Does System Restore Really Work ?

mike888 said:

One of the first things I do when I get a new computer is disable system restore.

Just before patch Tuesday I do a full system backup with third party software in case their is a problem with a Windows Update either in installation or had some bug or the other.

I was thinking that instead of the above I could create a Windows system restore point immediately before checking for updates on patch Tuesday and restore the backup if their is a problem with the installation of the Windows Updates or for some other reason within a 48hr period..

How reliable would system restore be in this situation ?

I do not trust system restore points - they are slow and have failed too often.

A more reliable method is to use image backups. With most leading image tool, you can make a differential or incremental backup rather than needing to do a whole image which is faster and uses less disk space.

Bear in mind that an image restore will not restore any files added to Windows C drive (or any other drive included in backup) after the last backup. If not careful, you can lose latest data.

I store my data on a different drive to avoid this issue, and backup this drive separately. For critical data, I also store on Onedrive.

The paid version of Macrium Reflect has a great feature called Rapid Delta Restore which only restores the differences and if you make a differential/incremental image backup just before doing the update, it is incredibly fast (often less than 2 minutes). All other leading tools restore the whole image which can take a lot longer.

mike888 said:

One of the first things I do when I get a new computer is disable system restore.

cereberus said:

I do not trust system restore points - they are slow and have failed too often.

It is also one of the First things that I do with a Clean Install if I have to go down that route.

That said, I always recommend trying a System Restore Point as the FIRST option, just in case it resolves the problem initially, although, as mentioned previously, they are slow and fail more times than they work.

In my opinion, there is NO better or faster option than creating a System Image, AND, additionally making data backups separately, BOTH to an external drive.

Members on this Forum regularly recommend creating a System Image, whether that be a Full, Differential, or Incremental Image.

I hope this helps.

I agree with all the above points except, ever since the advent of Windows 10 I've found a huge improvement with using Windows Restore.

With Win95/98 it was pretty useless. There was a small improvement in reliability with Win2K & XP but it still failed much more often than not.
With Win7, I would guess I was successful using restore points approximately 60%-70% of the time.
My experience with Windows 10, the reliability is about 85%-90% or possibly higher. I've likely used it a couple of dozen times. I like to tweak things and Windows is pretty easy to break.

That said, I regularly employ using restore points and system imaging. A 90% reliability factor is insufficient for my comfort level, however; quite suitable as a first response.

Given that I'm retired and have 2 PCs, system restore is reliable enough for me as a first line of defense. Knowing that I have a system image for redundancy, I have very few concerns about recovery.

If my PC were required as a mission critical device for business or lifeline services, I'd likely disable restore points and strictly use imaging.
I believe it's a personal choice related to your comfort level.


I wouldn't think twice about changing the complete brake system on my truck, others wouldn't dream of touching the the brake pads.
It's all up to your own personal comfort level, just like using restore points.


PS; The above is derived from my own personal PC experience and should not be considered as advice to use or not use Windows system Restore Points.
How mission critical is your PC & what is your comfort level?

sygnus21 said:

I use System Restore all the time and it does work if you understand the point of it. Problem #1 is people confuse it for a "backup program". It is NOT a full-fledged backup program and was never designed to be so.

Problem #2 is people create restore points and expect them to last forever. Understand restore points will get deleted at some point - either through space attrition (will delete the oldest files first to save space for the next RP) or will be automatically deleted upon OS upgrades since they are particular to the OS version they were created on.

With that in mind also understand Restore Points do NOT backup personal data and programs. That's not its role and it was never designed to backup personals files and programs. It's role is to backup the registry and system files so that one can return to a previous state registry and system files wise.

That said, what I use Restore Points for and driver or software tests - that is I'll create a Restore Point, install a driver or software package and see how it functions, if I have a problem, I simply restore the system back to it's state before the driver/software package install. One thing to note is I don't take weeks to figure this out, I'm usually able to determine issues right away, so the restore is done.... right away, not weeks later (where I've done other stuff as well).

Bottom line... if you intend to use System Restore as a full-fledged backup, you'll be sorely disappointed as that's not it's function.

Good luck

This is all true, but even then I still prefer the combination of Incremental Backups + Rapid Delta Restore (paid version of Macrium Reflect) as it is rather like using checkpoints in Hyper-V. It is also (borrowing expression in bold from @Kari) like Restore Points on steroids.

As I said earlier, you do have to be careful about data added since last backup image as this is similar but not identical to restore points, but definitely much more reliable. I did use restore points in early W10 days, but my failure rate was probably nearer 40% failures. Even 10% is too high (as you elude - personal opinion).

cereberus said:

This is all true, but even then I still prefer the combination of Incremental Backups + Rapid Delta Restore (paid version of Macrium Reflect) as it is rather like using checkpoints in Hyper-V.

I'm not here to convince anyone to use anything, I'm merely setting the record straight. Because I understand its purpose it works for me. YMMV

Peace

Q: Does System Restore Really Work ?

A: No.