A restore point is a tool that allows you to return your system to a previous state if any problems occur. Creating such a point is useful when installing new programs or drivers. It often happens that they cause computer failures. In addition, such a tool helps restore a PC after virus attacks or other unforeseen situations.
Windows System Protection and Activation
System protection is a feature that the Windows operating system boasts. It creates the necessary restore points to a previous state. They contain information about the configuration and installed programs. This is useful, for example, in case of problems due to the installation of codecs and drivers, failure in file associations and incorrect operation after cleaning the registry.
Examination
To create a Windows restore point, you need to check whether system protection is active on your computer. To do this, do the following:
- Press the key combination “Win” + “R”;
- Enter the command: “sysdm.cpl”;
- Press the “Enter” key;
- In the System Properties window, look at the System Protection tab, in the Protection Settings group you can see whether protection is enabled.
Activation
To activate protection for your Windows 10 and 11 operating system, follow these steps:
- In the Protection Settings window, select the system drive;
- Click “Configure”;
- The “System Protection for Local Disk C” section will open;
- Select “Turn on system protection”;
- Specify the memory size for checkpoints;
- Click Apply.
After the above manipulations, the protection will create checkpoints every time important system files are changed in offline mode. This is what will allow you to quickly restore the system if a failure occurs.=
Windows 10 restore point
Creation
To create a system restore point, follow these steps:
- Press the key combination Win+R;
- Enter the command: “sysdm.cpl”;
- In the System Properties window, find the System Protection tab;
- Select “Create”;
- Enter a name for the restore point and click Create.
Once the point is created, you can check how it works by clicking the “Check” button. If everything is done correctly, you will see a message that the restore point has been successfully verified.
Please note that restoring your system to a previous point may result in data loss, so it is recommended that you back up important files before performing this operation.
It is worth noting that creating points can take a long time. This is all because the system scans the disk and creates an OS image. In this regard, it is recommended to create system restore points regularly so that you can quickly roll back data if necessary.
Recovery
How to restore Windows 10 to a point you specify? To do this, follow these steps:
- You need to open “System Properties” as you did before;
- Select “Restore”;
- In the System Restore window, click Next.
- Select the desired restore point and click Next;
- Click “Done”;
- Follow the instructions on the screen.
Recovery from boot error
If you can’t log into your computer and see a blue screen, you can quickly return to the restore point you created:
- Press the reset button on the computer itself 4-5 times;
- In the blue window that appears, select “Troubleshooting”;
- Next, find “Advanced Options”;
- Select “System Restore”;
- Next, simply follow the instructions and select a working restore point.
Windows 11 restore point
Creation
How to create a restore point in Windows 11? In general, the process is similar to what was in the “ten”. However, there are some differences in the interface. To create a restore point on Windows 11, do the following:
- Click on the Search icon on the taskbar;
- Type “system restore” and select the appropriate search result;
- In the System Restore window, click Add;
- Enter the name of the restore point;
- Click Create and your Windows 11 restore point is ready.
Recovery
Windows 11 system recovery is as follows:
- Start your computer;
- Press F8 or F10 during boot to open the advanced startup options menu;
- Select “Safe mode with command prompt” – the computer will boot into safe mode;
- Enter the command systempropertiesprotection ;
- The system properties window will open.
- Go to the System Protection tab. Here you will see all available restore points;
- Select the restore point you want to use;
- Click “Restore”;
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the recovery;
- Once the process is complete, restart your computer.
Please note that this method may not work if the restore point was created after installing new hardware or software. In this case, it is recommended to create a new restore point before making changes to the system. Also note that restoring the system may take some time.
Recovery via bootloader
Another method is to restore Windows 11 via the bootloader, but it is more complicated. To fix the bootloader in Windows, there is a special utility, bcdboot, which should be launched via the command line. The method will only work if you have not disconnected the disks or changed their configuration.
The algorithm of actions is as follows:
- Insert the bootable flash drive into the USB port of your PC or laptop;
- Change the boot order and boot from this removable media ( if you don’t have such a flash drive, you’ll have to create one on another computer );
- The installation starts and we press the combination Shift+F10 (or Shift+Fn+F10 on some laptop models);
- In the terminal window, enter two commands sequentially, confirming each by pressing Enter: diskpart and list volume ;
- A list of partitions with markings of all disks on the computer will appear. Study this list and find the following information: the presence of a partition formatted under FAT32 with a size of 100 MB. Is there a letter in the name (usually there is not). Is there a partition with Windows. Does this image have a letter and which one (not necessarily C);
- The absence of a letter for the partition means that it needs to be assigned. To do this, first enter the command: select volume N , where instead of N we substitute the partition number displayed in the second column of the list;
- Press Enter;
- We enter the second command: assign letter=X , this way we will assign the specified letter to the partition (for the partition with the system, the letter must also be present, if it is not there, it is assigned in a similar way);
- Exit the diskpart utility by typing exit ;
- Press Enter;
- Now we proceed to restore the bootloader by entering the command: bcdboot C:\Windows /s X: /f ALL (the letter X in this case corresponds to the letter that we assigned earlier to the partition with FAT32. As a result, if you did not make a mistake in typing, the text “Boot files successfully created” will be displayed);
- Close the command line window and exit the installer;
- Change the boot order to normal (set the boot disk where the system is located as the boot disk);
- Reboot your computer.
Other ways to restore Windows 10 and 11
Recovering using a system image
This method allows you to completely restore the system to the state that was saved in the system image. It can be created using the built-in “Create a system image” tool or third-party software.
Installing Windows from scratch
If the previous methods did not help to solve the problem, you can reinstall Windows 10. In this case, all data on the hard drive will be deleted, so it is recommended to make a backup copy of important files before installation.
Using the Launch Options feature
This feature allows you to perform various actions when your computer starts, such as restoring the system, running a troubleshooter, etc. To use this feature, you must restart your computer and press a specific key (usually F8, F11, or Del) to access the startup options menu.
Run the troubleshooter
Windows has a built-in troubleshooter that can help resolve some system issues. To run this tool, open Settings, go to Update & Security, select Troubleshoot, and run the tool.
Reset your computer settings
Resetting returns your computer to its original state, removing all changes made by the user. However, personal files and applications are preserved. To reset the settings, open Settings, go to Update & Security, select Recovery, and click Get Started.
Reinstall Windows with data preservation
The method is similar to installing Windows again, but the user can save their data.
To do this, you need to follow these steps:
- Create bootable media with Windows 10/11;
- Start the computer from the bootable media;
- Select the option “Restore this computer”;
- Follow the instructions of the recovery wizard.