System Restore Failed

Put your "user data" elsewhere and manage it with file sync/replication software... a much better overall solution. a lot of us have been doing that for years. Image your OS System... let System Restore die a natural death.

The vast majority of users don't relocate user data, the relocation also has its downsides, e.g. if you need support then you get support from a small minority of experienced users (this is true for just about any personalization that you do)

I do back up my user data without relocation, a much gentler approach.

I like System Restore, because it repairs the OS as needed, it does not replace the entire shebang from the past as imaging does.

To each his own, though

If data is in the cloud an image restore makes more sense than system restore. Macrium Reflect is so good and so quick, I no longer spend time trouble shooting, I just use MR, even if I lose a few recent files. All my photos are backed up automatically and my spreadsheets are on GoogleDrive.

System Restore does not back up personal files and will remove apps installed since your last restore point, but not any files they have created. I've often found it does not fix my problems so I always switch it off.

Haydon said:

Disk imaging is another tool in the toolbox indeed.

But one disadvantage of disk imaging is that you lose the most recent updates of user data from the time of creating the disk image.

System Restore does not have the disadvantage.

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Not if you do incremental and/or differential images. The problem with disk imaging is that most people don't understand how how flexible it is, and how many different methods there are of using it. Yes, it can be used in conjunction with any other backup / restore utility you like (including system restore), but as far as I'm concerned every single computer user on the planet should image their drive(s) on a regular basis. It's painless and virtually flawless.

I have not used this ever. I tried it in Win Me and it failed.

allan said:

Not if you do incremental and/or differential images. The problem with disk imaging is that most people don't understand how how flexible it is, and how many different methods there are of using it. Yes, it can be used in conjunction with any other backup / restore utility you like (including system restore), but as far as I'm concerned every single computer user on the planet should image their drive(s) on a regular basis. It's painless and virtually flawless.

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Even with incremental/differential images the most recent update to user data is lost since the time the image was created.

The loss of the most recent update to user data is unfortunate because it is usually the most urgent in a daily/hourly work flow, e.g. if you have an important presentation to prepare and you are late

Haydon said:

Even with incremental/differential images the most recent update to user data is lost since the time the image was created.

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I know this is controversial but One Drive deals with that issue for me.

So does everyone agree it is perfectly normal for a System Restore to be successful, and then the computer won't boot up?

DoctorWho said:

So does everyone agree it is perfectly normal for a System Restore to be successful, and then the computer won't boot up?

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It can happen. That is why we recommend disk imaging software.

Porthos said:

It can happen. That is why we recommend disk imaging software.

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Macrium has saved me twice in the last two days. First my fingerprint reader mysteriously stopped working so I restored back to my initial install image which fixed it and just this lunchtime the Facebook login to a website I use for work failed when I cleared all my cookies so I restored back to this morning's image, and I can now work again! Only thing I have to do is delete the .OST files and Outlook simply downloads all my emails again. Each time the restore was done in around 8 minutes as well.

Just a good cloning software and get you another ssd to clone to, I don't trust any kind of backups. In my opinion, as cheap as SSD's are these days "compared to losing all your data" there's no comparison. I use all Samsung drives, period, they offer their own software that makes cloning from one samsung to another samsung a breeze. If you don't use the samsung drives, get you a SSD duplicator, or an M.2 duplicator, again, how valuable is your time, and data? this is what you need to think about, I clone once a week.

RD Mercer said:

Just a good cloning software and get you another ssd to clone to, I don't trust any kind of backups. In my opinion, as cheap as SSD's are these days "compared to losing all your data" there's no comparison. I use all Samsung drives, period, they offer their own software that makes cloning from one samsung to another samsung a breeze. If you don't use the samsung drives, get you a SSD duplicator, or an M.2 duplicator, again, how valuable is your time, and data? this is what you need to think about, I clone once a week.

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Unless you have a Samsung NVME SSD which is set to encrypted drive in which case their data migration tool doesn't work.

markw51 said:

Unless you have a Samsung NVME SSD which is set to encrypted drive in which case their data migration tool doesn't work.

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Don’t know about that, because I’ve never tried to do a clone of my NVME M.2 drives on the board using the Samsung migration tool,
my Orico M.2 duplicator works great for that. But the data migration tool works great for my regular Samsung SSD’s to another Samsung SSD onboard. I also have a regular stand alone SSD duplicator, but it’s easier for me with the Samsung drives just to do it onboard, with the Samsung migration tool.

Howdy Folks

I am having lots of errors after I did this System Restore:

1. I ran another sfc /scannow and it said my Windows files were corrupt
2. Simple things like MS Paint have been not working
3. Other games I installed now have corrupt files
4. Still having explorer.exe application errors

Is there anything I can do to help my computer recover from this System Restore and make sure things are back to normal?

DoctorWho said:

Is there anything I can do to help my computer recover from this System Restore and make sure things are back to normal?

Click to expand...

Repair install. Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

Haydon said:

Even with incremental/differential images the most recent update to user data is lost since the time the image was created.

The loss of the most recent update to user data is unfortunate because it is usually the most urgent in a daily/hourly work flow, e.g. if you have an important presentation to prepare and you are late

Click to expand...

Put data in separate partition, back up separately - job done.

DoctorWho said:

So does everyone agree it is perfectly normal for a System Restore to be successful, and then the computer won't boot up?

Click to expand...

System restore may be restoring files corrupted when creating the restore point, something happened to the raw data in the file or they got corrupted writing back on the disk, who knows. System restore in past windows versions has mostly let me down every time. And I have no experience in 10 or 11 as I dont use it. Usually just reinstall or somewhere had a cloned system disk.

Will re-installing windows wipe out all my installed programs and files?

Even the System Restore seems to have corrupted one of my games and also MS Paint, I'm concerned what an entire re-install might look like.

DoctorWho said:

Will re-installing windows wipe out all my installed programs and files?

Even the System Restore seems to have corrupted one of my games and also MS Paint, I'm concerned what an entire re-install might look like.

Click to expand...

A "clean install" will remove everything. It will be starting from scratch.
You can ofc, save your "files" to a USB stick or to a storage drive, so you don't lose those.
You can also export and save your bookmarks as well.

As mentioned above, assuming the problem is a Windows problem, and not a problem with any 3rd party apps or programs...
then an In-Place Upgrade is what you want.

Keep in mind, that an In-Place Upgrade will only fix Windows problems.

An In-Place Upgrade "compares" what is installed on the computer, with the Windows ISO image.
Then, it overwrites any corrupted Windows files, with clean copies from the ISO image.
This is how it "repairs" Windows while allowing you to keep your programs and personal files.

Here is the short version of the In-place upgrade tutorial...

DISABLE non-Microsoft:
a) antivirus software
b) firewall software
c) drive encryption software


Make a full OS backup with a program like Macrium Reflect or AOMEI Backupper Standard
Making a backup is optional, but always a smart move.
Macrium Reflect
AOMEI Backupper Standard (free)


Get the Windows 11 ISO (Option #2), and save it to your desktop...


Right click the ISO image and choose: MOUNT
Open File Explorer and you will see a new drive letter. It will "look" like a DVD optical drive.
Double click the new drive letter to open it.
Find setup.exe and double click it to start the in-place upgrade.

Choose the Keep personal files and apps option.

After it's all done... to UNmount the ISO image, right click the new drive letter and choose: EJECT.

The ONLY thing you will lose is some of your personalizations.
Your drivers, programs and data will be intact.







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An In-Place Upgrade should take about 40-45 minutes.
If it doesn't solve your problem, then you can always do a "clean install" of Windows 11.

Generally, this is the order we do repairs. You only need to do any of these until the problem goes away.

1. SFC, then DISM... RestoreHealth <---- fixes only Windows problems
2. Repair install with an In-Place Upgrade <---- fixes only... bigger Windows problems
3. Clean install of Windows 11. <---- starts from scratch (even wipes out Daleks)
4. If the problem is a hardware problem... none of these will help.

NOTE: If the problem is caused by an infection, steps 1 and 2 won't help. Step 3 will remove most infections.


This is the reason we use backup software. Unlike System Restore, which "merges" the restore point with the Windows install,
restoring from a backup, "overwrites" the entire Windows install with your backup.
So... as long as your backup is clean... it will fix any software problems, including infections.