Does Win 11 delete restore points?

Question

Does Win 11 delete restore points?

DavidH44 60

Last week I set a restore point because I was about to use a utility to change some settings. I didn't like the results so wanted to restore, but the only point available was set after the latest Windows update. Windows used to store earlier set points. What happened?

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Answer accepted by question author

DaveM121 939.1K Independent Advisor

Windows updates will sometimes delete all restore points to maintain system stability, if there are many system files changed in the update, because restoring the system after that type of update may cause system instability.

Are you experiencing any problems or system instability after uninstalling that utility?

Microsoft are soon adding a new function to Windows 11 in an upcoming update named 'Point in time restore' which they indicate will be a better option for restoring the system to any specific time.

DavidH44 60 Reputation points

2025-12-29T00:51:08.02+00:00

I think you used to be able to go back several months. I understand that MSFT doesn't want to undo update changes but we should be able to go back to a stable state and then update again. Point of time would be good,

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DavidH44 60 Reputation points

2025-12-29T00:51:08.02+00:00

I think you used to be able to go back several months. I understand that MSFT doesn't want to undo update changes but we should be able to go back to a stable state and then update again. Point of time would be good,

Answer 1

In Windows 11, restore points can indeed be deleted under certain conditions. The system retains restore points for a maximum of 72 hours, after which they are automatically deleted. Additionally, restore points may be deleted if the maximum storage configured for them is exceeded or if the device reports low free space. This means that if you set a restore point and then the system created a new one after a Windows update, the older restore point may have been deleted due to these storage management policies.

It's also important to note that if the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) encounters issues, such as insufficient disk space or other errors, it may also lead to the deletion of restore points. Therefore, if you noticed that the only available restore point was set after the update, it could be due to these retention and deletion policies in place within Windows 11.

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