Does System Restore affect your documents/photos/etc ?

[catalogue]

Having used System Restore dozens of times for many years I just noticed conflicting information in Win 7 on whether it affects your files. It says:

"System Restore does not affect any of your documents, pictures or other personal data."

But you see the total opposite under System Protection > Configure where the choices are:

"- Restore system settings and previous versions of files
- Only restore previous version of files
- Turn off system protection"
​

I thought the whole point was that it restores the state of the OS and installed programs and does not affect your own files, that is, your photos and MS Office documents and so forth but now I'm confused. I don't understand why Configure doesn't have an option for "Restore system settings and DON'T restore previous of files".

It really all depends on what they mean by "files". Isn't everything in the computer a file? - program files, settings, your own documents and photos and music.

 

[LMiller7]

System Restore does not effect user files.

The wording in the dialog in the second image is not as clear as it should be. It does not configure what will be restored with System Restore, only what files are backed up and thus which ones can be restored. The first option states that both system and user files can be restored. The second states that only user files can be restored. As has been the case since XP, System Restore only effects system and executable application files. User files are restored from the "Previous versions" tab of the files and folders properties dialog. This allows restoring individual files and specific versions if such are available.

 

[catalogue]

The first option states that both system and user files can be restored. The second states that only user files can be restored. As has been the case since XP, System Restore only effects system and executable application files. User files are restored from the "Previous versions" tab of the files and folders properties dialog.

Thanks, I had no idea that Previous Version tab existed. But then what does "system settings" mean? Isn't system settings what normal System Restore deals with i.e. when you restore the whole system to a given restore point? So I don't get what unchecking it does.