How to create a restore point in Windows 10 and fix problems

Let's face it, sometimes things go wrong in Windows and one day it works fine but the next it doesn't. How to create a restore point in Windows 10 and use it to solve problems.

A restore point is a type of backup. It is not a backup for your personal files like those in Documents, Music, Videos and Pictures folder. Files in these folders and those with common extensions such as .docx are not modified.

It is a backup for some important Windows system files.

You still need a backup program to save your personal files, and File History or Backupper are good choices, but when Windows isn't working as it should, System Restore can sometimes come to the rescue.

It restores the Windows configuration files to how they were when the restore point was created.

If System Restore is enabled and there is no guarantee, but we'll see how to check, Windows automatically saves restore points from time to time. Not enough is always created, so it's a good idea to manually create restore points yourself as well.

A good time to create a restore point is just before installing any software. Then, if the software modifies some important Windows settings and the PC isn't running properly, you can reset the system to how it was before the software was installed.

System Restore can sometimes remove installed software, which is useful if it turns out to be incompatible.

Create a restore point

1 Start here

Right click on the start key in Windows 10 and select Switchboard in the displayed menu.

2 Search for recovery

The easy way to find out where System Restore is located in Control Panel is to look for it. Type restore in the search box and then click Create a restore point.

3 Create a restore point

In the System Properties window, make sure that protection is enabled for the C: drive - this is where Windows is installed. If it doesn't, turn it on.

press the Create button to create a restore point.

4 Name the recovery point

You can give the restore point any name. "My restore point" is not very good. A better choice would be "Before installing program X".

press the Create button to continue. That's it, you now have a restore point.

Allocate more disk space

5 Set the maximum size

Recovery points require storage space and the more storage space allocated, the more recovery points can be saved. Check the allocated storage space.

Back at step 3, select the Windows hard drive (C:) and click on the Configure Button. A simple slider lets you choose how much space to allocate to recovery points.

If you have a lot of free hard drive space, 5 to 10 GB is a useful amount of space. It won't necessarily use all of it, but it's there, it needs it. (If you are running out of disk space, you can delete all restore points and turn off system protection to recover disk space.)

Restore a restore point

6 Start System Restore

If there is a problem with Windows and you want to reset the system before the problem occurred, how do you use the restore point?

Back at step 3 there is a system recovery button near the top. click it System Restore used to be in the Start menu, but that doesn't seem to be the case these days.

7 Choose a restore point

All restore points will be listed and you can see "My restore point" that was created earlier. It can be useful to click Scan for affected programsthat tells you if software will be removed by the restore.

Choose a restore point and click on it Next.

8 Last chance

This is your last chance to retire. If you are sure you want to restore this restore point, click End.

System Restore isn't the answer to every Windows problem, but it sometimes helps to turn back the clock and restore the system to how it was when it was working.

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