System Restore Archives - Rick's Daily Tips

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 safely rely on System Restore as my Windows backup tool?

Posted on February 15, 2022

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 System Image backups too, but I think that’s overkill.

What’s your opinion on this? [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…]

Q&A: Can you ‘Undo’ a System Restore in Windows 10?

Posted on October 1, 2021

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

I have a Dell laptop with Windows 10. I downloaded a game 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’m thinking a System Restore will fix the problem but I’m not sure.

My question is can a System Restore be reversed if it doesn’t fix the problem?

Rick’s answer: [Read more…]

How to initiate a System Restore when your PC won’t boot into Windows

Posted on August 27, 2021

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System Restore is a powerful tool for reversing detrimental changes to your PC’s Windows installation.

In a nutshell, System Restore allows you to “roll back” the Windows installation to the state it was in at a time before the detrimental changes were made.

For example, lets say that somehow a critical Windows setting gets changed and your system starts doing strange and unexpected things.

You can usually fix this type of issue by simply using System Restore to roll Windows back to a Restore Point that was created a few days earlier.

System Restore is typically launched from within Windows, but what if the issue at hand is so severe that your PC won’t boot up into Windows at all? [Read more…]