How to find a Windows restore point: different ways

Now we will see where the restore point is located, created by the Windows operating system, designed to be able to “roll back” the system to a previously saved state. Restore points help resolve OS and third-party software issues in the event of a PC problem.

No one is immune from problems and failures on the computer. The reasons for failures can be very different: erroneous user actions, software or hardware malfunctions, exposure to viruses, etc.

One way to solve computer problems is to use system restore checkpoints. Thanks to this, Windows returns to the state it had on the date and time the restore point was created.

Using Windows restore points

Windows OS, at some intervals, creates restore points on its own, which you can use if a difficult situation occurs on your computer. The user has the opportunity to independently create a restore point at any convenient time in order to fix the current state of his PC.

Let’s look at a few situations where you might need to restore Windows using the system protection feature.

• The OS is experiencing problems that are interfering with Windows.
• There have been failures in the operation of programs that cannot or should not be reinstalled on this PC, for various reasons.
• The system is infected with malware.
• Failure of Windows when the system stops booting or starting.

In most of these cases, the user can run the function to return the system to a healthy state that it had at the time the specific restore point was created. As a result, Windows and programs will return to their previous state, and the problem and problems will be fixed.

In a more complex situation, when the system does not boot or refuses to function, there is another method to solve the problem: using the Windows RE recovery environment , which must be used when booting to a PC from a bootable USB flash drive, installation DVD, or Recovery Disc. The user, using the WinRE tools, gets access to the system recovery tools.

In some cases, for various reasons, recovery fails. The system informs the user that the process did not lead to the desired result. There is one caveat that I have repeatedly encountered: even in the event of an unsuccessful recovery on the PC, the reasons for which this process was started disappeared. Recovery did not happen, but the problems ceased to bother.

In this guide, we will discuss the following questions: how to find a restore point, where the restore points are, where the restore points are stored, where to view the restore points. This article contains instructions for Windows 10, Windows 8.1 (Windows 8), Windows 7 operating systems.

Windows 10 restore point: where to find

To start the recovery process, you need to find a system restore point. This can be done from the standard built-in Windows recovery tool or using other system tools.

To answer the question of how to view Windows 10 restore points, you must follow these steps:

1. Press the “Win” + “R” keys.
2. In the “Run” dialog box, enter the command: “rstrui” (without quotes), press the “Enter” key.
3. In the Restore System Files and Settings window, click Next.
4. The next Restore your computer to a previous state window will display the available restore points.

There is only one dot on this PC. The properties of the point indicate the time of its creation and a description.

There are several checkpoints on this computer.

5. To see all restore points, check the “Show other restore points” box.
6. Select a restore point, after which the “Search for affected programs” button will become available.
7. Click the button for details.
8. The window that opens lists the affected programs and drivers. After reviewing the information, click on the button
9. Select a suitable restore point, and then click on the “Next” button.
10. In the “Confirm Restore Point” window, confirm your choice, click on the “Finish” button.
11. After that, the Windows recovery process will start.

Where is the restore point in Windows 8.1 (Windows 8)

Let’s see where to find a restore point in Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 operating systems.

Go through the steps:

1. Press the keyboard keys “Win” + “R”.
2. In the Run dialog box, open the command: “systempropertiesprotection” (without quotes).
3. In the “System Properties” window, in the “System Protection” tab, click on the “Restore …” button.
4. In the Restore System Files and Settings window, click Next.
5. Review information about system restore points and affected programs.
6. If necessary, continue to restore Windows to a previous state.

Windows 7 restore point: where to find

The user can access the Windows 7 system recovery options in different ways, one of which is mentioned in this article.

You can find Windows 7 restore points in the following way:

1. Enter the start button menu.
2. Click on “Control Panel”.
3. In the Customize Your Computer Settings window, select Recovery.
4. In the open “Restore a previously saved state of this computer” window, click on the “Start System Restore” button.
5. In the Restore System Files and Settings window, click Next.
6. In the Restore your computer to a previous state window, enable the display of available restore points.
7. If necessary, continue the Windows recovery process

How to View Windows Restore Points on the Command Prompt

The option to use the Windows command line will allow you to find out the number of shadow copies available in the operating system.

Go through the following steps:

1. Run Command Prompt as Administrator .
2. In the command line interpreter window, enter the command, and then press the “Enter” key:

vssadmin list shadows

3. The command prompt window will display all the restore points available on this computer.

How to View All Windows PowerShell Restore Points

To get the information you need, use another built-in system tool, Windows PowerShell, in a similar way.

Do the following:

1. Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator.
2. In the shell window, enter the command (to execute, press “Enter”):

GetComputerRestorePoint | Format-Table -AutoSize

3. The Windows PowerShell window shows a list of restore points.

To display a list of restore points in a text file in the TXT format on the Desktop, run the command:

GetComputerRestorePoint | Format-Table -AutoSize | Out-File -filepath "$Env:userprofileDesktopPoints.txt”

Restore points: check system protection feature

Before you get an answer to the question of how to find a Windows restore point, you need to make sure that there are shadow copies on your computer.

There are unpleasant situations when the user needs to roll back the system to a previous state due to problems that have arisen. But it is not possible to start Windows recovery due to the fact that there are no restore points on the computer. This is because System Protection is disabled on the PC.

Use this method to test the operation of the system protection function:

1. In the Run dialog box, run the command (without quotes): “sysdm.cpl”.
2. The System Properties window opens on the desktop.
3. Open the System Protection tab.
4. In the “Protection Options” section, among the available disks, the disk with the operating system is displayed and the protection status is indicated.

On this PC, protection is disabled, therefore the user will not be able to restore his computer due to the lack of restore points.

To enable system protection, use the following method:

1. Select the local disk, click on the “Configure …” button.
2. In the new window, in the “Recovery Options” section, activate the “Turn on system protection” item.
3. In the “Disk space usage” section, move the slider on the scale to a suitable value (5-10% is enough).
4. Click on the “OK” button.

Over time, as disk space fills up, old restore points will be deleted and new ones will take their place.

From the “Delete all restore points for this drive” option, the checkpoints are completely deleted.

Where is the windows restore point

Now let’s see where Windows restore points are stored on the computer.

The operating system stores restore points in the System Volume Information folder, which is located on the system drive, usually the local drive “C:”. This is a hidden system folder, the contents of which are not accessible to a computer user with normal rights.

To open the “System Volume Information” folder and gain access to the recovery point files, you need to elevate the rights status for the owner of this folder.

To see where Windows 10, Windows 8, or Windows 7 restore points are, follow these steps:

1. Press “Win” + “R” on your keyboard.
2. In the window that opens, run the “control folders” command (without quotes).
3. In the Explorer Options window, click the View tab.
4. In the “Advanced options” section, uncheck the box next to “Hide protected operating system files (recommended)”, and in the “Hidden files and folders” option, check the box “Show hidden files, folders and drives”.
5. Click on the “OK” button to save the changes.
6. Open File Explorer, enter “Local Disk (C:)”, here you will see the “System Volume Information” folder, which contains the restore points.

You will not be able to enter the folder right away, access will be denied.

7. Right-click on the “System Volume Information” folder, select “Properties” in the context menu.
8. In the “Properties: System Volume Information” window, go to the “Security” tab.
9. Click on the “Advanced” button.
10. In the “Advanced security settings for “System Volume Information”” window, click on the “Continue” button.
11. In the “Permissions” tab, click on the “Add” button.
12. In the next window, click on the “Select Subject” link.
13. In the window for selecting a user, in the “Select the names of objects to select” field, enter the user name of this computer, then click on the “Check Names” button, and then on “OK”.
14. In the “Permission entry for “System Volume Information”” window, in the “General permissions” option, you need to check the necessary permissions.
15. In the window that opens, click the OK button to apply the settings.

You can now open the “System Volume Information” folder to access the Windows restore point files.

How to Find a Windows System Restore Point in CCleaner

Using the free CCleaner optimizer program, you can find out the number of available restore points stored on your computer.

In the CCleaner program window, do the following:

1. In the side menu, first click on the “Tools” button, and then on the “System Restore” option.
2. The application window shows all restore points on this PC.

The latest restore point is not active because it cannot be deleted for security reasons.

The program has the ability to delete only some points to save disk space. If necessary, other points can be selected and then deleted from the computer.

Article Conclusions

The user may have questions about where to find the system restore point. To solve this problem, he can use the built-in Windows tools or third-party software. Information about the presence and location of restore points can be obtained from the System Restore application, the command line, Windows PowerShell, or, for example, in the CCleaner program.