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How to fix if <strong>your Windows no longer shows the System Restore points</strong> (points are missing or have disappeared). These fixes can be applied for the following Windows versions: XP, Vista, 7, 8,10.

These instructions are useful if you can't boot into Windows normally in order to fix System Restore and have the points shown correctly. If you're not able to boot into Windows, go to <a href="#How_to_restore_your_PC">How to restore your PC</a>.

[toc]
<h2>Troubleshoot missing restore points</h2>
<h3>Fix #1: System Restore is enabled</h3>
If the System Restore points are missing, it can be because the System Restore utility has been turned off manually. Whenever your turn off System Restore, all previous points created are deleted. By default, it's turned on.

To check if everything runs correctly with System Restore, follow the instructions below.

For Windows XP:
<ol>
 	<li>Click Start &gt; Control Panel</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>System</strong></li>
 	<li>Go to <strong>System Restore</strong> tab

[caption id="attachment_1963" align="alignnone" width="419"]<img class="size-full wp-image-1963" src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/05/windows-xp-system-restore-tab.png" alt="Windows XP System Restore tab" width="419" height="486" /> Windows XP System Restore tab[/caption]</li>
 	<li>Make sure the <em>Turn off System Restore on all drives</em> is unchecked</li>
</ol>
For Windows Vista:
<ol>
 	<li>Click Start &gt; Programs &gt; Accessories &gt; System Tools</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>System Restore</strong></li>
 	<li>Click <strong>System Protection</strong></li>
 	<li>From <em>Available Disks</em>, make sure all disks are checked. Whenever you check a drive checkbox, System Restore will be enabled for that disk.</li>
</ol>
For Windows 7:
<ol>
 	<li>Click Start &gt; Control Panel</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>System</strong></li>
 	<li>Choose <strong>System Protection</strong> and then go to the <em>System Protection</em> tab</li>
 	<li>Select which drive you want to check if System Restore is enabled (turned on or off) and click <strong>Configure</strong></li>
 	<li>Make sure the Restore system settings and previous versions of files option is checked</li>
</ol>
For Windows 8:
<ol>
 	<li>Search for system restore in the search bar</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Create a restore point</strong></li>
 	<li>Go to <strong>System Protection</strong></li>
 	<li>Select which drive you want to check and click <strong>Configure</strong></li>
 	<li>Make sure the <em>Turn on system protection</em> option is checked in order for System Restore to be turned on</li>
</ol>
For Windows 10:
<ol>
 	<li>Search for system restore in the search bar</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Create a restore point</strong></li>
 	<li>Go to <strong>System Protection</strong></li>
 	<li>Select which drive you want to check and click <strong>Configure</strong></li>
 	<li>Make sure the <em>Turn on system protection</em> option is checked in order for System Restore to be turned on</li>
</ol>
<h3>Fix #2: Check HDD space</h3>
If your computer no longer has the free space, System Restore - even if it's turned on - will stop creating restore points.

You can also configure System Restore to use more space to save the restore points. To do so, follow the steps from until you reach the <em>Max Usage</em> option of System Restore.

Use the <em>Max Usage</em> slide to increase the space for System Restore.

[caption id="attachment_5158" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/03/VirtualBox_W10_new_13_11_2016_13_23_10.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-5158" src="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/03/VirtualBox_W10_new_13_11_2016_13_23_10.png" alt="Windows 10 System Restore screen" width="800" height="600" /></a> Windows 10 System Restore screen[/caption]
<h3>Fix #3: Run chkdsk, sfc</h3>
By running the <code>chkdsk</code> and <code>sfc</code> commands you can check if there are any issues with your computer's hard drive.
<ol>
 	<li>Open Command Prompt</li>
 	<li>Type:
<pre>chkdsk /f</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Type:
<pre>sfc /scannow</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
</ol>
If chkdsk or sfc (or both) output shows error in System Restore, your computer's hard drive might be failing or it's corrupted. This could be the cause for the missing System Restore points.

You can also check if the hard drive is healthy with Easy Recovery Essentials:

[partial name="partial_easyre_hardware_testing"]
<p class="info">For more information on how you can check your computer for HDD or SSD failures, <a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/check-hdd-ssd-failures/">read this guide</a>.</p>

<h3>Fix #4: Check Volume Shadow Copy</h3>
The Volume Shadow Copy utility from Windows creates backups of your Windows while in use. If Volume Shadow Copy is disabled, your computer's System Restore points might not be available.

To check if Volume Shadow Copy is running or not, follow these steps:
<ol>
 	<li>Click <strong>Start</strong></li>
 	<li>Type <code>services.msc</code> in the Run dialog box or in the Search bar (for Windows Vista, 7 or 8)</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd> to open the Services utility</li>
 	<li>Find the <strong>Volume Shadow Copy</strong> item from the list</li>
 	<li>Make sure Volume Shadow Copy is running: check the "Status" column corresponding to this item.If it's not running, click <strong>Start the service</strong> from the left in order to start it.</li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_5159" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/03/VirtualBox_W10_new_13_11_2016_13_26_31.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-5159" src="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/03/VirtualBox_W10_new_13_11_2016_13_26_31.png" alt="Windows 10 Volume Shadow Copy screen" width="800" height="600" /></a> Windows 10 Volume Shadow Copy screen[/caption]
<h3>Fix #5: Check page file for fragmentation</h3>
If your system's page file is fragmented, your System Restore points might get deleted at each restart. This is very common behavior for Windows 7 systems.

In order to fix this, you can do the following: disable, delete or recreate the page file.

To do so, follow these steps:
<ol>
 	<li>Open <strong>Control Panel</strong></li>
 	<li>Type <code>advanced system settings</code> in the search bar</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>View advanced system settings</strong></li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Settings</strong> under <em>Performance</em></li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Change</strong> under <em>Virtual Memory</em></li>
 	<li>Select your main drive, e.g. <code>C:</code>, and then select <strong>No paging file</strong></li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Set</strong></li>
 	<li>Click <strong>OK</strong> (three times) to exit the current menu</li>
 	<li>Restart your computer</li>
 	<li>Boot again and go to <strong>Computer</strong> (or My Computer)</li>
 	<li>Delete <code>pagefile.sys</code> from your main drive, e.g. <code>C:\</code>.
In this example, <code>pagefile.sys</code> path is: <code>C:\pagefile.sys</code>Note that <code>pagefile.sys</code> is a hidden file and you need to show hidden files and folders (go to <em>Folder Options</em> to enable this option) to view the file.</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>Start</strong></li>
 	<li>Type <code>cmd</code> to open Command Prompt</li>
 	<li>Type:
<pre>defrag /h c:</pre>
Replace <code>c:</code> with the letter of the drive where Windows is installed.</li>
 	<li>Go back and enable paging file again. Follow the first steps and deselect the <strong>No paging file</strong> option.</li>
 	<li>Click <strong>OK</strong> (three times) to exit the menu</li>
 	<li>Reboot your computer</li>
 	<li>Check if System Restore or Volume Shadow Copy is running correctly. You can try to create a manually restore point.</li>
</ol>
[caption id="attachment_5160" align="alignnone" width="800"]<a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/03/VirtualBox_W10_new_13_11_2016_13_28_19.png"><img class="size-full wp-image-5160" src="https://neosmart.net/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2015/03/VirtualBox_W10_new_13_11_2016_13_28_19.png" alt="Windows 10 Paging file settings screen" width="800" height="600" /></a> Windows 10 Paging file settings screen[/caption]
<h2>How to restore your PC</h2>
If you're not able to boot into Windows and run System Restore, you have the following options available:
<ul>
 	<li><a href="#System_Restore_via_Safe_More">Run System Restore via Safe Mode</a></li>
 	<li><a href="#System_Restore_via_EasyRE">Run System Restore via Easy Recovery Essentials</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>System Restore via Safe More</h3>
To open System Restore in Safe Mode, follow these steps:
<ol>
 	<li>Boot your computer</li>
 	<li>Press the <kbd>F8</kbd> key before the Windows logo appears on your screen</li>
 	<li>At <em>Advanced Boot Options</em>, select <strong>Safe Mode with Command Prompt</strong>

[caption id="attachment_1397" align="alignnone" width="1024"]<img class="size-full wp-image-1397" src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2013/09/Advanced-Boot-Options-menu.png" alt="The Advanced Boot Options screen in Windows Vista" width="1024" height="768" /> The Advanced Boot Options screen in Windows Vista[/caption]</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Type:
<pre>rstrui.exe</pre>
</li>
 	<li>Press <kbd>Enter</kbd></li>
 	<li>Follow System Restore instructions to restore your computer by choosing an available restore point from the list</li>
</ol>
If you don't have any restore points listed, your System Restore may have not created any restore points of your system.

You can use Easy Recovery Essentials <a href="https://neosmart.net/EasyRE/Features/AutoRepair">Automated Repair feature</a> to automatically find and fix various boot errors that can help you boot into your computer again.
<h3>System Restore via EasyRE</h3>
[partial name="partial_easyre_system_restore_without_error_code"]
<h2>More Information</h2>
<h3>Linked Entries</h3>
<ul>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/chkdsk/">chkdsk</a></li>
 	<li><a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/sfc/">sfc</a></li>
</ul>
[partial name="partial_moreinfo" versions="xp,vista,7,8,10"]