You are probably aware of, and have even used, the System Restore feature in Windows, which allows you to restore the system to a previous date without losing data. Microsoft has added an improved version of the System Restore feature, called Point-in-time restore, to Windows 11 in a recent update.
What is the new Point-in-time restore feature in Windows 11?
The Point-in-time Restore feature is a new feature designed to help users restore everything, including user files, apps, and system settings, unlike the old System Restore feature, which did not touch your personal files.
The best part about the feature is that it does not take much time to restore your PC. As per the Microsoft support page, with the Point-in-time restore feature, you can restore your PC to a previous restore point within a few minutes.
With default settings, the feature automatically creates a new restore point approximately every 24 hours in the background using the Volume Shadow Copy Service.
By default, a restore point is preserved for 72 hours and is automatically deleted after 72 hours, and cannot be manually deleted by turning off the feature. Please note that you cannot change the restore point frequency or retention time from the default 24 hours and 72 hours, respectively, unless you are running Windows 11 Enterprise edition.
On Windows 11 Home and Pro edition PCs, the feature is automatically enabled if the Windows 11 installation drive size is 200 GB or more. So, if you have allocated a smaller size to your Windows 11 installation drive, it’s not enabled by default, but you can do so with a few mouse clicks.
This guide shows you how to turn the Point in restore feature on or off in Windows 11.
Turn on the Point-in-time Restore feature in Windows 11
Step 1: Open the Windows 11 Settings app using the search bar or the Windows logo + I keyboard shortcut.
Step 2: On the left pane of the Settings app, click System. Now, on the right side, click Recovery.
Step 3: Finally, click the View or edit button next to the Point-in-time Restore option. Click the Yes button when you see the prompt.
NOTE: If the Point-in-time Restore option is missing from the page, ensure that you are running the latest version of Windows 11. Check for updates, install available updates, and then try again.
Step 4: Here, you need to turn on the option labeled Point-in-time restore to enable the Point-in-time Restore feature on your Windows 11 PC.
Your Windows 11 PC will automatically start creating restore points approximately every 24 hours.
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