Learn how to quickly and properly use the System Restore tool to restore your Windows system to a known good state in simple steps.
Compared to the older version, both Windows 10 and Windows 11 are pretty stable and dependable workhorses. However, that might not always be the case. For example, a faulty or corrupted driver installation, unintended system changes, etc., are known causes of system stability issues such as constant crashes, sluggish performance, and more. The good thing is that if you have system restore enabled, you can quite easily use it to quickly restore your computer to a known good state, fixing many issues. Restoring the system eliminates the need to troubleshoot and uninstall problematic drivers or updates manually.
In this quick and easy guide, let me show you the steps to restore Windows using the built-in System Restore tool. Let’s get started.
Before You Start
- To follow the steps below, the System Restore feature should be enabled and have restore points. By default, the System Restore feature is generally disabled. In that case, you have to manually enable System Restore and create restore points.
- System restore will not delete your personal files.
- This guide assumes your system is bootable. If your system is unbootable, please follow this guide instead: Run system restore when Windows isn’t booting
Restore Windows Using the System Restore Tool
- Open the Start menu.
- Search for “Create a restore point” and click the top results.
- Click the “System Restore” button.
- Select the “Choose a different restore point” option.
- Click “Next“.
- Select the restore point and click “Next“.
- Click “Close“.
- Click “Next“.
- Click “Finish“.
- The System Restore tool will now reboot your computer and restore it to the selected restore point.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, we must open the System Restore tool. To do that, press the “Start” key on the taskbar to open the Start menu. Next, search for “Create a restore point” and open it. This will open the System Restore tool.
In the System Protection tab, click the “System Restore” button under the “System Restore” section.
The above action will open the “Restore system files and settings” wizard. Here you have two choices to make. You can either use the “Recommended restore” option or “Choose a different restore point“.
The first option will use the latest restore point. The second option shows all the available restore points you can use, including the latest one. I’m selecting the “Choose a different restore point” option.
Select the restore point you would like to use. I’m selecting the restore point I created manually. Click “Next” to continue. You can also see which programs, drivers, and updates are affected by the selected restore point. For that, click the “Scan for affected programs” button.
As soon as you click the button, System Restore will scan the system and show what it is deleting and reinstalling during the restore process. Click the “Close” button and then click the “Next” button in the main window.
Finally, click the “Finish” button.
System Restore will now reboot the system and restore Windows to a known good state. The complete restore process will take some time. So, sit back and wait for it to be completed. Once done, the computer will restart automatically.
That is all. It is that simple to restore Windows 11 or Windows 10 using the built-in system restore tool. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
