System Restore Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

How (and why) to make sure System Restore is turned on in Windows

Posted on January 14, 2026

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Have you updated your PC to Windows 11 at some time in the past?

If so, there’s a very good chance that the System Restore utility was turned off during the update process.

What’s more, I’ve seen plenty of PCs that came from the factory with Windows 11 that had the System Restore utility disabled.

As you probably know, System Restore is a powerful tool that can help you get your Windows machine back into working order if something ever goes haywire with your Windows installation.

When turned on, System Restore (usually) makes it easy to roll your Windows installation back to a previous (working) state if something ever goes wrong during a program installation or some other serious issue arises.

In other words, this awesome tool can really can get you out of rather serious jams. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you ‘Undo’ a System Restore on a Windows PC?

Posted on October 9, 2025

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Question from Edward: Hello, Rick. Love your site! I hope you can answer a question for me.

I downloaded a game onto my Dell laptop a few days ago and I immediately started getting lots of pop-up ads on my screen.

I uninstalled the game but I’m still getting the pop-ups. I read in a Windows forum that a System Restore should fix the problem but that there are no guarantees.

My question is can a System Restore be reversed if it doesn’t fix the problem (0r if causes more problems)? [Read more…]

Q&A: Is System Restore adequate for backing up Windows?

Posted on September 28, 2023

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Question from Mike: I install lots of free software and I always create a new System Restore Point before installing a program just in case something goes wrong.

I think Windows is great, but as you know, things do go wrong sometimes.

My boss told me that relying on System Restore for my backups isn’t good enough. He said I need to create regular backups too, but I think that’s overkill.

What’s your opinion on this? [Read more…]

How to force Windows to create a new System Restore Point every day

Posted on December 19, 2022

System Restore is a handy tool that you can use to restore your PC’s Windows installation back to a previous (working) state if a virus or some other issue causes your computer to stop working as it should.

I’ve personally used System Restore to quickly get myself out of a lot of jams in the past, usually after installing a program or app that I was asked to test and review.

While it’s not as comforting as having a recent System Image Backup on hand, knowing that I can usually use System Restore to get my computer up and running again in a hurry if disaster ever strikes is great for my peace of mind. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can I create a Restore Point for a time that’s already passed?

Posted on January 31, 2022

Question from Barry: Rick, I desperately need to create a System Restore Point for last Monday.

What happened was I downloaded a couple of torrent files last Tuesday and now my Windows 10 computer is all messed up.

I tried doing a System Restore back to the previous Monday, but the oldest Restore Point I see is from 4 days ago. Is there a way to create one for last Monday? [Read more…]