Windows is a great operating system. But, like everything else in the world, it does have its set of issues in the form of errors, bad updates, and bugs. This is when you might think, well I might just perform a factory reset and everything should be good to go. Well, you could always perform a system restore instead of formatting your PC. And if your PC is running on the latest Windows 11 this guide is for you. Here you will know how to restore Windows 11.
System restores are a useful feature that has been around since Windows 7. Given that it’s an old feature, not everyone uses it. Read along to know what a system restore is, how to create a system restore point, and finally how to restore Windows 11.
Having a system restore point and being able to restore from that point is quite useful. You never know when it might come in handy. Are you someone that has not heard about it or maybe knew about it but didn’t try? Worry not. In this guide we will be covering everything about system restores and how you could be creating and using one. Let’s get started.
How to Restore Windows 11
What is a system restore point?
Well, it is a backup point of a particular time created by the system when you install a new program or even when a major update is installed. When you are installing a program, the system will create a backup of the OS before the program was installed. Maybe when you might have an issue with the newly installed program, you could use the system restore option to roll back your system in time to when you didn’t install the program. This helps in resolving any issues that could be causing problems with your system.
Create a System Restore Point on Windows 11
Now that you know what a System restore point is, it is now time to create one on your Windows 11 PC.
- Open the Start menu and type in System Restore.
- When you see Create a Restore point, click on it.
- The System Properties window will open up.
- Select the System Protection tab.
- Here you will see different options. From creating, configuring, and restoring a restore point.
- To create a restore point, click on the Create button.
- It will now ask you to enter the description of the restore point. You could type in a program name or anything that you like.
- Once you have entered the text, click on the Create button. It will now create a system restore point on your system.
- The restore point can take some time to create. It could go between 2 to 5 minus.
- Once it has been created, you will get a pop-up saying that the restore point has been successfully created.
Configure System Restore Point
- With the System properties window open, click on the Configure button.
- You will be able to see three options.
- The first one is to choose between enabling or disabling system restore.
- Second, in line is the amount of space you wish to allocate for the system restore. You can drag the slider to adjust how much space should be taken up.
- In the end, you will see the Delete button. This is used for deleting all system restore points that are on your system.
Steps to Restore Windows 11 from a System Restore Point
Suppose you might want two restore your computer to a previous time, this is where system restore comes in super handy. Here is how you can restore.
- If you have the system properties window still open, click on the System Restore button.
- It will now open a window talking about your documents and data being saved and just some drivers and programs might get uninstalled.
- Click on the Next button.
- It will now show you a list of restore points that have been automatically created as well as the ones you manually created.
- Once you select the restore point, you click on the scan for affected programs.
- Clicking that button will tell you what programs and drivers are going to be removed and uninstalled.
- It will now ask you to confirm your restore point. Once you click Finish, the system will restart and the restore process will now begin.
- This process can take some time depending on when and which restore point you have selected.
Alternate Way to Access System Restore
Now, if you already have a few systems restore points on your PC, you can use this alternate method to get to the system restore point. Here is how you do it:
- Open the Start menu and clock on the Settings app icon.
- By default, the System menu will be selected.
- Scroll the right-hand side and select the Recovery option.
- With the Recovery menu opened, select the Restart Now button.
- The system will restart and bring up a blue screen with a list of options to select.
- Select the System Restore option.
- It will then bring up the system restore window.
- You can select the restore point and click Next.
- Once you have confirmed everything, you can click on Finish.
- The system will restart and the restore process will now begin.
So these are the two ways you can perform a restore Windows 11 system. Now that you know everything about system restore, will you give it a try before going right away to perform a system reset? Do let us know your thoughts.
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