Windows 7: No system restore points after Windows wouldn't start

I got message in Word that there was insufficienmt memory to perform an operation so I rebooted. My PC wouldn't reboot and there was no last known good configuration so I ended up having to reinstall windows (had only installed it a month ago) Why should there have been no restore pointsa? Doesn't it automatically set them?

My usual disclaimer: I'm not an expert at anything.

It's my understanding that System Restore and Last Known Good Configuration (LKGC) are not the same thing. LKGC concentrates only on the system configuration and drivers whereas System Restore monitors all system folders including the desktop and is a snapshot of the last time that the computer booted successfully. In other words, System Restore saves more data than LKGC and they are independent of each other (although they do save some of the same data.) By rebooting it's possible that a working LKGC was overwritten. This is an older article but it gives a bit more info about the differences between System Restore and LKGC.

CyberNotes: System Restore vs. Last Known Good Configuration

To make sure that your computer creates restore points, these articles may help:

Restore Points (Windows)

System Restore - Enable or Disable

windows 7 is not saving restore points, can you save them manually to - Microsoft Community