System Restore may be one of the most underrated features Microsoft ever developed.  While I use it rarely (a good thing in my estimation),  it is a complete lifesaver when I do call upon it.  Sadly, I often forget that just a few years ago,  before the advent of Windows XP, such a thing did not exist. 

System Restore is so effective that it often makes old fashioned troubleshooting a waste of time.  If there is a system checkpoint from last night at midnight when I know the system was performing well, why should I try to track down the exact system file that is corrupt? 

Yesterday I had a few issues with Windows 7 RC.  A late night update for IE8 had somehow compromised my system, corrupting the installation of quite a few applications, including: Google Chrome, Live Mesh, uTorrent, etc. 

I first embarked down the path of reviewing logs.  I found that an update was installed. I then found myself attempting reinstalls of the software that was no longer functioning.  

I was about 10 minutes into this process when it hit me:  System Restore!

Less than ten minutes later my system was completely back to normal.  I’m not sure why the update caused such undesirable behavior, but the good news is that I have the option not to think about if  I prefer. 

I suggest that we each stop a moment and reflect upon how many times System Restore has saved us from endless troubleshooting and allowed us to get back to work.