Originally introduced with Windows ME (Millennium Edition) back in 2000, System Restore is a feature that has since been available on all subsequent versions of the OS, including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1, and Windows 10. The feature is turned off by default and must be manually enabled by users for it to function. In this article, we will show you how to enable the feature and create system restore points on your Windows 10 computer.

System Restore can revert your computer to an earlier state if any critical error renders the system unusable. If you enable this feature, it ensures that the system automatically creates restore points when it detects major changes, such as Windows updates, driver installations, app installations, or significant modifications in core system settings. In this guide, we will learn how to enable System Restore and create system restore points on your Windows 10 computer.

  • How to Enable System Restore
  • Create System Restore Point Via System Properties
  • Create System Restore Point Using Command Prompt
  • Create System Restore Point Using Windows PowerShell
  • Use System Restore to Revert Your Windows 10 PC to an Earlier State

How to Enable System Restore

  • To enable System Restore on your Windows 10 computer, first press the Windows Key + R simultaneously to open the Run box. Then type “sysdm.cpl” and click ‘OK’ to open the System Properties window.

Create System Restore Point on Windows 10

We will detail three different methods of creating a System Restore point manually on Windows 10. Method 1 uses the built-in GUI option and is the easiest, while the other two methods use the command line interface.

  • To create a System Restore point manually, open the System Properties window once again. Now click the ‘Create’ button at the bottom, next to “Create a restore point right now for the drives that have system protection turned on.”

  • Open Windows Command Prompt in Admin mode by searching for ‘cmd’ in the Windows Search Bar and clicking on the ‘Run as administrator’ option.

  • Now type in wmic.exe /Namespace:\root\default Path SystemRestore Call CreateRestorePoint “%DATE%”, 100, 1. This will create a restore point bearing the creation date for easy identification.

  • You can also use PowerShell to create a restore point on Windows 10. To do that, search for ‘Powershell’ and click on ‘Run as administrator’ to launch the app.

  • PowerShell shows you a progress bar for the System restore point creation process, which only takes a few seconds. Once the job is done, close the PowerShell window as you’ve successfully created a system restore point on Windows 10.

  • To revert your computer to an earlier state, open System Properties -> System Protection as explained in step 1 of this tutorial. Then, click on System Restore.

Create System Restore Point on Your Windows 10 PC

System Restore is a critical Windows tool that you should set up right now. It will help prevent a catastrophe in case you apply an incorrect system setting, install a buggy driver, or a faulty system update, which is an all-too-familiar occurrence on Windows. So go ahead, create a system restore point and enable the restore feature on Windows 10 to rescue your PC should something go wrong in the future.