How to Create and Use System Restore Point in Windows 11

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How to Create and Use System Restore Point in Windows 11

Like many other features, Windows 11 also has the legacy system restore feature.

System restore lets users go back to the state Windows was when the restore point was created.

Users can create a system restore point before installing an application so that Windows can go back to the working state if the application creates some system instability.

Steps for Creating System Restore Point in Windows 11

Step 1: Click the Search button on the taskbar and type in sysdm.cpl, and press Enter.

You can also enter this command in the run dialog box by pressing the Windows Key + R.

Step 2: In the System Properties window that opens, click on the System Protection tab.

Step 3: Select the disk you want to create a restore point for and click the Configure button.

Step 4: Now, select Turn on system protection.

You can also use the Max Usage slider to set the maximum disk space used for system protection.

Step 5: Click OK.

Step 6: After turning on system protection, select the drive and you will see that the previously greyed out Create button is now available. Click the Create button.

Step 7: Type in the restore point name and click the Create button. This will create a system restore point on that drive which you can use to restore Windows back to that point.

Steps for Restoring System from System Restore Point

To revert back to a system restore point, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Open the run dialog box, type in sysdm.cpl and press Enter.

Step 2: Navigate to the System Protection tab and click on the System Restore button.

Step 3: Now, click Next and select the system restore point you would like to restore to from the list of restore points.

You can also use the Scan for affected programs button to see a list of programs that will be affected by the system restore.

If you have system restore enabled for other drives too, you will have the option to restore the restore points of other drives by checking the checkbox next to the drive name and letter.

However, restoring drive other than the drive containing Windows is optional.

Step 4: After selecting your restore point, click Next to proceed.

Step 5: Now, click the Finish button and wait for the restore process to complete.

Windows will also restart to complete the restore process.

Restore System Using Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

If for some reason you are unable to log in to your computer or cannot access system restore settings, there is another way to restore from a restore point which is through Windows Recovery Environment.

To restore using WinRE, follow below steps:

Step 1: Click the Power button of your PC. Hold down the Shift key and click on Restart.

This will boot your computer Windows Recovery Environment.

Step 2: Once Windows boots into Windows Recovery Environment, navigate to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > System Restore.

Step 3: Now, click the Next button and select the restore point you want to restore to.

You can also use the Scan for affected programs button to see a list of programs that will be affected by the system restore. Then, click Next.

If you have system restore enabled for other drives too, you will have the option to restore the restore points of other drives by checking the checkbox next to the drive name and letter.

Step 4: Click the Finish button on last window.

Now the system restore process will now start. When the process finishes, your system will be reverted to the state it was in when the restore point was created.

Conclusion

Restore point is very useful feature of Windows which Microsoft carried forward to Windows 11.

If you are installing some application or doing some other changes and you know that they may cause problems, creating a system restore point in that case is highly recommended.

That way you can revert back to the restore point where your system worked properly.