How to Restore Windows 10

Ash (343)

Apr 13, 2021

5 minutes

If your Windows computer isn't running well, you may want to restore your operating system to a previous state. This won't delete your personal data, but it will remove applications and drivers that have been recently installed. Before trying to load a restore point, you may want to try booting in safe mode.

This solution works if you have already set a restore point. If you haven't done this yet, stick around. I'll also go over everything you need to set a custom restore point. This isn't helpful if you're already experiencing issues, but it is a good preventative measure.

This guide will only work if you've upgraded to the latest version of Windows 10, so make sure you've done that.

Windows 10 PC

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The System Restore settings are available in Control Panel. On the Windows machine you want to restore, launch Control Panel.

One of the easiest ways to get to the Control Panel is through the Start Menu. Open the Start Menu and type Control Panel in the search bar at the bottom. Click Control Panel when it appears.

Control Panel will open in a new window. In the upper-right corner of the window, locate the search bar and enter the word Recovery. Click on the green link titled Recovery next to the icon that looks like a monitor with a stopwatch.

This will open a screen with several recovery options.

To start a System Restore, click Open System Restore. This will open a pop-up wizard to walk you through the system restoration process. Carefully read each page and follow through the steps by clicking Next. If you have multiple restore points, be sure to select the right one. When prompted, initiate the System Restore.

If you've never set a restore point, you won't be able to perform a system restore. If that's the case, you should set one when the OS is running to avoid future issues. If the machine won't boot and you can't restore the OS, you may have to format the harddrive and reinstall a fresh instance of Windows.

Use steps 1 - 2 to open the Recovery options page.
Click Configure System Restore. This will open a pop up where system restore points can be created.
Select a drive to use for storing the system restore data and click Configure. Choose how much space you want to reserve for the restore point. Select the option to Turn on system protection. Click OK.
Now that you have space defined for the restore data, click Create.... This will open a prompt to name or describe the restore point. Click Create. The restore point will be saved.