Restore Points


proglearn

Member
Local time
10:20 AM
Posts
22
OS
Windows 11 Pro
I make image backups of my C: drive daily. Is it still a good idea to create restore points periodically? I've read a lot of posts indicating that these Windows restore points are more trouble than they're worth. I do have plenty of drive space to do so if it's useful.

Any words of wisdom? Many thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel Core i9-11950H, 24MB Cache, 8 Core
    Memory
    32 GB, 2x16 GB, DDR4, 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics
Creating daily images is a bit OTT in my opinion but that is irrelevant to your question.
Assuming you are creating images including the system and everything that is installed and not just user files like Documents/Photos etc. to an external storage device then that should totally cover all your needs. especially if you are doing it daily. There is no need for Windows restore points (RPs). Having said that this will not stop RPs being created by software other than Windows when they get installed or get updated.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP EliteDesk 705 G5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400GE
    Memory
    8GB DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon Vega 11
    Hard Drives
    256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DELL Inspiron 15-3576
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8250U
    Memory
    8 GB DDR4 - 2400 SODIMM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 620
    Hard Drives
    256GB SK Hynix SC311 SATA SSD
Creating daily images is a bit OTT in my opinion but that is irrelevant to your question.
Assuming you are creating images including the system and everything that is installed and not just user files like Documents/Photos etc. to an external storage device then that should totally cover all your needs. especially if you are doing it daily. There is no need for Windows restore points (RPs). Having said that this will not stop RPs being created by software other than Windows when they get installed or get updated.
Thanks for your response. Please forgive my ignorance, but can you please explain what "OTT" means? Thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel Core i9-11950H, 24MB Cache, 8 Core
    Memory
    32 GB, 2x16 GB, DDR4, 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP EliteDesk 705 G5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400GE
    Memory
    8GB DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon Vega 11
    Hard Drives
    256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DELL Inspiron 15-3576
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8250U
    Memory
    8 GB DDR4 - 2400 SODIMM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 620
    Hard Drives
    256GB SK Hynix SC311 SATA SSD
Thanks for your response. Please forgive my ignorance, but can you please explain what "OTT" means? Thanks.
OTT means Over The Top.

And no, daily backups are NOT "Over the Top".

Whether to back up your PC daily, weekly, or monthly depends on what you have going on.

There are developers of apps/programs, photographers who manipulate their photos for publication, writers of the next Great American Novel, etc. Each of these entities will back up their work daily at the very least. Depending on the number of changes in a day's time, they may choose to back up more than once a day.

I teach Windows 10 to Senior Citizens at our local Center. I have to create tutorials for these folks. Yes, I make changes to my tutorials several times in a day, but because I back up my system daily, if a horrible crash occurs, I will stand to lose only a small portion of my work. So, daily is good. I can remember exactly what I was doing in a tutorial, while I probably wouldn't remember the ins and outs of the novel I may be working on. It differs with each individual and their PC.

Then there're the ones who only use their computers a few times a week. For those individuals, a weekly or monthly backup will suffice.

Case in point . . . one of my students said he doesn't have all that much on his laptop, so, maybe he doesn't need to back it up at all. I had to remind him that we're in a genealogy class together . . . what if the worst should happen and he lost all his genealogy research. Yuh huh! He quickly changed his mind on backing up his PC!

It's your decision on how often you back up your PC. Just be sure it's often enough that if the worst happens, you can recover. Daily is not OTT!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
OTT means Over The Top.

And no, daily backups are NOT "Over the Top".

Whether to back up your PC daily, weekly, or monthly depends on what you have going on.

There are developers of apps/programs, photographers who manipulate their photos for publication, writers of the next Great American Novel, etc. Each of these entities will back up their work daily at the very least. Depending on the number of changes in a day's time, they may choose to back up more than once a day.

I teach Windows 10 to Senior Citizens at our local Center. I have to create tutorials for these folks. Yes, I make changes to my tutorials several times in a day, but because I back up my system daily, if a horrible crash occurs, I will stand to lose only a small portion of my work. So, daily is good. I can remember exactly what I was doing in a tutorial, while I probably wouldn't remember the ins and outs of the novel I may be working on. It differs with each individual and their PC.

Then there're the ones who only use their computers a few times a week. For those individuals, a weekly or monthly backup will suffice.

Case in point . . . one of my students said he doesn't have all that much on his laptop, so, maybe he doesn't need to back it up at all. I had to remind him that we're in a genealogy class together . . . what if the worst should happen and he lost all his genealogy research. Yuh huh! He quickly changed his mind on backing up his PC!

It's your decision on how often you back up your PC. Just be sure it's often enough that if the worst happens, you can recover. Daily is not OTT!
Thank you for your response.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel Core i9-11950H, 24MB Cache, 8 Core
    Memory
    32 GB, 2x16 GB, DDR4, 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics
As the others said/hinted too... if you're doing daily backups, then Restore Points aren't worth the time/space/effort as your backups will already cover you.

I do daily backups and just ignore Restore Points (some apps force you to create them at install) and when I feel really bored, I go in and delete all the old restore points to free up space since they aren't needed.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro β
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion Laptop 15-eg0070wm
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xᵉ Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2TB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    macOS Ventura
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple iMac 27" 5K (2017)
    CPU
    3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
    Memory
    40 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon Pro 570 4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" 5K, 34" UW
    Screen Resolution
    Mon 1: 5120 × 2880 Mon 2: 2560 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    32GB NVME, 1TB SSD
As the others said/hinted too... if you're doing daily backups, then Restore Points aren't worth the time/space/effort as your backups will already cover you.

I do daily backups and just ignore Restore Points (some apps force you to create them at install) and when I feel really bored, I go in and delete all the old restore points to free up space since they aren't needed.
Exactly! It's been a long time, but Restore Point didn't work for the one time I needed it. :(
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
Restore points are very hit-and-miss, sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't; A good backup strategy if far more reliable. Having said that, I used a restore point the other day and it worked perfectly.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Stormforce Prism RTX 3070
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5900X
    Motherboard
    Asus AMD TUF Gaming X570-Plus ATX Motherboard – Aura Sync RGB
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 3070
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung U32H850UMU 32 inch 4K
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    1 x M2.2
    1x M2.1
    5 x HDD
    Cooling
    Cooler Master 120L AIO Watercooler
    Keyboard
    Rii wireless
    Mouse
    Generic cable
    Internet Speed
    320Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox & Chrome
    Antivirus
    Norton
@Wynona - Yes you are correct. I was basing my statement on how I use my computer (where nothing changes very much) and I should not have assumed the OP was using their PC the same as I do. I stand by my comment as long as nothing or very little changes on a daily basis. I should have qualified my statement. Apologies for the omission.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP EliteDesk 705 G5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400GE
    Memory
    8GB DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon Vega 11
    Hard Drives
    256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DELL Inspiron 15-3576
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8250U
    Memory
    8 GB DDR4 - 2400 SODIMM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 620
    Hard Drives
    256GB SK Hynix SC311 SATA SSD
@Wynona - Yes you are correct. I was basing my statement on how I use my computer (where nothing changes very much) and I should not have assumed the OP was using their PC the same as I do. I stand by my comment as long as nothing or very little changes on a daily basis. I should have qualified my statement. Apologies for the omission.
Yep, that's the beauty of computers . . . you can do most anything and fill 'em up or leave 'em pretty empty. One person reads email and another person has a huge database, etc.

The changes I make on my computer aren't that drastic, but if I were to lose my Excel list of membership, I'd be hard pressed to recreate it.

And then there are Windows updates. We should all back up our PCs before each update; we never know what might go wrong; I dimly remember one of those back in Windows 10 . . . somehow it updated then trashed the update . . . Urk!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
Thanks to everyone that responded. You all have taught me several lessons!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    11th Gen Intel Core i9-11950H, 24MB Cache, 8 Core
    Memory
    32 GB, 2x16 GB, DDR4, 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics

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