How to Use System Restore to Undo Problems in Windows

By Ammar Aslam · Updated September 29, 2026 · 3 min read

Installed a driver and now your screen flickers? A program messed up your settings? System Restore is like an undo button for Windows. It takes your system files, drivers and settings back to an earlier point in time, while leaving your personal documents, photos and videos untouched.

What System Restore does and doesn't do

Restores	Does not affect
Windows system files	Documents, photos, videos
Drivers	Emails and personal files
Installed programs (removes ones added later)	Files in your user folders
Registry settings

System Restore is not a backup. It cannot recover deleted personal files. For that, see our backup guide.

Turn System Restore on

On many PCs it is turned off by default.

Search the Start menu for Create a restore point and open it.
Select your C: drive and click Configure.
Choose Turn on system protection.
Set disk space usage to around 5–10%, then click OK.

Create a restore point manually

Windows creates restore points automatically before updates and some installations, but it is wise to create one before risky changes, such as installing new drivers or tweaking settings.

In the same System Properties window, click Create.
Type a description like "Before graphics driver update".
Click Create and wait a minute.

Restore your PC to an earlier point

Open Create a restore point and click System Restore.
Click Next and choose a restore point from before the problem started.
Click Scan for affected programs to see what will be removed or restored.
Click Next, then Finish. The PC will restart and restore, which can take 15–30 minutes.

Important: don't turn off the PC while System Restore is running. Plug in laptops before starting.

If Windows won't start

Turn the PC on and off during startup two or three times to trigger Automatic Repair. Choose Advanced options → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → System Restore, then pick a restore point.

Undoing a restore

If the restore made things worse, open System Restore again and choose Undo System Restore.

System Restore vs Reset vs Backup

Windows has several recovery tools, and it's easy to confuse them. Choosing the right one saves time and protects your files.

Tool	What it does	Use it when
System Restore	Rolls back system files, drivers and settings	A recent driver, update or program caused problems
Uninstall updates	Removes a specific Windows update	Problems started right after an update
Reset this PC	Reinstalls Windows	Windows is badly damaged or infected
File backup	Restores personal files	Files were deleted, damaged or lost

A good rule: try the smallest fix first. System Restore changes less than a reset, and a reset changes less than a clean reinstall.

Why restore points sometimes disappear

Restore points can vanish if the disk space limit is too small, after major feature updates, or if System Protection was turned off. If you rely on System Restore, check occasionally that restore points exist by opening System Restore and viewing the list. Increasing the space allowance to around 8–10% on large drives keeps more points available.

Good moments to create a restore point

Before installing graphics, audio or chipset drivers.
Before installing system utilities or security software.
Before changing registry settings following an online guide.
Before connecting new hardware that needs special software.

Creating a restore point takes under a minute and can save hours of troubleshooting. Combine it with a real backup of your documents and photos, as explained in our backup guide.

Frequently asked questions

How long are restore points kept?

Until the space you allocated fills up; older points are then deleted automatically.

Will System Restore remove a virus?

Not reliably. Use Windows Security's full or offline scan for malware.

Ammar Aslam
Ammar writes clear, practical tech guides that help everyday users fix problems, stay safe online and get more from their devices.