the changes were made. Those. you will get 2 versions of your file: the one that was saved when creating the checkpoint and the file you modified.

The function of saving previous versions of files is not a full-fledged backup, since firstly, checkpoints will be created on the same disk where you store the original files. This means that if your hard drive suddenly fails, you will lose your files along with their saved previous versions. Secondly, if the system fails, you can restore previous versions of your files only by restoring the system to a working state!

Setting up saving of previous versions of files

To enable saving of previous versions of files, you need to go to the “System Protection” section.

This function can be quickly opened through Windows search by typing “Create a restore point” there. In the search results you need to open the found option of the same name:

Read more about how to use search in different versions of Windows.

You can also open the desired section manually by going to Start > Control Panel > System and Security > System > System Protection.

In the “System Protection” window, from the list (1), select the local drive for which you want to enable the ability to save previous versions of files and click “Configure”.

At the top of the window, select one of the options: save both system settings and previous versions of files, or only previous versions of files (1).

In the first case, when creating the next checkpoint, Windows will save not only your files, but also system settings, which will allow you, in the event of any failures due to incorrectly configured parameters, to return the system to the state when these failures did not occur.

Below, using the slider (2), you need to indicate how much space as a percentage of the total space on the selected local disk will be allocated for storing previous versions of files and system settings (if you selected option 1 above).

Remember that if the allocated free space for storing checkpoints runs out, old checkpoints will be deleted.

To save the changes, click “Apply” and “OK”.

If there are several disks, then you will need to separately select each disk from the list and enable saving of previous versions of files!

How can I view previous versions of files?

If you are viewing previous versions of a file, the window will display a list of versions of the selected file, along with dates of modification. To view changes in a file, you need to select it and open it by double-clicking (or using the “Open” button at the bottom). This way you can look at different versions of the file you need and find the one where the changes you need were made.

To restore the selected version of a file, the easiest way is to drag it with the mouse from this window to the desired folder. The file will be restored immediately. If you click "Copy", an explorer will open where you can select a folder to restore the file. And if you click “Restore”, the file will be restored to the same folder where it was previously located, and if the same file (of a different version) is already located in this folder, then it will be replaced by the version that you are restoring.

If you are viewing previous versions of a folder, then the window will, accordingly, display all changes saved in recovery points in this folder.

Likewise, by opening different versions from this window, you can find the one you need and restore it.

How can I change the schedule for creating checkpoints?

By default, checkpoints that save changes to your files are created in Windows 7 every time you turn on your computer and at 0:00 every day.

This means that changes to your files will be saved twice during the specified periods. That is, if your file, for example, is changed during the day and you want to return these changes, then you will not be able to do this, since you initially do not create restore points during the day.

You can always change the schedule for creating restore points to your own. For example, the initially set time of 0:00 may be meaningless for many, because not everyone already uses a computer at this time of day. And if the computer does not work at the specified time, then the checkpoint, accordingly, will not be created.

In order to change the schedule, you need to use the task scheduler program built into Windows.

Open Task Scheduler by typing "Scheduler" in Windows search:

On the left side of the Scheduler window, navigate to Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > SystemRestore.

A task named “SR” will appear in the center of the window. Right-click on it and select “Properties”.

You can view and change the current schedule for creating recovery checkpoints on the Triggers tab (1). It is better to leave the “At startup” task. But you can change the “Daily” task by specifying a different time for creating points. Select "Daily" (2) from the list and click "Edit" (3).

In the settings window that opens, change the time after the word “Start” to one that is convenient for you.

It's best to choose a time when your computer is most likely to be turned on. Click "OK" to save the changes.

You can create a manual restore point at any time, if necessary. To do this, in the already familiar “System Protection” window, you need to click the “Create” button.

And in the window that opens, specify any name for the control point and click “Create” again.

In a few seconds the point will be created!

Using the task scheduler, you can configure any programs to autorun on a schedule, for example, when you turn on the computer. This is discussed in a separate article.

Conclusion

As a result of the manipulations performed, you will have a checkpoint created every day at the time you specified and as a result you will receive a backup copy of your files for every day. However, this method of saving previous versions of your files should not be confused with full-fledged backups, because full backups are always performed on a separate hard drive so that files are not lost even if your main drive fails. In Windows 7, unfortunately, there is no way to configure the quick creation of previous versions of files using scheduled backups to another hard drive. In this Windows, is there only such a simple option with recovery checkpoints, which was described in this article, or the ability to create an archive with the necessary data, which is already a reliable backup method and will be discussed in one of the subsequent articles.

Microsoft will officially launch the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709) starting October 17, 2017. Many users will be able to automatically update the system while saving all personal files, settings, installed programs and drivers.

Many of the changes in the Fall Creators Update are positive and expected by many users. However, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to roll back to a previous build, then Microsoft provides an easy solution to roll back to Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703).

When faced with serious problems, some users will want to return to the previous version of Windows 10, which worked stably and smoothly. After installing the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, all users have 10 days to test the new version and, if desired, revert to version 1703.

How to downgrade to Windows 10 Creators Update

Launch the application Options, go to section Update and Security and select a tab Recovery.
Select an option Go back to the previous version of Windows 10. You will not see this option if you reset your computer to its original state or deleted the folder Windows.old. In most cases, after updating to version 1709, you will see this option within 10 days.

Click the “Get Started” button and follow the onscreen prompts. The restore process may take some time, after which the previous version of Windows 10 will be installed.

Note: This procedure will return the original state of files and installed programs (which was before the update). Do

If you switched to the new Windows 10, but for some reason you didn’t like it, you can roll back to the previous operating system that was previously installed on your computer. You can also roll back Windows 10 to factory settings or to one of the restore points if the system produces an error that you cannot solve in any other way.

Conditions for system rollback

There are two ways to roll back the system - reinstall it or restore it:

the first method will require a license key from you, since the data that you previously had an activated system installed will be lost. When reinstalling, all information stored on the main disk partition will be lost;
The second method is suitable for you if 30 days have not passed since the transition to Windows 10, since during this period the Windows.old folder is saved, which stores all the data necessary to restore the previous installed operating system. After a month has passed from the date of transition to the new operating system, the folder is automatically deleted, and the license from the previous system is finally transferred to Windows. That is, if you had a licensed Windows 7 and spent 30 days on Windows 10, then the tenth version will become licensed, and to install the seventh Windows you will need a new license key.

Rollback before 30 days have passed

There are several ways to restore a previous version of an installed system from the Windows.old folder. First try the standard method and system recovery, but if they do not suit you, then use the second option - through a third-party program.

Standard method

Open PC settings. Open computer settings
Go to the "Update and Security" block.
Open the “Update and Security” section
Select the “Recovery” subsection. Go to the “Recovery” subsection
This subsection should contain the “Return to...” item. The version you can revert to is the same as the one you installed previously. Click on the “Start” button and follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
Click the “Start” button to start rolling back to the previous OS

Through recovery

While at the “Login” step, when you need to select an account, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and select “Reboot”.
Hold down the Shift key and go to reboot
The recovery menu will open, select “Diagnostics”. Go to the “Diagnostics” section
Proceed to select advanced options. Let's move on to additional parameters
Select the “Return to previous build” block.
Select the “Return to previous build” function
Select the proposed option - rollback to the previous installed system.
Choosing where to roll back
Enter a password if you have one.
Enter the password
Read the warning and confirm the action.
Confirm the start of the rollback
Wait for the process to complete; it can last from ten minutes to several hours, depending on the performance of the computer and how many files need to be restored.
We wait until the previous version of the OS is installed

Using a third party program

This method is worth switching to if you have a Windows.old folder with files from the previous system, but the “Return to...” section is not displayed in the computer settings. This happens sometimes, so you can follow these steps to use the files in the folder:

The third-party program is an image of the official application from Microsoft - Rollback Utility. Download this image, which weighs about 200 MB, from the official Microsoft website, and then write it to any free flash drive. You can do this using the built-in functions of Windows 10: right-click on the image, select “Mount” and indicate on which media you want to burn the image.
Select “Mount” to begin the mounting process
Press the Delete key to enter the BIOS
Go to the Boot menu
We put the medium first
Save the changes made to the BIOS and exit it; booting from the flash drive will begin automatically.
Save the settings and exit the BIOS
When the program loads from the flash drive, go to Automated Repair mode.
Select Automated Repair mode
Two systems will appear in the window: active and old. Select the one you want to roll back to and click on the Roll Back button. Instructions will appear on the screen, follow them.
Select the system to which the rollback will be performed

After 30 days have expired

If you no longer have the Windows.old folder, then rolling back without reinstalling the system is impossible. Create installation media from the version of Windows you want to downgrade to by mounting the system image onto a USB flash drive. Boot from the created media and go through the installation process of the desired operating system.

Install the system by uninstalling the previous version

Please note that you will have to uninstall Windows 10, as you need to format the hard drive partition on which the installation will be performed, which means that the license key will need to be entered again. If you want to save the files that you managed to acquire while using Windows 10, then copy them to third-party media, and after the installation is complete, transfer them back to your computer.

System Restore

System recovery is not a rollback to the previous operating system, but to the last restore point. Points can be created manually, but by default they are created automatically. They are needed so that if an unsolvable error occurs in the system, you can roll back all processes and computer settings to the moment when this error did not exist. To use the point, follow these steps:

Launch your computer's Control Panel. Opening the control panel
Go to the "Recovery" section. Find it using the search bar.
Go to the “Recovery” section
Run the recovery program.
Click the “Run System Restore” button
If you have several points, then you can select the one recommended by the system, or any other, by proceeding to manually selecting a point.
Select a recommended or other restore point
Wait until the system performs an automatic recovery. Once the process is complete, you will receive a notification that the system has been restored successfully. Done, now all the settings and parameters of the computer correspond to the properties that it had at the time the restore point was created.
We go through the process of rolling back to a restore point

Video: Applying restore points

Via command line

If your computer does not boot in normal mode, you can put it into safe mode with command line support, and then run the rstrui.exe command at the command prompt. Executing this command will start the recovery process, and all other actions will be the same as the normal recovery described above.

Run the command rstrui.exe to start the recovery

Return to original settings

If your computer settings have been changed for the worse, then you have the opportunity to roll back all settings to default values in a couple of steps:

Go to computer settings by holding down the Win+I keys on your keyboard, or through the search menu. Open the Settings application
Open the "Update and Security" section.
Select the “Update and Security” block
Open the “Recovery” subsection.
Go to the sub-item “Recovery”
Begin the process of returning your computer to its original state by clicking on the “Start” button.
Click on the “Start” button to begin resetting to default settings
You can choose one of two options: remove applications along with settings, but keeping personal files, or remove everything on the computer, leaving a completely clean Windows with an empty hard drive.
Choosing how to reset settings
Having chosen the rollback method, confirm the actions by clicking the “Reset” button. The reset process is performed automatically, wait until it is completed without interrupting the procedure.
Click on the “Reset” button to start the process

Additional method

If the method described above gives you an error or does not allow you to reset settings for some other reason, then you can use a third-party program from Microsoft to achieve the goal:

Reset when the system is frozen

If, due to changes in computer settings, the system no longer starts, and because of this there is no access to computer settings, then you can recover without logging into the system, but for this you will need a recovery disk or bootable USB flash drive:

Recovery using the program

If the system encounters an insurmountable error, then you can restore it to its original state using a bootable USB flash drive and the official application from Microsoft:

Download and run the application from the official Microsoft website designed for installing Windows 10 - Installation Media Creation Tool.
Download the Installation Media Creation Tool program
After launching the application, select the version of the system installed on your computer.
Selecting system image parameters
When choosing an action, check the option “Create an installation flash drive” and go through the creation process to the end.
We indicate that we want to create an installation flash drive
Turn off the computer without removing the flash drive from the port, start the power-on process and as soon as the first signs of power-up appear on the screen, press the Delete button on the keyboard to go to the BIOS settings. The key may differ, which one it will be in your case, depending on the motherboard model. But when the system boots, lines will appear indicating the key to start the BIOS.
Use the Delete key to go to the BIOS
While in the BIOS, go to the Boot section or “Download” in the Russian version.
Open the “Download” menu
Place the flash drive with the recorded image first in the boot queue. This must be done so that when the computer turns on, it starts loading not from the hard drive, but from your flash drive. If you have a newer BIOS version - UEFI, then in the first place you need to put a flash drive whose name begins with UEFI: “Media name”.
Move the flash drive to the first place
Save the changes you made to the BIOS and exit. Loading from the flash drive will start automatically.
Exit the BIOS and save the changes made
When the first installation program window appears, do not start the process; instead, click on the Repair you computer button.
Select the "System Image Restore" option. Done, wait for the system to recover from the installation media you created.
Activate the “System Image Restore” function

What to do if these operations don't work

Rolling back to a previous operating system may not work if your Windows.old folder is damaged or lost. If the folder is unusable, then you have only one option - reinstall the system.

Restore may not work for the following reasons:

The restore point is damaged, use another, earlier point to successfully roll back the system;
if you are trying to recover through a third-party media, make sure that the correct version of the operating system is installed on it, and that it meets all the conditions: it has at least 4 GB of free space, formatted in FAT32 or NTFS format;
if one of the recovery methods suggested above does not work, then try recovering via a bootable USB flash drive, returning the computer to its original state, or resetting the settings to default values.

What can you do if Windows 10 freezes during a rollback?

If you are convinced that the system is frozen - the process does not move for more than twenty minutes, then you need to manually interrupt the process. Press the "Shutdown" button on the computer case for 5-10 seconds until it turns off. If this does not help, then unplug the device and wait until it turns off. Such actions can lead to an error, so resort to them only as a last resort.

After the computer turns off, start turning it on and enter the recovery menu. Typically, the F2 key is used for this, but the button may differ on your motherboard model. Use the prompt that appears on the screen during startup to find the right button. Once you enter the recovery menu, follow the reset and rollback instructions above.

If you were unable to enter the recovery menu, or the process started through this menu also froze, then create installation media and restore the computer using a system image; this method is described in the “Recovery using a program” section. If this does not help, then reinstall the system, while formatting the disk on which you currently have frozen Windows installed.

How to get back after a rollback

If you rolled back to Windows 7 or 8, and then decided to go back to the tenth version of the system, then use the same method as you used before when you switched from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10. Update through the update center or an installation flash drive, creating it using the official program from Microsoft - Installation Media Creation Tool. You can update to the new Windows as much as you like, and then roll back to the old system, for example, using the Windows.old folder, and then update again to the tenth version of the system.

Updating to Windows 10

The transition between versions of Windows can be done either by updating, moving from the old system to the new one, or by rolling back, moving from the new system to the old one. To restore full operation of the system, it is not necessary to switch from one version to another; it is enough to reset the settings or restore parameters to default values using built-in functions or bootable media.