System restore points are the time machine that takes you to an earlier point when certain changes weren’t made. They can be lifesavers when you don’t know what went wrong and caused computer problems.

Important as they may be, since Windows 10, Microsoft has turned off the system restore point option by default. So if you want your computer to create restore points, you’ll need to first make sure that this option is turned on manually.

Here’s how you can do it:

Turn on system protection option to use system restore points

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the Pause key together to check your system information. Then click System protection.
  2. Select the drive where your operating system is installed (usually C drive), then click Configure…
  3. Check the circle for Turn on system protection, then select the Max Usage space. Click Apply and OK to save.
  4. And that’s it, you’re all set. Before you make changes like installing a new driver or program to your computer, a system restore point will be generated automatically.

You can also create a restore point by yourself manually, and here’s how you can do it:

Create a system restore point manually

  1. On your keyboard, press the Windows key and the Pause key together to check your system information. Then click System protection.
  2. Select the drive where your operating system is installed (usually C drive), then click Create…
  3. Name the restore point, then hit Create to get started.
  4. And there, you’ve successfully created a restore point.

Use system restore points to undo changes made

  1. On the keyboard, press the Windows key and R at the same time. Copy and paste %windir%\system32\rstrui.exe and hit Enter.Then click Next to continue.
  2. Select the intended restore point, then click Next.
  3. Confirm the information here, then click Finish.
  4. And you’ve successfully restore your comptuer back to a previous restore point.