If you are thinking of installing an application but aren’t quite sure what it’s going to do to your computer, I would absolutely recommend creating a restore point before you install that application, and here are the steps to do so. Note that most application installs automatically create a restore point, but you can do this if you are really worried.

Open up the Start Menu and right-click on “Computer”, and then select “Properties”.

This will take you into the System area of Control Panel. Click on the “System Protection” link on the left hand side.

Now select the “System Protection” tab to get to the System Restore section.

Click the “Create” button to create a new restore point. You’ll be prompted for a name, and you might want to give it a useful name that you’ll be able to easily identify later.

Click the Create button, and then the system will create the restore point.

When it’s all finished, you’ll get a message saying it’s completed successfully.

Now if your application blows up Windows, you can restore your computer using System Restore.

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Lowell is the founder and CEO of How-To Geek. He’s been running the show since creating the site back in 2006. Over the last decade, Lowell has personally written more than 1000 articles which have been viewed by over 250 million people. Prior to starting How-To Geek, Lowell spent 15 years working in IT doing consulting, cybersecurity, database management, and programming work.
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