to restore
Loading your saved state.
to restore
To return something to its original, former, or good condition. This can refer to buildings, works of art, or health.
Das alte Schloss wurde aufwendig restauriert und in seinem alten Glanz wiederhergestellt.
The old castle was elaborately restored and returned to its former glory.
to restore
To establish a state such as order, peace, or a relationship again after it has been interrupted or destroyed.
Nach dem Streit war es schwer, das Vertrauen wiederherzustellen.
After the argument, it was hard to restore trust.
to restore
In information technology, to restore data or a system from a backup to an earlier state.
Nach dem Festplattencrash konnte ich zum Glück alle meine Dateien aus dem Backup wiederherstellen.
After the hard drive crash, I was fortunately able to restore all my files from the backup.
'Wiederherstellen' (to restore) is a separable verb. The prefix 'wieder-' comes at the end of a main clause. In subordinate clauses and in the infinitive, the verb stays together.
Der Techniker stellt die Daten wieder her.
The technician restores the data.
The prefix 'wieder-' is stressed here: 'WIEDERherstellen'. The stress signals separability and the meaning 'back to an earlier state.' This helps distinguish it from inseparable verbs such as 'wiederholen' (to repeat, to do something again).
Die Stadt will die historische Altstadt wiederherstellen.
The city wants to restore the historic old town.
In this meaning, the verb is often used with concrete, physical objects. Typical objects are: 'ein Gebäude' (a building), 'ein Gemälde' (a painting), 'ein Möbelstück' (a piece of furniture), or 'den Originalzustand' (the original condition).
Die Experten haben das alte Wandgemälde sorgfältig wiederhergestellt.
The experts carefully restored the old wall painting.
When abstract states are involved, the objects are often intangible. Common combinations are: 'die Ordnung' (order), 'den Frieden' (peace), 'das Vertrauen' (trust), or 'die Gesundheit' (health) wiederherstellen (to restore).
Nach dem langen Stromausfall wurde die öffentliche Ordnung schnell wiederhergestellt.
After the long power outage, public order was quickly restored.
In the field of information technology, this verb is very common. You can restore 'Dateien' (files), 'Daten' (data), 'ein Passwort' (a password), or 'ein ganzes System' (an entire system), often 'aus einem Backup' (from a backup).
Keine Sorge, ich kann die gelöschte Datei wiederherstellen.
Don't worry, I can restore the deleted file.
to save / rescue
Both verbs can work for damaged files. „Retten“ emphasizes recovering data from a crisis, even if not everything can be preserved; „wiederherstellen“, by contrast, emphasizes restoring an earlier version of the data from a backup. „Retten“ fits when the aim is to save as much data as possible, while „wiederherstellen“ fits when a backup is involved.
Der Techniker konnte die gelöschten Fotos aus dem Backup wiederherstellen.
The technician was able to restore the deleted photos from the backup.
Der Techniker konnte viele Fotos von der beschädigten Festplatte retten.
The technician was able to recover many photos from the damaged hard drive.
