Restore Point

huffman · 21 Nov 2020

Does using a Restore point to restore Windows 10 to an earlier time actually work now (my Win 10 is fully up to date)?

I know when I first got Windows 10 this function did NOT work.

Just would like to know. Thank you.

steve108 · 21 Nov 2020

Hello huffman,
It's not 100% reliable and fails sometimes.

We suggest making full backups periodically: Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

zbook · 21 Nov 2020

Upgrading windows to a new version eliminates restore points.

Once upgraded multiple restore points can be made manually or by scheduling.

Unfortunately the restore points even when present are not reliable.

There are free and pay versions of backup software:

Acronis, Aoemi, EaseUS, Macrium, Paragon, etc.

Macrium is widely used in Ten Forums.

huffman · 23 Nov 2020

It is a shame this function is NOT reliable. In Win7 it works great.

Macrium Reflex for some reason does NOT work for me (has something to do with my memory)

I have been backing up with EasyUS To Do. I have never had to use the restore. I just hope it works if I ever have to use it.

steve108 · 23 Nov 2020

huffman said:

It is a shame this function is NOT reliable. In Win7 it works great.

Macrium Reflex for some reason does NOT work for me (has something to do with my memory)

I have been backing up with EasyUS To Do. I have never had to use the restore. I just hope it works if I ever have to use it.

If you have an extra hard drive to restore a backup to, that would be a great way to confirm your backup image is good.

Bobby Phoenix · 23 Nov 2020

I've used the built-in System Restore for years, and have restored my fair share of times to previous times without issue. I think it comes down to what went wrong when you try to restore something. All my PCs are set up the same way, and that's basically all default settings, and default programs (IE: Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, etc), no extra drive(s), no changing directories, etc. When I used it I used it for things like installing a program that may conflict with others, or trying a new settings set, finding it did conflict, or change something in an unwanted way, and quickly restored to a previous version. I think it fails for people who really like to tinker with things, and then it has a hard time figuring out what to do, or change so much stuff, and then try to restore days/weeks later after say new updates came in, but if you just turn on your computer, use it normally, and ever need to restore to do it as soon as you notice something is wrong, I don't think you would have issues.

I find System Restore to be perfectly fine and reliable for the average/normal user.

Bree · 23 Nov 2020

Bobby Phoenix said:

....I find System Restore to be perfectly fine and reliable for the average/normal user.

I find System Restore to be totally reliable, but appallingly slow - up to half an hour just on '...preparing to restore' seems typical on my 20H2 machines.

Bobby Phoenix · 23 Nov 2020

Bree said:

I find System Restore to be totally reliable, but appallingly slow - up to half an hour just on '...preparing to restore' seems typical on my 20H2 machines.

I do agree with that. It takes forever to complete the restore. 20% completed.... (like 45 minutes later). LOL

OldNavyGuy · 23 Nov 2020

huffman said:

It is a shame this function is NOT reliable.

We've had no issues at all using System Restore on Windows 10.

Often, 3rd party antivirus/antimalware will interfere...which it did on Windows 7 as well.

The fix for that is to run the restore from Safe Mode, or boot into the repair environment, and run it from the Troubleshoot menu.

cereberus · 23 Nov 2020

Bobby Phoenix said:

I do agree with that. It takes forever to complete the restore. 20% completed.... (like 45 minutes later). LOL

Macrium Reflect paid version is 50% off for Black Friday. With incremental images and its awesome Rapid Delta Restore, you can pretty much do equivalent of a Restore in a couple of minutes or so, and more reliably. Only difference is that a restore point wil keep data since last restore point, so you need to move "new" data to a different drive. I always make an incremental image BEFORE reverting to older version, in case I have forgotten to back up data accordingly.

I turn off restore points as I find them too slow and unreliable.

You could try using Macrium Reflect Free - it allows you to use the paid features for two weeks on a trial basis. However, Black Friday offer will finish soon.