Setting Up System Restore
Because things don't always go to plan
If you have a new Windows 10 or 11 computer, there are several settings you can change to get it set up exactly the way you want. System Restore is one of these settings and since it is a relatively important one, we are dedicating a whole article to provide instructions on how to go about turning it on.
So, what is System Restore? Whilst using your PC, Windows 10/11 periodically takes a snapshot of your system (apps, data, and the OS itself) which it saves onto your hard drive. If you develop a problem, for example, installing a third-party software or a new app which makes things go awry, System Restore will restore your Windows system to a previous instance, before the troubles began. This means that your data (documents, images, etc) remain intact, whereas any apps you’ve installed after that point in time are removed.
But you need to turn the feature on in the first place, otherwise Windows will have no saved versions of your system to restore.
To enable the System Restore feature, search for System Restore in the Windows 10/11 search box. You’ll be taken to the System Protection tab of the System Properties window. Click the Configure button.
Choose Turn on system protection and then use the Max Usage slider to determine how much of your hard drive to use to store Restore Points — 5% to 10% is usually enough — and click OK. Windows 10 will now automatically start to create System Restore points. If, however, you need to create a restore Point manually (just before you start playing around with any system settings, for example), return to this dialog box and click the Create… button.
If you do run into a problem when installing a new app, update or software and you want to return to a Restore Point, open the System Properties dialog box again, click the System Protection tab and then click the System Restore… button. You will have the option of choosing a Recommended Restore or choose a different Restore Point. If you choose the latter, you’ll be taken to a list of all the System Restore points you have on your machine. Select the one that you want, click the Scan for affected programs option if you want to check which apps will be removed, then click Next > Finish and confirm that you want to restore this backup.
Windows will now complete the process, reboot, and should be good to go.
DO REMEMBER when attempting any kind of restore or general system fix, it’s very important to BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST
