When you restore your PC to an earlier restore point, any apps you installed after that point will get uninstalled. Apps that were installed when that restore point was created will still be in place. Apps that you uninstalled after making that restore point will get restored, but with a very big caveat. Since System Restore only restores certain types of files, programs that get restored often won't work --- or at least, work properly until you re-run their installers.

If you use System Restore from the System Recovery Options menu, you cannot undo the restore operation. However, you can run System Restore again and choose a different restore point, if one exists. a b "System Restore: Monitored File Name Extensions". Archived from the original on September 10, 2016 . Retrieved May 4, 2017. When software is installed using Windows Installer or other installers that are aware of System Restore [10] Select Recovery> Configure System Restore> Configure and see if the Turn on system protection option is selected.

There are times when an action you’ve taken – such as mistakenly changing a Registry entry – will mean your computer can’t boot into Windows. But, fear not: you can still use System Restore to set things right. If your computer's system is severely damaged and you can't access the System Recovery Options menu on your computer, you can access it using the Windows 7 installation disc or a USB flash drive, or using a system repair disc if you created one earlier. The Registry Keys and Values for the System Restore Utility". Archived from the original on October 31, 2009 . Retrieved November 5, 2009. If your computer has more than one operating system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to repair, and then press and hold F8. Monitoring the System". MSDN. Microsoft. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012 . Retrieved May 10, 2014.

To restore from a system restore point, select Advanced Options > System Restore. This won't affect your personal files, but it will remove recently installed apps, drivers, and updates that might be causing your PC problems.

If you're having trouble starting (booting) your PC, see Windows Startup Settings (including safe mode), and go to the “Get to Windows Startup Settings in the Windows Recovery Environment” section. You can refresh, reset, or restore your PC from the Windows Recovery Environment. Press Windows logo key + L to get to the sign-in screen, and then restart your PC by pressing the Shift key while you select the Power button > Restart . Starting with Windows Vista, System Restore takes a snapshot of all volumes it is monitoring. However, on Windows XP, it only monitors the following: [7] [8] FAT32 volume support – On Windows Vista and later, System Restore no longer works on FAT32 disks and cannot be enabled on disks smaller than 1GB. [14]