How to Turn Off System Restore in Microsoft Windows in Windows XP

One of the unavoidable truths about Microsoft Windows XP is that it is constantly performing tasks in the background that take resources away from your applications and slow down system performance. One such application is System Restore, whose purpose is to constantly run in the background and back up selected files. Most people never use this feature, so there is little point in letting it run. To turn off System Restore, follow the method below.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Locate the “My Computer” icon. If it does not appear on the desktop, click on the “Start” menu. In most cases, it will be in the upper left portion of the “Start” menu.

2. Right click on “My Computer.”

3. 

   Click on “Properties” on the context menu that appears.

4. 

   Open the “System Restore” tab. It will be the top left tab.

5. 

   Check the check box that appears in the upper portion of this window to turn off System Restore.

6. Click “OK” to finalize the change.

7. Restart the computer when it pops up a message asking to.

Tips & Warnings

• There is a shortcut to step 4. Hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and hit the “Pause/Break” key at the top left.

[lwitkop]

on 1/13/2009 Sounds like a good thing to know.

[sunshine11219]

on 1/13/2009 good microsoft article

[hollie1974]

on 1/13/2009 TY! Great article!

[miacarter]

on 1/12/2009 Good to know! 5*