System Restore Point in Windows 10: How-To Guide

Learn how to create and use System Restore Points effectively in Windows 10 with this comprehensive guide. Whether you’re facing system errors, software conflicts, or other issues, having a restore point can be a lifesaver. This tutorial covers everything you need to know about creating, using, and managing System Restore Points in Windows 10. Dive deep into step-by-step instructions and essential tips for ensuring system stability and recovery.

By default, Windows creates a new restore point when some changes are made to the computer, a driver or an application is installed etc.

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How to Create or Delete Restore Point on Windows 10. Restoring Computer To an Earlier Date 📝🔄💻

How to Create or Delete Restore Point on Windows 10. Restoring Computer To an Earlier Date 📝🔄💻

Working With Windows 10 Restore Points

How to Create a Computer Restore Point Windows 10

Create a Restore Point Manually

  1. Open Control Panel and go to Recovery / Configure System Restore.

    Configure System Restore Windows 10

  2. Click Create in the System Properties window that opens.

    System Properties Windows 10

  3. Add a description in the following window to identify the restore point. The current date and time of creating a restore point are added automatically.

    Create a restore point Windows 10

  4. Click Create and wait for the process of creating system restore point to be over.

    System Properties Windows 10
    System Protection Windows 10

Adjust Automatic Creation of System Restore Points

System Restore Point in Windows 10: How-To Guide
  1. Start Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Task Scheduler.
  2. In the left window, select Task Scheduler Library / Microsoft / Windows / System Restore.
  3. Right-click on SR file in the upper window in the middle of the screen and select Properties.
  4. Select the Triggers tab in the window that opens.
  5. Click Create and set the required time parameters to create a restore point.
Parameters time recovery point creation Windows 10

How to Delete a Windows 10 Restore Point

The operating system saves restore points Windows 10 onto the hard disk. A certain part of its volume is allocated for this purpose; older restore points are deleted to make room for new ones as the free space in this area grows less.

The following functions are available for working with restore points:

Deleting All Restore Points But The Latest

  1. Right-click on the disk where restore points are saved and select Properties / General / Disk Cleanup.
  2. Wait until the disk cleanup preparation process is complete. Click “Clean Up System Files” and wait until the disk cleanup preparation process is complete again.

  3. Click Disk Cleanup, and then in the tab More Options, select System Restore and Shadow Copies.

    Delete a Windows 10 restore point

Deleting All Restore Points Including The Latest

  1. Open Control Panel / System Properties / System Protection.

  2. Select Configure in the System Protection tab (in the window System Properties).

    System Properties Windows 10

  3. Click Delete next to «Delete all restore points for this drive».

    Delete all restore points for this drive Windows 10

How to Recover The Windows 10 From a Restore Point

Attention: recovering your Windows 10 from a restore point affects only system and software settings of the operating system. Using the restore point will delete all programs that have been installed after such restore point was created, but it will not recover files deleted previously.

To recover Windows from a restore point do the following:

  1. Open Control Panel / Recovery / Open System Restore and click Next.

    Open System Restore Windows 10

  2. Select a restore point from the list and click Next.

    Manager restore points Windows 10

  3. Confirm that you want to start system restore from the restore point and the process will start.

    Confirm restore Windows 10 from System Restore Point

Where Are Restore Point Files Kept?

You can see all available restore points in Control Panel / Recovery / Open System Restore.

Open System Restore Windows 10

Physically, the system restore point files are located in the root directory of your system drive (as a rule, it is C:), in the folder System Volume Information. However, by default users don’t have access to this folder. To go to this directory, you should first make it visible, and then get special rights.

To do it:

  1. Open Control Panel / Recovery / File Explorer Options / Folder Views.

    File Explorer Options Windows 10

  2. Uncheck the box next to «Hide protected operating system files» and click Apply. As you do it, the folder System Volume Information will appear in the root directory of disk C:, but access will be denied.

    Location is not available

    To get access to the folder System Volume Information do the following:

    1. Right-click on the folder and select Properties / Security / Advanced.

      Advanced Security Settings for System Volume Information

    2. Click Continue to get access permission to Windows system folder which contains system restore point files.

      Rights to access the folder System Volume Information Windows 10

    3. Click Add and enter the name of the user which should be granted access rights. Click OK.

      Name of the user which should be granted access rights Windows 10

    4. Check the box in Basic permissions next to «Full control» and click OK.

      General authorizations Windows 10

      Now your user account appears in the Permissions list and you have access to the folder System Volume Information.

Content System Volume Information Windows 10

Files and folders in this location cannot be deleted manually because they are protected by the system. If you want to clean up the directory System Volume Information, use standard tools allowing you to delete Windows restore points.

A System Restore Point Won’t Generate. What Should I Do?

Check the status of the Windows service «Volume Shadow Copy». To do it, here is the way:

  • Open Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Services.
  • Find the service «Volume Shadow Copy».
  • Start or activate it; set its startup type as «Automatic» if necessary.
Services Windows 10

System restore points may not be created on a computer where two operating systems are installed, or when the operating system is damaged by malware or viruses.

How to Recover The Windows 10 From a Restore Point Using The Command Prompt

If there are problems with starting your Windows 10 in the ordinary mode, you can bring your system back to normal by launching a restore point from the Command Prompt.

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How to Boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode (All Methods) 👨‍💻⚙️🛠️

How to Boot Windows 10 in Safe Mode (All Methods) 👨‍💻⚙️🛠️

To do it:

  1. Load Windows in «Safe Mode with Command Prompt»: while the operating system is loading, press F8 and select the corresponding line in Windows Advanced Options Menu.

    Advanced Options Menu Windows 10
  2. Type rstrui.exe in the command prompt and the System Restore windows will open.

  3. Select the necessary restore point and click Next.

    System Restore Windows 10
  4. Complete the restoration process by following the wizard instructions.

How to Recover Restore Points Which Have Been Deleted?

The operating system saves restore points Windows 10 onto the hard disk. A certain part of its volume is allocated for this purpose; older restore points are deleted to make room for new ones as the free space in this area grows less.

Restore points can also be deleted manually – see above to learn more about it.

A program to recover deleted files Windows 10

Often, recovering Windows results in loss of important files. Restoring Windows with a restore point, rollback to a previous version of the operating system, resetting the computer, errors in backup software, damaged or overwritten system files, file system errors or HDD bad sectors are only some of the things to cause deletion of data.

Windows recovery will restore operability of the operating system but it can result in loss of user files. It is not always possible to restore Windows operability without a clean installation of the operating system which can also cause loss of files.

Download for free and scan your computer with Hetman Partition Recovery. Learn about the program functions and step-by-step guide.

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Have you recovered your Windows 10 operating system from a restore point? Leave your feedback and ask questions in your comments.

Vladimir Artiukh

Author: , Technical Writer

Vladimir Artiukh is a technical writer for Hetman Software, as well as the voice and face of their English-speaking YouTube channel, Hetman Software: Data Recovery for Windows. He handles tutorials, how-tos, and detailed reviews on how the company’s tools work with all kinds of data storage devices.

Oleg Afonin

Editor: , Technical Writer

Oleg Afonin is an expert in mobile forensics, data recovery and computer systems. He often attends large data security conferences, and writes several blogs for such resources as xaker.ru, Elcomsoft and Habr. In addition to his online activities, Oleg’s articles are also published in professional magazines. Also, Oleg Afonin is the co-author of a well-known book, Mobile Forensics - Advanced Investigative Strategies.

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Questions and answers

  • What is a system restore point in Windows 10?

    A system restore point in Windows 10 is a stored state of your computer's system files, settings, and installed programs that can be used to restore your computer to a previous state if something goes wrong. System restore points can be created manually or automatically, and can be used to undo changes made to your computer.

  • How do I create a system restore point in Windows 10?
    1. Open the Start Menu and type "Create a restore point" and select the top result.
    2. In the System Properties window, click the System Protection tab and then click the Create button.
    3. Enter a name for your restore point and click Create.
    4. Once the restore point is created, click OK to close the window.
  • Can I automate the process of creating system restore points in Windows 10?

    Yes, you can automate the process of creating system restore points in Windows 10. To do this, open the Control Panel and go to System and Security > System > System Protection. Then, select the drive you want to create a system restore point for and click the Configure button. On the next page, select the option to “Turn on system protection” and set the Maximum Disk Space Usage to the amount of disk space you would like to use for system restore points. Finally, click the Create button to create a system restore point. You can also set up a schedule to automatically create system restore points at regular intervals.

  • How do I restore my system using a restore point in Windows 10?
    1. Open the Start menu and type “System Restore” in the search bar.
    2. Select “Create a restore point” from the search results.
    3. Select “System Restore” from the System Properties window.
    4. Select the “Show more restore points” option to see all the available restore points.
    5. Select the restore point you want to use and click “Next”.
    6. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the system restore process.
  • Can I create a system restore point while my computer is experiencing issues?

    Yes, you can create a system restore point while your computer is experiencing issues. To do this, open the Control Panel and select the System and Security option. Then, select the System icon and click on System Protection in the left pane. From here, you can select the Create button to create a restore point.

Comments (17)

  • Mike Richard
    Mike Richard 4.05.2020 22:10 #
    Hi, Great article, thanks. My problem is that system restore is saving its files on my company's OneDrive cloud folder instead of on my physical hard drive. So when I try to do a system restore, a get the error: System restore failed to extract the file [network location] from the restore point. unspecified error 0x8007018b. My questions are: 1) how do I change the location to which system restore will save restore point so that future system restore files be saved on my physical disk. 2) how can I find the past hidden system restore files on my company OneDrive hidden folder. Thanks in advance, Mike
    Reply
    • Andrey Mareev
      Andrey Mareev 5.05.2020 20:47 #
      Settings - Update - Restore - Properties
      Reply
  • Facebook
    Facebook 24.12.2019 08:16 #
    Restore point is the new feature to store the data into Restore point. If you delete data by mistake you will restore the data from the restore point.
    Reply
    • Andrey Mareev
      Andrey Mareev 24.12.2019 16:02 #
      Yes, data on a C drive.
      Reply
  • agen dominoqq Online
    agen dominoqq Online 21.12.2019 15:03 #
    Hi, yeah this article is actually good and I have learned lot of things from it concerning blogging. thanks.
    Reply
  • Herbert Mossman
    Herbert Mossman 4.11.2016 06:15 #
    Are there any alternatives to using system restore points in Windows 10?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 4.11.2016 06:37 #

      Yes, there are several alternatives to using system restore points in Windows 10. Some of these alternatives include:

      1. System Backup: This feature allows you to create a complete system backup of your Windows 10 installation, which can be used to restore your system to a previous state if something goes wrong.
      2. System Image Backup: This feature allows you to create an image of your system, which can be used to restore your system to a previous state if something goes wrong.
      3. System File Checker: This feature allows you to scan and repair corrupted or missing system files.
      4. Refresh or Reset: This feature allows you to reset your Windows 10 installation to its original state, without losing any of your data or settings.
      5. Third-Party Backup Software: There are many third-party backup software solutions available that can be used to create backups of your system and data.
      Reply
  • Simon Medford
    Simon Medford 4.11.2016 04:36 #
    Can I undo a system restore in Windows 10?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 4.11.2016 04:52 #
      Yes, you can undo a system restore in Windows 10. To do so, open the Control Panel and go to System and Security > System > System Protection. Then, select the System Restore button and follow the on-screen instructions.
      Reply
  • John Barleycorn
    John Barleycorn 4.11.2016 00:34 #
    What happens to my files and programs when I restore my system using a restore point?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 4.11.2016 01:01 #
      When you restore your system using a restore point, your computer will be returned to the exact state it was in when the restore point was created. This means that any files and programs that were installed after the restore point was created will be removed and any changes made to files and settings since then will be reversed.
      Reply
  • Bubba Toy
    Bubba Toy 3.11.2016 20:47 #
    Can I delete system restore points in Windows 10?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 3.11.2016 21:09 #
      Yes, you can delete system restore points in Windows 10. To do this, open the System Properties window, select the System Protection tab, and then select the disk for which you want to delete the restore points. Finally, click the "Configure" button and select the "Delete" option.
      Reply
  • Hunter Bloomfield
    Hunter Bloomfield 3.11.2016 17:57 #
    How many system restore points can I create in Windows 10?
    Reply
    • Hetman Software
      Hetman Software 3.11.2016 18:12 #
      There is no limit to the number of system restore points you can create in Windows 10. However, it is recommended that you only create a few restore points at a time, as too many can cause performance issues.
      Reply
  • Hetman Software: Data Recovery
    Hetman Software: Data Recovery 20.07.2018 14:59 #
    Read about system restore point in Windows 10 and recommend it to friends. If you do have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our technical support service - we will be happy to help you.
    Reply
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