Help! Windows 10 System Restore is not working for me.

I have not had any problems with system restore but people who ask me to fix their equipment have. I set them up with a free image backup program and show them how to use it. I have the free macrium reflect on my equipment and use that. On one occasion I had a hard drive fail with no warning and having installed a replacement my system was fully running windows 10 again in half an hour.

If you stick with Win 10, instead of using Win 10 system restore, try imaging your C drive either with the built-in Windows create system image or with a 3rd party imaging program, like Acronis.

I tried Win 10 for about a year on one of my PC's. MS let us down. Especially with last year's (2017) big update in the fall. If you read the forums, you'll find there were many problems. On my PC it took literally a whole day (24 hrs) to install the update with multiple reboots. And when it was all done, it failed. I tried the system restore, but no go. That was the last straw for me with Win 10. If Win 10 had been significantly better than Win 7, I would have tolerated the data collect MS implemented with it.

But if you stick with Win 10, take some precautions. I'd suggest:

1) store data on a separate HD, NOT the C drive. Some folks lost data with the Fall 2017 update. If you need to restore your system with an image, it will replace everything on the C drive so newer data will be lost. Don't forget things like bookmarks for your browsers.

2) create a system image regularly, and especially BEFORE installing updates - you'll have to set Win 10 to alert you to updates before installing them, it is tricky but there are articles you can find that walk you through it, and show you where to find the system image creation in Win 10.

3) Before installing one of Win 10's major updates, look on the forums for horror stories. Then prepare for the worst, you probably won't be disappointed.

If you get tired of Win 10's disastrous updates, go back to Win 7 - it still works well, despite MS issuing some buggy updates now and then. About half of Win 7 users have not updated to Win 10. Now you know why.

MS, if you are listening, there is competition out there: Chrome Books!

Fast and secure and they can do anything a Windows computer can do. They are also generally less expensive.

Well this is strange. While system restore seems to work for me,it's the backup that's not working as it should. It always ends with: the backup didn't complete successfully. I do a restore,that works alright and do a backup again. I get a lot of stupid messages that the PC will backup to an earlier state. Well that is now exactly what I want! So let's go! And it does until the next update arrives. Same problem again. It is really a pity that neither MS nor Win10 can get things right.
I had never any problems with WinXP or Win7.

I have found that system restore works only on about half the Windows 10 systems I work on. As a beta user I've complained to MS about it since Windows 10 was first released. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it, just like there was no rhyme or reason to why some systems have system restore turned off after a system was upgraded. I have 2 identical I5 Dell PCs sitting on my desk. Restore works on one but not the other. I am a devout preacher of stressing regular backups but many of my customers don't heed the message. I don't care what anyone says. In the cases where system restore doesn't work all the SFCs and DISMs doesn't fix the problem. I've experimented too many times trying to figure it out so I gave up. Just back up your system regularly with not one but 2 reliable backup software to keep yourself protected. I own the paid versions of Reflect and Acronis myself and I alternate weekly between the two programs. There are several good free ones. I suggest Macrium Reflect Free and Easeus Todo. Doing so just soothes the pain level if you ever get into trouble.

Hi Gerry

After reading all that you have done thus far I’m having a slight problem understanding your issue being that you said you re-installed Windows 10. That should have resolved any problems therefore not requiring the use of System Restore. After a reinstallation you must setup System Restore as it is not automatic. To turn on System Restore do this:

In the Cortana Search Field Type > System > Click Best Match: System Control Panel > Advanced System Settings > System Protection Tab > Configure > Turn on System protection > Apply/OK > Create your first Restore Point

As I said earlier I’m confused as to why re-installing Windows as you say didn’t resolve your issues assuming you setup System Restore. Not knowing how you performed the re-installation I’m going to suggest you perform a Reset This PC to get things sorted out. Be patient as it can take 30 minutes or 2 hours. Here’s how Go to:

All Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset This PC > Get Started > Keep my files > follow the prompts

If you don’t want to perform a Reset Set This PC you might try the link for some helpful information. I use it quite often for solutions I can’t handle on my own. https://www.howtogeek.com/

Or you can type Fix System Restore in your browser and you’ll get several hits.

One word of caution…neither System Restore and most definitely not Reset this PC should be used as everyday problem solvers. Often starting a PC in Safe Mode will resolve issues. The former should only be used when absolutely necessary. That said I wonder what your motives are for using System Restore.

Together Everyone Achieves More = TEAM

Buy Acronis True Image. I have found this to be the best and easiest back up around. I automatically run a backup every week. I can go back to any of this backups and restore at that point in time.
Bill Dockery

I splurged and bought a new Dell system preloaded with Windows 10 home in October 2017.
Everything worked fine until a recent Windows Update.
As usual when I get this type of updates, I let it run overnight.
When I attempted to log-in the next evening, It appeared to running Windows 7 ????
I got in touch with Dell via their Chat after attempting several self help fixes.
After two hours of continual operations, their remote control "expert" ran into a brick wall.
I ended up sending the unit back to Dell where they replaced processor, hard drive and the programs.
Still don't know what the problem was, but it's back. And, I set a restore point with a thumb drive every so often.
I know this is not the solution, but I too am stymied by this event.

If you have done a clean install of Windows 10 there shouldn't be a problem and if your AV is causing the problem delete it. You don't need an AV with Windows 10 Turn on Windows Defender AV.

Recently I was having issues with Win 10 freezing randomly, I went through almost every repair option mentioned here, but little luck. And, like others have mentioned, I was having difficulty getting System Restore to work. It launched and ran well enough, trying to restore to a point I knew was good, as I had only created it within the last three days, but after finishing it's task, system restore reported "unable to restore, your machine remains unchanged..." you know the line. Ran all my clean and repair tools in Safe Mode, disconnected all peripherals, disabled all anti-malware on the chance they might be conflicting even though there is only one anti-virus, the rest are all anti adware and suchlike. Still no luck. Ran Restore many more times, system went through the motions of restoring, but always finished with "unable to..." Without going into the details, I got the machine as clean as I possibly could without a total wipe and clean install, which I was unwilling to do. To get to my point on this, I had it more or less running properly, although still with some hiccups, so I decided to let the restore operation rest for a while until I could figure out why it was working-but-not-working, so to speak. I began to reconnect peripherals, I had to try to get along as well as I could until I came up with a permanent solution to the problem.
The last thing I re-connected was a USB one-terabyte external drive I use for incremental backups.
Lo and behold! Everything now worked perfectly, and still is after nearly three days flawless performance!
Now, I'm no tech, I have no idea what or how, but Windows seemingly needed something from that backup drive. I'm sorry I haven't a clue what it needed, or even if it actually did need to access that drive, but I'm just throwing this into the pot because whatever it was, reconnecting my backup drive seemed to fix my problem.
I know it's usually wise to disconnect external drives when troubleshooting and repairing, so as not to spread any "bad stuff" any further, but perhaps there's a scrap of something sys restore needs on that drive, as seemed to be the case for me. The tech experts here can set me straight, if they wish, I'm always open to learning, just wanted to offer my two cents.

You have to go to the Control Panel through Windows System from top scroll down to Windows System Control Panel Then system , Advanced System Settings ,Then to System Protection There you can access the System Restore Hope this helps rdmnred

Refreshing Win 10 as others have suggested should have fixed the Restore issue. Also make sure Restore settings for the size of the disk set aside for it is adequate. Some people shrink the available space down too much and the system cannot successfully create Restore points.

Also before attempting to create a new restore point or doing a refresh/reset use an Administrator (elevated) Command Prompt or Powershell box to run the following command

dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
(there is a space before each /)

The above command may take some time to complete, once it has finished then run from the same box

sfc /scannow
(there is a space between sfc and /)

This again may take some time.

Then run from the same prompt

chkdsk /f
(if using an SSD)

or

chkdsk /r
(if using a non SSD drive...DO NOT use this on a SSD)

As this will be on your main drive you will get a warning that it can't run as the drive cannot be locked and do you want it to run on next restart. Answer Y

Exit the prompt by typing "exit" (without the quotes) and pressing enter/return key OR just close the box without typing anything.

Restart your computer after this has all finished and let chkdsk do it's run (if /r is used this can take a long time) and see if you can now use restore properly.

This should also fix any corrupt system files so that when you do a refresh/reset of Windows 10 it will be using good files.

I just had this problem for the first time since all my personal folders & files went to 'Read Only' very recently, win 10. Before I installed 'Take Ownership', but after I had disabled 'Windows Defender's Controlled Folder Access', I tried to to a system restore and received a message that it failed because it didn't have permission to write to folders. This happened about 3 days ago and I can't remember word for word of the message or if it said which folders, etc.

If I knew what folders I would like to try to take ownership and try system restore again, just to see if it works.

I'll have to see if my system restore is turned on, but I think it is on. I did notice very little restore points, as in 3. The most recent being the last patch Tue. When I had win 7, I had several restore points.

Hi Gerry, the thing with McAfee is that it leaves code and registry entries on the system after it is uninstalled. You will need to run the removal tool. Here is a link : https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwid3Of1ldzaAhUMBMAKHd0aBJIQFjABegQIABA2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.majorgeeks.com%2Ffiles%2Fdetails%2Fmcafee_consumer_product_removal_tool.html&usg=AOvVaw0EDPuJ25_m-BvLgd6dS89L

Hope that helps

Whenever my laptop behaves strangely, the first thing to do is a restart. But if the issue remains, a system restore going back just a day or two may do the trick. So it's a good idea to create a restore point once a day and always before installing software or making other changes. Creating a restore point daily is also an easy way to make sure system protection was not "accidentally" disabled during a Windows 10 update.
Now regarding this forum discussion, what does "doesn't work" mean? The writer could have meant:
1. A message something like "Cannot restore because system protection is not available." In this case you need to configure system protection. If you're not sure how to do this, just google "windows 10 configure system restore".
2. A message something like "System restore did not complete successfully. Your computer system files and settings were not changed."
I have a lot of experience with this second situation, in fact I always get this message after running a system restore in Windows 10. But usually the restore worked, despite the message, and the issue has been fixed. So my suggestion is that no matter what the message says, check whether your issue has been resolved. If not, try recovering to an earlier restore point. I'm sure this won't work for everybody, but may work for at least a portion of the forum readers!

TRUST ME I have been through the same situation. You just need to do an advanced start-up and that will take you to a different control menu. ONE THAT CONTROLS THE RESTORE. There are two different ways to get the advanced start-up working properly. If it doesn't operate after you click the advanced start up button like it is supposed to than you can repeatedly manually restart your computer with the power button. After 3 or 4 start-up's the Advanced Start-up screen will load and after you have it successfully loaded you simply press trouble shoot and choose between refresh, or the different restore options.

Granted manually restarting your computer is dangerous and it can harm your computer i'm sure if you are desperate to do a System Restore it cannot harm your computer too much more really. The adanced start up will load automatically though if you restart your computer in a specific way.

You have to turn your computer on with the power button, wait until the hp sign or whatever laptop logo that u have appears. ONCE IT DOES SHUT OFF YOUR CPU AND REPEAT UNTIL IT SAYS LOADING ADVANCED START-UP

I have, over the past 3 years, had 3 instances of having Windows refuse to start--once (1), it just would not boot and I ended up spending close to $1000 to replace parts--new MB meant new processor, new Video Cards, new RAM--Yes, they got me! I changed to an SSD for the OS and applications and separate HDD for data. It always seems to be the OS that fails--and the cloud services I use don't save that part of the C drive. The next (2) was a missing .dll, which repair people could not seem to replace. I also try, each time, everything I can find on the internet. The next time (3) it was refusing to go to the password screen. I had changed after the first one to the SSD-HDD combination and had at some later time decided my 250Gb SSD was too small, so I purchased a 500Gb SSD and cloned it. I kept the original. Twice, now, after (2) and (3), I have used that 250Gb SSD to create a new OS. Unfortunately, I have not done it enough to not lose a bunch of applications that were good only if not updated or uninstalled, but I have regained applications that would not let me reinstall because I was not able to uninstall first to reinstate installation instances. Now I plan to keep updated clones of my OS drives on all of my computers. I am so tired of repurchasing applications that I already own! The software to perform the clone of one SSD to another SSD is free from many software developers and most SSDs come with a copy of it. This is definitely worth the cost of a couple of extra SSDs in today's prices.

When you have a problem like this and nothing seems to solve it, you will have to contact Microsoft Support. Tell them what the problem is, the solutions you've tried and let them take over your computer. As for me when I can't fix the problem myself, the only and last resort I can depend on is the Manufacturer's Support itself. I had that issue in 2016. I tried everything and when nothing else worked, I called Microsoft Support. They did not tell me that I have to pay for the service. It was free. They took over my computer and fixed the problem till it was resolved. They even called me a few days later to follow up before they closed the case. It has been 2 years now. I never had any issue after that.

Hope this helps you!

Like another poster on this site, I now use AOMEI for my backups since I was not able to do it with the Windows Back up. It kept failing. When you look in Control Panel, you will notice that they are using the Windows 7 back up program. They have never created a new Windows 10 Back up. I used AOMEI to Clone my first Samsung SSD since the Samsung Migration Program did not work properly. The other 3 SSDs that I installed worked fine being installed by the Samsung Migration Program. I reverted to AOMEI for my back ups now since the Windows 7 one included with Windows 10 kept giving me the back up fail message. I also have a Western Digital drive that backs up my data every hour so that I have an image quality of my data. That way I could just reinstall the data if that proved to be a viable measure. I would hope that Microsoft could create a back up program that was suited to Windows 10 and not keep using a 10 or more year old program.

Recently after all the Microsoft W10 updates, I have had problems starting up W10 and shutting down W10. Hopefully they will resolve those difficulties in the months ahead. My HP W10 computer does not work as smoothly today and the day I first turned it on. That is probably the results of all the updates that they have done in the past 2 years. It does always turn up and shut down eventually. A few times I have had to turn it off by using the power button the desktop, but it always starts up OK the next time.

I also have a Lenovo W7 desktop computer as a Standby and would use that if my W10 computer would not start. It is always a little scary when you put an update on a W10 machine after reading all the "War Stories" about people who have had their computers go inoperative after an Update.

I used the program yesterday to rescue an ailing laptop, I encountered no problems. I do routinely back up files after every update from MS. Perhaps that is the solution, It worked for me without a hitch. The laptop in question is working very well after the restore. However, I am sure for every good solution there will be an opposite outcome. My anti-virus is BitDefender and it didn't cause a problem like some others have experienced. In the past, I have had problems with AV's interfering with some programs but not recently.

Sadly I have no experience that I can offer to help fix your specific issue. However, I do have some pent-up griping about Micro$quish that I am more than happy to share
I'LL TRY TO KEEP THIS REASONABLY SHORT...

[pent-up griping about Micro$quish N

I'd been running WINDSOWS. xp, 7, 10 for many years on my Gateway FX6860 [i7, 16GB, plenty of HDD]. Yes, its an "older system", but I bought it as a high end system at the time with an eye to performance and "the future". performance-wise its comparable to todays machines! All was great until Window gave me the free update to Windows 10. Well, things were actually fine until the first (forced) "Anniversary update" which trashed my windows system. Calling MS. was no help they told me "call Gateway and get them to update their drivers to work with our new OS requirements.. or buy a new computer" Clearly I couldn't expect gateway to produce new drivers for an "older" machine no mater how much performance was left in it. M$oft's "screw you and the Gateway you rode in on" attitude left me only one choice! I threw out all my 30+ years of accumulated hardware, software, and experience and made the jump to the Mac. Never really looked back, until I saw the post about system restore not working. Though System Restore had "saved my bacon" on occasion, I never had much confidence that it would be there "when I needed it".

[pent-up griping about Micro$quish FF

So the only advice I can give you is to give up on MS's crappy backup and restore systems and (as someone else suggested) use some decent system imaging/backup software. I'm partial to Ashampoo's Backup Pro (version 11+?) (originally made by Ocster) It is reasonably well priced, featured and mostly seems to "just work". Also, It's "infinite incremental" backup mode saves space, time and hassle. It supports "to the metal" restores (which, sadly M$ seems to studiously avoid). Also their support team is helpful and supportive.. (unlike some other SW giants from Redmond)! The free version of Macrium Reflect also worked well for me, you have to pay to get the full function including incremental backup

one last M$ comment AAAaaaaaaaaarrg!