System restore disc, not what you think it is

Most people have these discs labeled "System Restore Disc". It came with their new pc so it must be safe right? Wrong! It's not what you think it is. I had a friend during the week find out the hard way. The most common sequence is this: problem with pc, reboot several times, still not working, look through stuff that came with pc, find "system restore disc" which claims to recover you system.

*note - recovering your system does not necessarily recover your personal files, just your system files (ie. Windows)

pop the disc into their pc, get a nice warm fuzzy feeling thinking they've solved the problem themselves and again forget about buying a cute MacBook, then realize that none of their files are on the pc, call nearest computer nerd to fix their problem. Nerd explains that they are a moron and all data is lost. Denial sets in, then acceptance, then anger, then sadness.

Lesson learned? A "System Restore Disc" will return your pc back to factory settings, without your data, without your photos, or music, without any of your documents, or even that presentation you were working on and need for work the next day.

"System Restore Disc" = bad for your data