Microsoft continues to enhance the Windows 11 experience with the introduction of innovative features, the latest being point-in-time restore. This new recovery tool is now available to all Windows 11 users, marking a significant evolution of the traditional System Restore, which has been a staple since its inception with Windows ME in 2000.
What is point-in-time restore?
Like System Restore, but better
Point-in-time restore is designed to streamline the process of recovering your PC from software issues, problematic drivers, or faulty updates—even in scenarios where Windows won’t boot. This feature leverages the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), the same underlying technology that powers System Restore.
With VSS, restore points are automatically generated at regular intervals—approximately every 24 hours—allowing users to revert their systems to earlier states that encompass not just system files and settings, but also user files. In contrast, System Restore historically excluded user files from its restore points. Additionally, point-in-time restore manages storage efficiently by automatically deleting restore points after 72 hours, thus minimizing its footprint on your disk space.
A notable advantage of point-in-time restore is its seamless integration into Windows Settings (System > Recovery) and its default activation for Windows volumes exceeding 200GB. However, for those with smaller volumes, manual activation is necessary. This contrasts sharply with System Restore, which is less accessible, hidden within the Control Panel, and requires users to enable System Protection before it begins creating restore points.
Moreover, point-in-time restore incorporates Reserved Storage, a feature that allocates disk space for Windows updates and temporary files, ensuring that restore points do not consume regular disk space. Future updates are expected to enhance point-in-time restore with robust remote management capabilities, including support for Microsoft Intune recovery, a feature that System Restore lacks. Additionally, recovery times with point-in-time restore are anticipated to be significantly faster, often within minutes, although it is limited to the system volume, unlike System Restore, which can manage multiple volumes.
Here’s how to get access to point-in-time restore
All you need is a single update
Point-in-time restore is accessible on both Windows 11 Home and Pro editions, requiring only the installation of the optional Preview Update KB5095093. Currently, this update is optional, but it will eventually be rolled into a standard Windows update. Users can check for this update by navigating to Windows Update, where it should be available for download. If not immediately visible, it can be found under Advanced options > Optional updates.
After installing the update and rebooting, users can find the new Point-in-time restore option in Windows Settings under System > Recovery. Here, users with smaller Windows volumes can enable the feature manually, while those with larger volumes will find it activated by default.
In terms of settings, users can adjust only the Restore point disk usage, as the other options—Restore point frequency and Restore point retention—are exclusive to Windows 11 Enterprise editions. For the average user, these settings are fixed at Every 24 hours and 72 hours, respectively.
To initiate a recovery using point-in-time restore, users must access the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE). This can occur automatically after several failed boot attempts or manually by holding Shift while selecting Restart, or through Settings under System > Recovery, followed by Advanced startup.
Once in Windows RE, the restore process can be started by selecting Troubleshoot > Point-in-time restore. Users may need to enter their BitLocker recovery key if applicable, choose a restore point, and confirm the associated risks before proceeding with the recovery.
I’ve already replaced System Restore with point-in-time restore
In my experience, point-in-time restore is an impressive addition to Windows 11, offering a user-friendly interface, default activation, and minimal user intervention. Its inclusion of user files in restore points further enhances its utility compared to System Restore.
Having already disabled System Restore, I plan to rely solely on point-in-time restore moving forward. However, users who prefer manual restore point creation or need to protect non-system partitions may still find value in sticking with System Restore.
