There is another way of restoring pfSense, without even having to save an XML file. From the console/SSH, menu item 15 is Restore recent configuration. The options for the command are as follows:

• List backups: Lists the last 30 backups, with backup #30 being the most recent
• Restore backup: Restores one of these 30 backups
• Quit: Returns to the main menu

This can be useful if you need a quick and dirty way to roll back a system. If you need to restore a system to factory defaults, you can select menu item 4.