A computer-implemented method includes receiving a restore command to restore a vehicle computing system (VCS) system state. The method further includes restoring a base system state to a known, functional state and obtaining a list of applications previously installed on the VCS. The method also includes for each application previously installed on the VCS, finding a version of the application compatible with the restored base system state. Also, the method includes installing the version of each application compatible with the restored base system state.