How to Use System Restore in Windows

The system restore feature has been around since Windows ME, and over the years, countless users have found it to be a real lifesaver.

On a more recent timeline, system restoration and the process of using it has remained mostly the same from Windows 10 to 11. You can still access this feature via the Control Panel, or winRE. Of course, if you’ve never used system restore before, you may not know the details of these methods.

So, in this article, we’ll go over how to enable System Restore, how to create System Restore points, and finally, various ways to use said restore points on your Windows.

Enable System Restore

System Restore is generally disabled after an upgrade. There are exceptions to this, but in most cases, recently upgraded users will need to manually enable this feature when using it for the first time. Here’s how you can do so:

1. Press Win + R, type systempropertiesprotection, and press Enter.
2. Select the system drive (default) and click on the Configure button.
   
3. Select Turn on System Protection.
   
4. Optional: If you plan to create regular system restore points, you should also allocate up to 10 GB of disk space. On the other hand, if space is a concern, you can also delete all restore points with the delete button.
5. Press OK > OK to apply the changes.

Create System Restore Points

After enabling System Restore, restore points are created at a week’s interval or when the system detects significant changes to apps or drivers.

We’ve detailed how you can change the frequency of automatic restore point creation further in the guide, but you can also just create system restore points manually when appropriate. Here are the steps to do so:

1. Press Win + R, type systempropertiesprotection, and press Enter.
2. Select the system drive (default) and click on the Create button.
   
3. Input a name or brief description for the restore point and click on Create.
4. You’ll receive a message after the restore point is created.
   

How to Use System Restore?

A system restore point takes a snapshot of your system state, i.e., the settings, updates, drivers, apps, etc. If you encounter any system errors in the future, you can revert to a stable state using a recent restore point. In the sections below, we’ve listed the two most common ways to use this feature.

Via Live Environment (Desktop)

Here are the steps to use a System Restore point via the desktop:

1. Press Win + R, type rstrui, and press Enter.
2. Press Next and enable the Show more restore points option.
   
3. Select the Restore Point to use and press Next again.
4. Press Finish and accept any confirmation prompts to proceed with the system restore.
5. The restore process will typically take between 30 – 60 minutes to complete.
   
6. Once it’s done, your PC restarts and you’ll receive a successful completion message after logging in to Windows.

If the system restore fails or causes some new issue, you can undo the changes with the following steps:

1. Press Win + R, type rstrui, and press Enter.
2. Select Undo System Restore and press Next.
   
3. The rest of the process is the same as if you normally used the restore point. So, you can follow the same procedure as the section above.

Via winRE

If you’re encountering a BSOD, stuck in a restart loop, or facing similar booting issues, your PC may not boot at all. In such cases, you can perform a system restore via the Windows Recovery Environment (winRE). Here are the steps to do so:

1. Reboot your PC 3 times in a row to boot into winRE. In rare cases, you may have to insert a Windows installation media and use the Repair your computer option in the installation wizard to access winRE.
2. Select Advanced Options > Troubleshoot > System Restore.
   
3. Choose the appropriate restore point from the list.
   
4. Optional: You can Scan for affected programs to list programs and drivers that will be removed after the system restore.
5. Select Next > Finish and accept the confirmation prompt to proceed with the restore.
   
6. After the system restore completes, restart your PC.

How to Change System Restore Point Creation Frequency?

You can accomplish this via the Registry Editor or the Task Scheduler. For the first method, we recommend backing up the registry before following the steps listed below:

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to: 
   Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
3. Right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
   
4. Name the value SystemRestorePointCreationFrequency and press Enter.
   
5. It should have a value of 0 now, as shown in the data tab, which means Windows will create a restore point after any system change is detected.

If you’d prefer to create a system restore point at every startup or something similar, the Task Scheduler method may be a better fit:

1. Press Win + R, type taskschd.msc, and press Enter.
2. Click on Create Task from the right pane.
   
3. Name the task and select the Run with highest privileges and Run whether user is logged in or not options.
   
4. Switch to the Triggers tab and click on New.
5. You can set the restore point creation to happen at log on or every 8 hours. You can set these settings to be effective for the next 2 weeks or indefinitely. There are countless possibilities, so play around a bit.
   
6. Next, switch to the Actions tab and press New.
7. Select Start a program and type wmic.exe into the Program/script field.
   
8. Paste the following code into the Add arguments field:
   /Namespace:\\root\default Path SystemRestore Call CreateRestorePoint "Startup Restore Point", 100, 7
9. You can configure additional settings in the Conditions and Settings tabs, but these are preferential rather than necessary.
   
10. Once you’re done, click on OK and follow the prompts.