Creating the recovery media
1. Select Start and type recovery in the search eld. Select HP Recovery Manager from the list. Allow 
the action to continue, if prompted.
2. Click Recovery Media Creation.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to continue.
To recover, see Recovering the original system using HP Recovery Manager on page 80.
Creating system restore points
A system restore point is a snapshot of certain hard drive contents saved by Windows System Restore at a 
specic time. A restore point contains information such as registry settings that Windows uses. Restoring to a 
previous restore point allows you to reverse changes that have been made to the system since the restore 
point was created.
Restoring to an earlier system restore point does not aect data les saved or emails created since the last 
restore point, but it does aect software you may have installed.
For example, if you download a photo from a digital camera and then restore the computer to the state it was 
on the previous day, the photo remains on the computer.
However, if you install photo viewing software and then restore your computer to the state it was on the 
previous day, the software will be uninstalled, and you won't be able to use it.
What you need to know
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If you restore to a restore point and then change your mind, you can undo the restoration.
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You should create system restore points:
◦
Before you add or change software or hardware
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Periodically, whenever the computer is running normally
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System Restore also saves shadow copies of les that have been changed since the last restore point 
was created. For more information about using shadow copies to restore, see Help and Support.
Creating a system restore point
1. Select Start > Control Panel > System and Security > System.
2. In the left pane, click System Protection.
3. Click the System Protection tab.
4. Click Create, and follow the on-screen instructions.
To restore, see Restoring to a previous system restore point on page 80.
Backing up system and personal information
Your computer stores information that is important to you, such as les, emails, and photos, and you will 
want to keep that information even if you download a virus or the system stops working properly. How 
completely you are able to recover your les depends on how recent your backup is. As you add new software 
and data les, you should create backups on a regular basis.
78 Chapter 10   Backing up, restoring, and recovering in Windows 7