Q I read with interest the article about fine-tuning my PC, but you lost me on the subject of restore points. Please could you tell me how to set a restore point before installing or removing software?
Austen Cromwell

A The System Restore tool (part of Windows ME, XP and Vista) is located in the Accessories folder of the Start menu - click Start, then All Programs, Accessories, System Tools and System Restore (in Vista, it’s easier to click Start and type the words System Restore - when the icon appears, click it).

If you see a message saying that System Restore has been turned off, click Yes to turn it on, and in the dialogue box that appears untick the box marked ‘Turn off System Restore’, then press OK. You’ll need to start System Restore again using the icon in the Start menu as above.

You’ll then see the main System Restore dialogue box, with two options, to create a restore point or restore one. Click Create, then Next, and follow the instructions. This saves the state of the PC at that point.

If you install something or make a change and there’s a problem, open System Restore again, then choose Restore, and follow the instructions. When prompted, choose a restore point that was created before you made the change, and the computer will attempt to restore its own settings to how they were at that point.