What does Windows System Restore exactly back up and restore?
Restored:
- Registry (note: some current values will persist)
- Profiles (local only—roaming user profiles not impacted by restore)
- COM+ DB
- WFP.dll cache
- WMI DB
- IIS Metabase
- Files with extensions listed in the Monitored File Extensions list
Not Restored:
- DRM settings
- SAM hives (does not restore passwords)
- WPA settings (Windows authentication information is not restored)
- Contents of the My Documents folder(s)
- Specific directories/files listed in the Monitored File Extensions list
- Any file with an extension not listed in the Monitored File Extensions list
- Items listed in both
Filesnottobackup
and KeysnottoRestore
(HKLM->System->ControlSet001->Control->BackupRestore->Filesnottobackup and keysnottorestore
)
- User-created data stored in the user profile
- Contents of redirected folders