Undoing a System Restore

by Barry Dysert
(last updated April 21, 2014)

If you ever had to perform a System Restore but then realized that you shouldn't have done the restore after all, Windows provides the capability of undoing the restore, thereby setting the system state back to the way it was prior to the restore.

To do this, click Start, right-click on Computer, and then click on Properties. On the screen that appears, click the System Protection, near the upper-left of the screen. Windows displays the System Protection tab of the System Properties dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. Preparing to undo a system restore.

Click the System Restore button just as if you were going to do a restore. Windows displays the System Restore dialog box, which is actually the first step of a wizard. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. Undoing a system restore.

We now have the (pre-selected) option of undoing the restore we did at the time given. Assuming you want to go through with undoing the restore, leave this radio button selected and click Next. You'll then see the next step of the wizard, confirming that you want to undo the restore. Click Finish and Windows, being very cautious, asks you to confirm you really want to proceed. (See Figure 3.)

Figure 3. Proceeding with undoing the restore.

Clicking Yes on this final screen will start the undo process, which cannot be interrupted so be sure you've selected the right restore point, and that you're ready to have the process begin. Once the operation has completed and the system rebooted, it will now be in the state it was in prior to the original restore being applied.

 This tip (13076) applies to Windows 7.

Author Bio

Barry Dysert

Barry has been a computer professional for over 35 years, working in different positions such as technical team leader, project manager, and software developer. He is currently a software engineer with an emphasis on developing custom applications under Microsoft Windows. When not working with Windows or writing Tips, Barry is an amateur writer. His first non-fiction book is titled "A Chronological Commentary of Revelation." ...

MORE FROM BARRY

Mapping a Network Drive

You can create a mapping relationship between a network folder and a drive letter so that it's easy to access the folder ...

Discover More

Using Media Player

Windows Media Player can do many things, many of which are covered in other tips. This tip provides the basic overview of ...

Discover More

Filtering a Folder's Content

If you have lots of files on your computer, it is helpful to filter the files to more easily find a specific one. When ...

Discover More
More WindowsTips

Where Is that File I Just Downloaded?

Downloading files from the Web is a pretty common occurrence. Keeping track of your downloads used to be a bit of a ...

Discover More

Using the DiskPart Utility

The DiskPart utility is a low-level command-line program that lets you manage disks, virtual disks, partitions, and ...

Discover More

Copying Data with Robocopy

Robocopy is a robust file copy utility built into Windows. If you have a lot of file management to do that can't easily ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 5 - 1?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WindowsTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2021 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.