Pre-Restore Point Restore Point?


Alonzo Mosley

Man of Action
Member
VIP
Local time
3:01 PM
Posts
134
Location
Pacific Northwest
OS
Windows 11
Over the weekend, when I booted, I got a message asking if I wanted to back up to One Drive. Well, I already have most everything synced with 1D, so I said "sure."

What it did, though, was take all my OTHER folders in a separate "Documents" subdirectory and MOVE those into my 1D folder and start syncing those. That's not what I want. (Links are now broken, etc...)

I was thinking doing a System Restore to the day before the reboot would take care of things... But I don't have any Restore Points older than yesterday.

Is there a way to trick the system into looking back even further?
 
Windows Build/Version
Version 24H2 (0S Build 26120.4161)

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSFT Surface Pro 8
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1185G7 @ 3.00GH
    Memory
    16GB
Is there a way to trick the system into looking back even further?

Older restore points are usually deleted after certain conditions, or when a new restore point is created. As far as I know. What you see is what is available.

This is why we encourage members to create “System Images” using something like Hasleo Backup Free or Macrium Reflect. I believe AOMEI also has one.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.5335
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    1000/400Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
I've never tried that. Will look into it.

(What's doubly annoying is, every time I ever whinge about how One Drive behaves, some smartpants tells me, "It's a cloud sync, NOT a backup," yet their very material says "Want to backup?" Ugh)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSFT Surface Pro 8
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1185G7 @ 3.00GH
    Memory
    16GB
As far as I know restore points only restore the system and not personal data. You need a backup to restore your files and folders. Or do you have a system image? That would also help if your data is on the system drive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix X570-F Gaming
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK32GX4M2B3200C16 (64 GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus ROG Strix 2080Ti
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster AE-9
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell UltraSharp U2413f
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro (2000 GB, M.2 2280)
    Seagate Barracuda Pro (12TB, 3.5")
    Seagate Exos X12 512E (12TB, 3.5")
    WD Red Plus (12 TB, 3.5", CMR)
    Corsair Force MP510 M.2 NVME SSD (1788 GB)
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum (1000 W)
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 750D
    Cooling
    Deepcool GamerStorm Captain 240 Pro (12cm)
    Keyboard
    Logitech G910
    Mouse
    Logitech G502
    Internet Speed
    1000 Mbit/s (synchronous)
    Browser
    Firefox, Vivaldi
    Antivirus
    GDATA Internet Security
(What's doubly annoying is, every time I ever whinge about how One Drive behaves, some smartpants tells me, "It's a cloud sync, NOT a backup," yet their very material says "Want to backup?" Ugh)

Take what you want and leave the rest, I always say.

I am partial to Hasleo, here’s a beginners guide for using it to make your first System Image


It looks like a lot, but it’s only because I wanted to make it as clear as I could.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build 22631.5335
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz (4th Gen?)
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list.
    OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / MX Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    1000/400Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    I’m on a horse.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 Build: 22631.4249
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7i EVO OLED 14" Touchscreen i5 12 Core 16GB/512GB
    CPU
    Intel Core 12th Gen i5-1240P Processor (1.7 - 4.4GHz)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5 RAM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics Processor
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512GB
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.
As far as I know restore points only restore the system and not personal data. You need a backup to restore your files and folders. Or do you have a system image? That would also help if your data is on the system drive.

You could try it for yourself.

for example:

create a textfile on your desktop give it anyname you want

create a restore point

delete the text file

have a look in the shadow copy and see if the textfile is there on the desktop.

you can access the shadow copies with a little free portable program ShadowCopyView - Shadow copy viewer for Windows 10/8/7/Vista

or you can do it yourself with a simple batch file
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7,Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-9400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7,win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
was thinking doing a System Restore to the day before the reboot
Other posters are correct. A restore point does not affect user data. Only restoring an image would get you back to where you were.

You can also try this, but you will probably end up having to do some file-sorting since you already had some data in Documents in onedrive.
Know that when you set backup to onedrive, your documents, desktop, pictures, and videos folders are all synced to onedrive if you checked them all.

Turn off backup folder syncing. This tutorial tells you how and also how to get your files onto your local drive.
https://www.elevenforum.com/t/turn-on-or-off-onedrive-folder-backup-syncing-across-windows-11-devices.4321/
NOTE: ONLY IF FOLDERS DO NOT MOVE TO DEFAULT LOCATION IN STEP 1 ABOVE DO THIS

If this happens, then you could try option three in the tutorials below to restore the default folder location and move your files manually from Onedrive into the folders..

Move or Restore Default Location of Videos Folder in Windows 11

ALSO NOTE: The files that are in Onedrive will stay there until you delete them. You can do that in onedrive on the web.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.4061
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 nvme+256gb SKHynix m.2 nvme /External drives 512gb Samsung m.2 sata+1tb Kingston m2.nvme+ 4gb Solidigm nvme
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    #1 Edge #2 Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.4061
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Beelink Mini PC SER5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics card(s)
    integrated
    Sound Card
    integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Crucial nvme
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    System 3 is non compliant Dell 9020 i7-4770/24gb ram Win11 PRO 26100.4061
Unfortunately for the OP his first post indicates he does not have a shadow copy from before the problem. If he had he would be able to fish out whatever it is he is looking for.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7,Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-9400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7,win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
Yeah, I know SR doesn't typically do file recovery, but since Windows played Rubik's Cube with my entire directory structure with the click of a button, I was hopeful that if I could "go back" to before that point perhaps my old setup would still be there. It was a long shot but figured worth a try.

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSFT Surface Pro 8
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-1185G7 @ 3.00GH
    Memory
    16GB
If you had a shadow copy from before the problem you could copy out out anything you want.

Alternatively an image can be made of a shadow copy for a complete restore.

It can be very useful, but that depends whether there is one from a useful date.

The usual suspects like macrium , aomei, hasleo etc can only image partitions/disks

To image a shadow copy either dism commands or wimlib commands will do. I have done it several times

for example if I want an image of this old shadow copy from 18 april

shadowcopy1jpg.webp


then this is the bit needed for capture command

shadowcopy2jpg.webp

instead of /CaptureDir:somepartitionletter

it is /CaptureDir:\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy1\

Dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:"K:\HarddiskVolumeshad1.wim" /CaptureDir:\\?\GLOBALROOT\Device\HarddiskVolumeShadowCopy1\ /Name:HarddiskVolumeshad1

you can name the wim anything that helps you identify it call it yeeha.wim if you like
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7,Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-9400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7,win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
Or if you only want to see the contents of a shadow copy and maybe copy a few things out rt click it and select "open in windows explorer"


shadowcopy3.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7,Win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-9400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7,win11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450

Latest Support Threads

Back
Top Bottom