No System Restore Points in Windows 7? How to Get Them Back

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We all know how useful System Restore can be when your computer crashes or you accidentally delete important files. System Restore is a built-in Windows feature that automatically and regularly creates System Restore points. With these restore points, you can revert your system files, registry, and programs to an earlier state.

However, when you need to perform a System Restore, you may find out that there are no restore points available in Windows 7. Why did my Windows 7 System Restore points get lost? How can I get them back?

Recommended Reading: System Image Backup Failed - Not Enough Disk Space on Windows 7

Reasons Why System Restore Points Might Be Missing

In Windows 7, the absence of System Restore Points could be due to several reasons. It might be that your system is not protected, or the restore points have been corrupted or disabled. Other causes can include virus or malware infections, incorrect registry settings, insufficient disk space for System Restore, Group Policy settings, and more.

Regardless of the reason, there are a few fixes you can try. We'll introduce you to four of them.

4 Ways to Fix System Restore on Windows 7

Solution 1: Run SFC to Locate the Problematic File

Solution 2: Enable System Restore

Solution 3: Disable, delete, and recreate the page file

Solution 4: Enable vss check

Fix 1: Run the SFC (System File Checker) to locate problematic files

If there are no System Restore points available in Windows 7, the problem might be caused by corrupted or damaged system files. You can fix them by running the System File Checker (SFC).

Here's how it would work:

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as an administrator. Type "cmd" in the search bar, then select "Run as administrator."

Step 2. Type sfc /scannow at the Command Prompt and press Enter.

Step 3: Wait for the process to finish, and then restart your computer to see if the problem is resolved.

Fix 2: Enable System Restore

It's possible that System Restore points in Windows 7 are missing due to System Restore being accidentally turned off. If System Restore is disabled, all restore points become unavailable. Follow these steps to check if it's turned off:

Step 1: Click the Windows “Start” button and open “Control Panel.”

Step 2: Select "System" > "System Protection" to open the System Properties dialog box.

Step 3. If System Restore is working properly, select the drive you want to restore and click Configure.

Step 4: Check the box for “Restore system settings and previous versions of files.”

Solution 3: Disable, delete, and recreate the page file

If the page file is fragmented, System Restore points are automatically deleted every time you start your computer. To fix this problem, you should disable the page file, and then delete and recreate the page file.

Step 1: Type “Advanced system settings” into the search box to open the System Properties dialog.

Step 2: Click on “Settings” under Performance. On the “Advanced” tab, click “Change” under the Virtual Memory section.

Step 3. Untick “Automatically manage paging file size for all drives” and select the drive you want to change. Then, choose “No paging file.” Finally, click “Set” to disable the paging file.

Step 4: Restart your computer, and then delete the pagefile.sys on your primary hard drive.

Step 5. Disable the paging file, and then click "Set" to enable it again. Restart your computer and check if System Restore or Shadow Copy is working properly.

Fix 4: Enable Shadow Copy Checking

If disabling Shadow Copies caused your Windows Restore Points to disappear, follow these steps to re-enable Shadow Copies:

Step 1. On Windows, click the Start button, type services.msc in the search box, and press Enter to open the Services utility.

Step 2: Scroll down and find the “Shadow Copy” service, and make sure it's running properly.

Step 3: If Shadow Copy is off, right-click it and select Start.

A Better Alternative to System Restore - Todo Backup Tool

System Restore is very helpful if you want to revert your computer to a previous state. However, as you've noticed, there can be issues when using it, such as no System Restore points in Windows 7.

For some users, enabling or disabling the page file, recreating the page file, and running SFC may not work at all. Even if they do, you might not be able to create a restore point when you need it the most if there isn't enough free space on your system disk.

In this case, you need a reliable and secure System Restore alternative – the Todo Backup tool. This backup software creates an image of your entire system and saves it to an external hard drive or a network location. With the backup image at hand, you can quickly restore your computer to its last healthy state even if Windows won't boot.

Todo Backup Home is an all-inclusive and reliable backup and disaster recovery solution that safeguards your operating system, applications, settings, and all data, regardless of their size. It also supports various backup types, including full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup, to save storage space as needed.

Additionally, it lets you schedule automatic backups to keep your computer safe. With the disk/partition cloning feature, you can upgrade your system disk to a larger one without losing data.

Create a system image following these steps, and restore your computer from it if System Restore doesn't work.

Step 1: Run Todo Backup, click “Create Backup” on the home screen, and then click “Select backup content”.

Step 2: Click on "OS" among the four options to start the backup process.

Step 3: The system partition will be selected automatically; you just have to choose the location.

Step 4. You can choose to save the backup file on your local drive, cloud storage, or NAS. You can also connect an external hard drive to save your system backup file.

Step 5: You can customize the settings in the options on the bottom left. Then, click "Back Up Now" to start the backup process.

* After the backup is complete, you can check the status, restore, open, or delete the backup by right-clicking on the backup task on the left.

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Conclusions

If you find that there are no System Restore Points in Windows 7, don't panic just yet. You can try fixing the issue by enabling the Shadow Copy service or recreating the page file.

In addition, it's recommended to create a backup image of your entire system with a tool like Todo Backup, to protect against unexpected data loss. With a backup image, you can promptly restore your computer to its last healthy state even if Windows fails to start.

If this article has been helpful to you, please feel free to share it. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us.

#5 FAQ: No System Restore Points in Windows 7

How can I restore Windows 7 without a restore point?

If System Restore was not available, you could start Windows 7 in Safe Mode and run System Restore from there, choosing a restore point to return Windows to a working state.

1. Restart your computer and press the F8 key continuously before Windows 7 loads. 2. On the screen that appears, select "Safe Mode with Command Prompt." 3. In the Command Prompt, type `rstrui.exe` and press Enter to open the System Restore window. 4. Choose a restore point to revert your system to.

How do I create a System Restore Point in Windows 7?

To create a System Restore point in Windows 7, right-click on "Computer" on your desktop and select "Properties." In the left pane, click "System Protection." In the System Properties window, hit the "Configure" button. In the pop-up window, check the box for "Turn on system protection" and choose an appropriate maximum disk space usage. Finally, click "OK" to confirm your settings and exit.

3. Does Windows 7 create restore points automatically?

By default, Windows 7 creates a System Restore point whenever you install a new program or update, but you can also create one manually at any time.