Solved System Restore (not about "backups")


No. A Restore point is a snapshot of the Registry, system files and installed programs only, other files such as user documents are not affected by restoring a restore point. A checkpoint is more like restoring a system image, all files are restored to their state at the time of the checkpoint, user files created since the checkpoint will be lost.
Hi there

Thanks for the explanation.

Now final "Supplementary question" -- How does one actually then take a Checkpoint in a REAL Windows 11 machine - and would it be more reliable than SRP's. Checkpoints are easily done in HYPER-V or on KVM systems running VM's but I don't think there's any way on standard systems.

Windows servers must also have some sort of checkpointing / replay logs surely !!! since with 100's or 1000's of users full system restores would be a nightmare !!!!!and probably take days to recover properly -- like some old Banking mainframe systems still running IBM's DB2 / IMS type DB's.

SQL server DBMS has checkpointing as do some other DB systems but I don't think the OS itself has.

I know this is OT to the original topic but it seems interesting enough to pose the question here.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
Well, mine took less than a minute to start rebooting. But it still failed - I had 0 interaction with it from the time I pressed restore to when I logged back in - all under 2 minutes total. But I got this:

View attachment 5837
I had to initiate System Restore by rebooting to the Advanced Troubleshooting.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 23H2 v22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built Myself in 2013
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 1800X 8-Core @ 3.60GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus Crosshair VI Hero
    Memory
    16GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB Series
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB GDDR5
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" , PLANAR 22", eMachine 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~ P34A60 512GB NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 M.2
    ~ 3TB WD Red HDD (extra storage)
    ~ SanDisk 250GB SSD
    ~ 2 X 1TB HDD
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    PSU
    Corsair RM850 Fully Modular (850watts)
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 630 CA-PH630-W1
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    CORSAIR iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT
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    Logitech K860
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    Logitech MX Master
    Internet Speed
    752Mbps (Download) / 537Mbps (Upload)
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    Firefox
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    Malwarebytes
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    *This is my Main Computer That I use*
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD A10-5700 APU @ 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Asus CM1745
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R7 350x GDDR5 4 GB
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    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Monitor Setup ONN 22" Monitors
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    ~~~~~~~~
    250GB SSD

    500GB HDD
    ~~~~~~~~
    PSU
    350Watt PSU
    Cooling
    Air Cooling
    Mouse
    MX Master
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    Microsoft Ergonomic 4000
    Internet Speed
    752Mbps (Download) / 537Mbps (Upload)
    Browser
    Firefox
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    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    *Computer for Weather Software*
First, please this is not about "backups" and has nothing to do with backing up. This is about using a feature for which is was designed.

So, I use "System Restore" to create manual restore points when I want to test drivers or apps. I'll create a manual restore point for the app or driver in question before installation. If something goes wrong or I decide I don't want the app or driver, I simply tell System Restore to restore the system back to before the the app or driver install. Been doing this for years without issue. And the process is relatively fast.

That said, there appears to be an issue under Windows 11 where the restore process takes forever to complete. In fact, it took so long that I thought the system crashed. It ran for at least 15 before I rebooted, thinking the system crashed. Rebooting back into Windows, I was told the system never finished the restore operation. The thing is, the operation should take no longer than 5 minutes, if that. Anyway, I tried again, and this time after about 10 minutes the operation completed.

So, for those who use the System Restore feature, are you noticing inordinate long restore times under Windows 11?

Thanks :)
OK.
I eventually got around to testing it.
I created a manual restore point, then about 2 hours later, I restored it.
It took about 15 minutes to successfully restore.

I have never known System Restore to be very fast, but it does appear to be slower than in Windows 10.
Where I noticed it sitting for longer than I would have thought is when it says:
System Restore is restoring the registry...
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Stigg's Build
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-10900X
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G
    Memory
    Corsair 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) CMW64GX4M4C3000C15 Vengeance RGB Pro 3000Mhz DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini ITX 6 GB OC
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" FHD LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LS27F350FHEXXY)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro Series 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    PSU
    Corsair HX1200 1200W 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata V2
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    Logitech BRIO 4k Ultra HD USB-C Webcam
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS
    CPU
    Core i7-8750H
    Motherboard
    Zephyrus M GM501GS
    Memory
    SK Hynix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) HMA82GS6CJR8N-VK 16 GB DDR4-2666 DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC294
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics B156HAN07.1 [15.6" LCD]
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVKW512HMJP-00000 512 GB, PCI-E 3.0 x4
    Samsung SSD 860 QVO 4TB 4 TB, SATA-III
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Keyboard
    PC/AT Enhanced PS2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    USB2.0 HD UVC Webcam
Finally getting back on topic since everyone and their mother wants to make this about backups....

I was able to restore with very little time, only I wasn't able to restore after all. It would not load the previous version of the drivers after I tested it.

Dru had it take a long time but eventually work. Seems Stigg is having the same issue.

Can we now start collating the data points?

I performed this on my cleanly installed Windows 11 system. How about you, @Dru2 and @Stigg?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Finally getting back on topic since everyone and their mother wants to make this about backups....

I was able to restore with very little time, only I wasn't able to restore after all. It would not load the previous version of the drivers after I tested it.

Dru had it take a long time but eventually work. Seems Stigg is having the same issue.

Can we now start collating the data points?

I performed this on my cleanly installed Windows 11 system. How about you, @Dru2 and @Stigg?

First (for clarity), the way "I" use System Restore is to manually create and name a restore point for an item I wish to install/test; ex: AMD drivers. Once the restore point is created, I'll install the drivers and see how the system responds.

If the system crashes or does something severe, I'll restore to system back to before the update by choosing the "AMD drivers" restore point, and letting to system revert back before the AMD driver install. All this is done the same day. That's me.

That said, given the procedures above, the driver will revert back to the prior driver before the update. This is how the system works (per my experience) as well as how Microsoft says it should work....

Use System restore to make restore points when you install a new app, driver, or Windows update, and when you create a restore point manually. Restoring won’t affect your personal files, but it will remove apps, drivers, and updates installed after the restore point was made. To go back to a restore point:
source: Microsoft - Use System Restore

Granted the article is for Windows 10, and not 11, but 11 should (did for me) work the same. So, if your drivers did not revert back to the old ones, there is an issue and the system did not restore. Additionally, if it did not restore you should have gotten a message saying System Restore was unable to restore the system. That's how it works for me if System Restore fails to restore.

All that said, I've only seen the slow time once on Windows 11, cause that's the only time I ran System Restore.

Thanks, and hope this clarifies.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Xtreme
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (3600Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon VII
    Sound Card
    Onboard (ESS Sabre HiFi using Realtek drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242w (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    5 Samsung SSD drives: 2X 970 NVME (512 & 1TB), 3X EVO SATA (2X 2TB, 1X 1TB)
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova I000 G2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    500mb Download. 11mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, music, school.
  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2130)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING 8
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum (3333Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R9 Fury
    Sound Card
    Onboard (Creative Sound Blaster certified ZxRi)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2415 (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung SSD drives: 1x 512gig 950 NVMe drive (OS drive), 1 x 512gig 850 Pro, 1x 256gig 840 Pro.
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 710
    Internet Speed
    100MB
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    This is my backup system.

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Stigg's Build
    CPU
    Intel Core i9-10900X
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE X299X DESIGNARE 10G
    Memory
    Corsair 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) CMW64GX4M4C3000C15 Vengeance RGB Pro 3000Mhz DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 Super Mini ITX 6 GB OC
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 27" FHD LED FreeSync Gaming Monitor (LS27F350FHEXXY)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Pro Series 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    Western Digital Red Pro WD8003FFBX-68B9AN0 8 TB, 7200 RPM, SATA-III
    PSU
    Corsair HX1200 1200W 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 Black Solid Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Chromax Black
    Keyboard
    Razer Ornata V2
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    Logitech BRIO 4k Ultra HD USB-C Webcam
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS ROG Zephyrus M GM501GS
    CPU
    Core i7-8750H
    Motherboard
    Zephyrus M GM501GS
    Memory
    SK Hynix 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) HMA82GS6CJR8N-VK 16 GB DDR4-2666 DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC294
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AU Optronics B156HAN07.1 [15.6" LCD]
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung MZVKW512HMJP-00000 512 GB, PCI-E 3.0 x4
    Samsung SSD 860 QVO 4TB 4 TB, SATA-III
    PSU
    N/A
    Case
    N/A
    Cooling
    N/A
    Mouse
    Razer DeathAdder Essential
    Keyboard
    PC/AT Enhanced PS2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
    Internet Speed
    FTTN 100Mbps / 40Mbps
    Browser
    Mozilla Firefox
    Antivirus
    N/A
    Other Info
    USB2.0 HD UVC Webcam
"Finally getting back on topic since everyone and their mother wants to make this about backups...."
The only backups my mom knows about are loo backups.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Professional build 7601
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 77xx series
    Motherboard
    dunno
    Memory
    Older has 8GB, newer has 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    built-on motherboards
    Sound Card
    built-on motherboards
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Matte
    Screen Resolution
    Older 720, Newer 1080
    Hard Drives
    Internal 2TB HDDs, Backup/Restores onto 1TB HDDs
    PSU
    dunno
    Case
    Acer Aspire 77xx series
    Cooling
    internal fans, ext cooling assembly, ext 5" fan
    Keyboard
    built-in
    Mouse
    USB
    Internet Speed
    Often, snails zip by...
    Browser
    Chrome, W7 Edge, IE, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Several alligators in surrounding moat of each castle
    Other Info
    Details upon request
First (for clarity), the way "I" use System Restore is to manually create and name a restore point for an item I wish to install/test; ex: AMD drivers. Once the restore point is created, I'll install the drivers and see how the system responds.

If the system crashes or does something severe, I'll restore to system back to before the update by choosing the "AMD drivers" restore point, and letting to system revert back before the AMD driver install. All this is done the same day. That's me.

That said, given the procedures above, the driver will revert back to the prior driver before the update. This is how the system works (per my experience) as well as how Microsoft says it should work....


source: Microsoft - Use System Restore

Granted the article is for Windows 10, and not 11, but 11 should (did for me) work the same. So, if your drivers did not revert back to the old ones, there is an issue and the system did not restore. Additionally, if it did not restore you should have gotten a message saying System Restore was unable to restore the system. That's how it works for me if System Restore fails to restore.

All that said, I've only seen the slow time once on Windows 11, cause that's the only time I ran System Restore.

Thanks, and hope this clarifies.

Yup - and that is exactly what I tested on my end. I installed newer drivers, then tried to restore to a SRP that had older drivers. It failed, but I have my own suspicions as to why it broke when I attempted it (and thus why I may also not have seen a massive delay in the attempt as well).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth

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