System Restore Point is a brilliant feature that can help you get rid of annoying PC issues and save time. Although Windows 11 ships with advanced options such as built-in troubleshooters and Reset this PC option, the System Restore feature can quickly fix issues.
A system restore point can help you restore your PC to an earlier date in the event of system failure. You can restore your PC even if your Windows 11 is not booting up. Moreover, when you restore your PC, it does not delete your personal files. Only applications that were installed post the creation of that specific restore point will be removed.
We suggest you create a restore point before making any significant changes to your Windows 11 installation. For instance, we recommend creating a restore point before updating device drivers.
Enable System Restore feature in Windows 11
One cannot create a system restore point if the System Restore feature is disabled. So, it’s essential to enable the System Restore feature to be able to create a system restore point. Here is how to do that.
Step 1: Type sysdm.cpl in the search and then press the Enter key to open the System Properties dialog.
Step 2: In the System Properties dialog, click on the System Protection tab.
Step 3: Now, as you can see in the picture above, the Protection Settings section displays a list of drives on your PC along with their protection status. A protected drive indicates that the System Restore feature is enabled.
Step 4: To enable the System Restore for a drive, select the drive from the list, click Configure.
Step 5: In the resulting dialog, select the Turn on system protection radio button, allocate disk space, and then click the Apply button. That’s all!
Note that Windows 11 automatically allocates about 2% of the drive space to System Restore feature. You can move the slider to alter the default allocated size.
You can now proceed to create a system restore point.
Create a system restore point in Windows 11
This guide will show you how to create a system restore point in Windows 11.
Step 1: Type Create a restore point in the search and press the Enter key to open the System Properties dialog and switch to the System Protection tab.
If the search does not help you open the System Properties dialog, type sysdm.cpl in the search and press the Enter key. Once the dialog is open, click on the System Protection tab to switch to the same.
Step 2: The Protection Settings section shows the drives for which the protection (system restore) is enabled. You cannot create a restore point for a drive if the same is disabled.
So, make sure that the system restore/protection is enabled. If enabled, you will see the “On” entry next to the drive. If not, refer to the directions mentioned above (Enable System Restore in Windows 11) to enable the same.
Since we are interested in creating a system restore point for Windows 11 drive, we have turned on the System Restore feature for Windows 11 drive.
Step 3: To create a system restore point, select the drive from the list and click the Create button.
Step 4: Clicking the Create button will pop up the following dialog. Give a name for the system restore point (so that you can easily identify it when needed) and then click on the Create button.
Windows 11 might take a minute or two to finish creating the restore point. Once done, you will see the “The restore point was created successfully” message.
You may close the System Properties dialog now.
NOTE: A restore point takes about 0.6 GB of disk space. So make sure that there is at least a few GB of free space left to ensure errors while creating system restore.
Our how to restore previous session tabs in Edge browser guide might also interest you.
