How to use System Restore in Windows 10

Imagine you installed new software or a new driver on your PC, but after you installed it, your PC started lagging or behaving unexpectedly. What should you do then? Windows 10 offers a system restore feature, which allows you to make your PC normal again. Read this article to find out how.

System restore takes all PC settings, apps, and drivers back to a certain point in time. This is usually done when a newly installed app or driver or a newly changed setting causes the PC to lag or causes unexpected behavior. A system restore is like an undo operation on recent changes, and the PC reverts to how it was before. You can perform a system restore once the system protection is turned on for your PC.

Steps to check if system protection is turned on:

To check if system protection is turned on or not and to turn it on if it is turned off, follow these steps:

1. Open the Control Panel (if you can't find it, you can search for it in the search box on the taskbar).
2. Type recovery in the search box of the control panel and select Recovery.
3. "System Properties" will open when you double-click on "Configure System Restore."
4. Select the hard disk partition on which the Windows operating system is installed.
5. Double-click on 'Configure.'
6. Now the "System Protection" dialog box will open.
7. Click on "Turn on System Protection" on that and click "Apply," and then click "OK."
8. Your system protection is now turned on.

Since the system protection is turned on, regular automatic restore points will be created. Also, new restore points will be made when you install a new app or driver.

Steps to create a system restore point manually:

Even though system restore points are created automatically, you might want to occasionally make the restore points manually. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Control Panel (you can search for it in the search box on the taskbar).
2. In the search box of the Control Panel, type recovery and select Recovery.
3. Double-click on "Configure System Restore." Then 'System Properties' will open.
4. Click on the 'create' option.
5. A new dialog box with the title "create a restore point' will open.
6. Here, you should describe the restore point that you are creating. This is asked so that later when you are restoring the system using the system restore, you will be able to identify this restore point.
7. Click on the 'create' option in this dialog box.
8. Now, wait for some time until the system restore is created.

Steps to do a system restore in Windows 10:

To restore your PC to a previously created restore point, follow these steps:

1. First, you need to go to the Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel search box, type recovery and select Recovery.
3. Double-click on "Open System Restore."
4. Now, the "Restore system files and settings' will open.
5. Click on the "Choose a different restore point" option and click "Next."
6. Checkmark the "Show more restore points" option.
7. Choose a restore point from the list.
8. Click on the "Scan for affected programs" option.
9. A list of programs will show everything that will be deleted if you choose to carry out the system restore.
10. If you agree with their deletion, click "Close" and "Next."
11. Click 'Finish.'
12. Your system will now be restored to the state of the chosen restore point.