Restoring a previous version of Windows 10. Windows System Restore

The new version of Windows OS, like any other in this family, sometimes produces errors. But the problems that appear in the “top ten” are not critical, and the software itself has its own set of tools and tools that allow you to restore functionality. So, how to restore the “ten” after a failure, using only the internal mechanisms of the operating system itself is the topic of the article.

System Restore

If you installed or deactivated a program incorrectly, made an erroneous entry in the registry, or updated the software and experienced a crash, the operating system can be restored using a special function.

With its help, previous, workable settings of the registry and system files are returned. The system is restored from a checkpoint saved when the computer was working stably.

In the “ten”, such recovery points are saved once a week automatically and before applications, drivers, and OS updates are installed. The user can create a control point manually.

Procedure

To run the OS recovery feature, follow these three steps:

You can restore the system even when the “top ten” does not boot. If the computer cannot boot, you will see the following picture:

In “Additional Action Options,” the user is prompted to select a solution. Click on "Diagnostics".

And then click on “OS Recovery”.

You will see the same window and can select one of the save points. Follow the instructions of the recovery wizard and wait until the procedure is completed.

Restoring your computer to its original state

If the system cannot be restored using a save point for working parameters or they do not exist (cannot be created), it is necessary to return it to the state with the original settings.

Restoring Windows 10 to its original state can be done:

With the condition that user content and some pre-installed applications will be saved. But all programs that you installed, operating system and driver settings will be deleted.
With the condition that no user data and settings will be saved. You will receive a clean operating system, just like after reinstallation.

Important information! If your PC, laptop or computer has the factory (from the manufacturer) “ten” installed, you have a third option - return the original, clean settings. All user information and content of all hard drive partitions will be deleted from the system.

How to reset Windows 10 to its original state

To return the previous “ten” settings, follow these five steps:

Step 1 From the Start menu, click Settings.

Step 2 Find “Update & Security” in the list.

Step 3 “Click on “Recovery”.

Step 4 Return your computer to its original state by clicking “Start”.

Step 5 Here you will be given two options to choose from. In the first, you can save all your information, and in the second, you can delete it accordingly.

It will take up to an hour for the operating system to return to its original parameters and settings.

Rollback to a previous version of the system (Windows 7 or 8)

This method can be used by those who upgraded to “ten”, having “seven” or “eight”. But if a system failure occurs a month after the update, this option is no longer available. If less than a month has passed, you can rollback and return to the “old” version of the operating system.

Any updates to the "tens" will be deleted, but personal information stored in folders, and all programs, drivers and settings of the "seven"/"eight" will be saved.

To roll back the operating system (go to a previous version), find the Settings tab in the Start menu. In it you need to select the “Update and Security” item, and then the “Recovery” function. Here you can return to the “seven” or “eight” by pressing the corresponding button.

If the item is missing on your computer, you will not be able to roll back (this means that more than a month has passed since the transition to a new version of the operating system, or you have deleted the Windows.old folder from the system directory).

Reinstalling Windows 10 from a recovery disc

For those who took care of a recovery disk in advance, this method will be relevant. After a successful update, it is better to save (copy) the operating system to disk so that after a failure you can easily return to working settings.

To create a recovery drive, follow these two steps:

Step 1 Connect the disk or flash drive to your computer.

Step 2 In the "Recoveries" section, select "Create a recovery disk" and complete all the steps.

Store the operating system recording securely, and do not use the flash drive for other purposes.

How to restore Windows 10 from a backup

If the computer boots, you can return it to its original state. To do this, in “Options” you need to open the “Recovery” tab. After booting into recovery mode, open Diagnostics and restore the operating system image.

Next, connect the Windows 10 backup media and follow the instructions:

Select the OS image with the desired date.
If necessary, you can use additional options, for example, format the disk.
Agree to roll back the system and wait until the procedure is completed.

The operating system will automatically be restored to the form in which it worked when the backup was created, preserving all user content: settings, programs, personal data.

Windows 10 boot repair

The tens bootloader is launched in the same way, from a flash drive.

The procedure is as follows:

If startup is not restored in automatic mode, overwrite the bootloader and partition files manually by performing two steps:

How to restore Windows 10 system files

Team /scannow will launch a special utility SFC.exe, which will restore protected operating system files. The utility first scans and then corrects all errors. The procedure will take up to 45 minutes.

At the end of the procedure, you can see all the damage repaired by the utility in the “Logs” folder of the system partition.

The final click will launch the Windows 10 rollback procedure. After successful completion, the system will start in normal mode.

Several important points regarding recovery using this method:

It is impossible to stop a process launched through the console in safe mode;
Changes that have taken effect cannot be undone;
After the rollback is complete, a text document will appear on the desktop, which will describe all the affected (deleted) files. The names are presented in the form of links, by clicking on which you can quickly restore lost data.

If a black screen or eternal preparation for automatic system recovery does not allow you to enter the computer’s safe mode, then proceed to a system rollback using the BIOS tool.

Restoring Windows 10 via BIOS

It’s worth mentioning right away that this method can only be implemented if the user has a disk or flash drive with a distribution kit of a licensed operating system, otherwise the option can be skipped.

The first step is to configure the BIOS to read the disk when the computer starts. For this:

BIOS is configured. Now you just need to insert the external device on which the distribution is stored.

Helpful tips when working with the environment:

You can find the correct key to enter the BIOS in the instructions for your computer or on the manufacturer’s website. Most modern PC models use the Delete button;
On laptops, the key combination ctrl+alt+esc can be used to enter the BIOS;
In addition to the standard Boot, the 1st Boot Device section can be located in “Boot Device” or “Boot Device configuration”.

Now directly restore Windows 10. After the external device has been inserted and the computer is started, a window will appear in which, instead of “Install,” click “System Restore” at the bottom left of the screen:

An action selection window will appear in which you need to select the diagnostic section:

It is worth noting such a tool as “Startup Recovery”. This feature initiates a scan of your computer for errors and corrects them when detected. You can try to run the utility, but you should not rely on it. In most cases, after a short search, you will receive a message stating that the computer could not be restored.

If the BIOS fails to start

Situations where, when the process of preparing for automatic updating freezes, it is impossible to enter the BIOS, occur quite often. Many users do not understand what to do in such a situation, but there is a solution - resetting (zeroing) the BIOS environment.

There are three relatively simple and safe ways to reset:

After using any of the methods, the user will be able to enter the BIOS and configure it to perform a Windows 10 recovery.

Hard drive problems

The error where Windows 10 does not load correctly may be due to crashes or critical errors on the hard drive. It is impossible to solve this without purchasing or repairing a hard drive, but it is still possible to determine the presence of problems without fully launching Windows 10.

In the right corner you can see values like 5ms, 20ms, etc. They represent the access period for each sector of the hard drive. The ideal value would be 5ms and the more such sectors, the better.

Windows 10 has proven itself to be a very reliable and proven system. But even carefully designed software is not immune to the unusability of some applications, file corruption and other unpleasant moments.

In such cases, it may be necessary to roll back the system to a time when it worked properly. This can be achieved using the built-in recovery feature in Windows 10. We'll show you how to reset your settings correctly and get your computer back up and running quickly.

When using any system recovery or repair method, it is always very important to first back up your data. This can be done using free tools that come with Windows, cloud storage, or third-party software.

While you're using your computer, Windows periodically creates a snapshot of your system (applications, data, and the OS itself) that it stores on your hard drive.

Then, when faced with a problematic situation, System Restore will allow you to revert to a previous state, so the data will be saved in the end.

The good thing about this process is that all documents, images, etc. will remain unchanged, while all applications you installed after the rollback will be deleted. When things go wrong, this is the sure way out of a difficult situation.

Important! One drawback, although quite an important one, is that you probably never turned on the save feature. Do this first, because otherwise the system will not be able to perform a restore, since it will not have saved versions.

To prevent this from happening in the future:

At least if you run into problems in the future, you'll be covered.

How to restore your system using the Settings menu

This is the simplest way:

How to restore your system using startup options

An alternative way is to start the process by restarting your computer. So you need to open:

Windows 10 will complete the process, reboot and start working fine.

Note! This method should resolve any issues you're having with your PC, but if they persist, you may want to completely format your drive and start again.

Getting back a working copy of Windows 10 using this method is not as easy as it seems. If something wrong happens to the system and other options do not work, then this is perhaps the only way. The above solutions are only suitable if the device starts without errors and generally works normally. Sometimes the problem is so serious that the computer is unable to even start, which means you will not be able to begin Windows recovery.

All you can do is start the system in safe mode. This will give you access to the command line, which will help you restore the previous copy using simple commands.

Let's figure out how to return the system to a working state using the command line.

Step 1. Start your computer and hold F8 until the Windows Advanced Options menu appears. Some laptop models (such as Lenovo) require you to hold down the Fn key.

Step 2. Select "Safe Mode using Command Prompt" and then press Enter.

Note! If your computer boots without problems, press Win + R and type cmd in the Run box.

Step 3. If necessary, log in using an administrator account. Once the command prompt appears, type the command rstrui.exe and then press Enter.

Note! This command is slightly different depending on the system version.

Step 4. Next, the Windows Recovery Wizard will open. Use the recommended backup or choose one yourself, then click Next. Follow the instructions below to complete the recovery.

However, this method is suitable for advanced users as beginners may find it difficult. Sometimes you receive an error message: "Windows cannot find a system image on this computer." It's better to take advantage

Video - How to run System Restore on Windows 10

If you switched to the new Windows 10, but for some reason you didn’t like it, you can roll back to the previous operating system that was previously installed on your computer. You can also roll back Windows 10 to factory settings or to one of the restore points if the system produces an error that you cannot solve in any other way.

Conditions for system rollback

There are two ways to roll back the system - reinstall it or restore it:

the first method will require you to provide a license key, since the data that you previously had an activated system installed will be lost. When reinstalling, all information stored on the main disk partition will be lost;
The second method is suitable for you if 30 days have not passed since the transition to Windows 10, since during this period the Windows.old folder is saved, which stores all the data necessary to restore the previous installed operating system. After a month has passed from the date of transition to the new operating system, the folder is automatically deleted, and the license from the previous system is finally transferred to Windows. That is, if you had a licensed Windows 7 and spent 30 days on Windows 10, then the tenth version will become licensed, and to install the seventh Windows you will need a new license key.

Rollback before 30 days have passed

There are several ways to restore a previous version of an installed system from the Windows.old folder. First try the standard method and system recovery, but if they do not suit you, then use the second option - through a third-party program.

Standard method

Open PC settings. Open computer settings
Go to the "Update and Security" block.
Open the “Update and Security” section
Select the “Recovery” subsection. Go to the “Recovery” subsection
This subsection should contain the “Return to...” item. The version you can revert to is the same as the one you installed previously. Click on the “Start” button and follow the instructions that appear on the screen.
Click the “Start” button to start rolling back to the previous OS

Through recovery

While at the “Login” step, when you need to select an account, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and select “Reboot”.
Hold down the Shift key and go to reboot
The recovery menu will open, select “Diagnostics”. Go to the “Diagnostics” section
Proceed to select additional options. Let's move on to additional parameters
Select the “Return to previous build” block.
Select the “Return to previous build” function
Select the proposed option - rollback to the previous installed system.
Choosing where to roll back
Enter a password if you have one.
Enter the password
Read the warning and confirm the action.
Confirm the start of the rollback
Wait for the process to complete; it can last from ten minutes to several hours, depending on the performance of the computer and how many files need to be restored.
We wait until the previous version of the OS is installed

Using a third party program

This method is worth switching to if you have a Windows.old folder with files from the previous system, but the “Return to...” section is not displayed in the computer settings. This happens sometimes, so you can follow these steps to use the files in the folder:

The third-party program is an image of the official application from Microsoft - Rollback Utility. Download this image, which weighs about 200 MB, from the official Microsoft website, and then write it to any free flash drive. You can do this using the built-in functions of Windows 10: right-click on the image, select “Mount” and indicate on which media you want to burn the image.
Select “Mount” to begin the mounting process
Press the Delete key to enter the BIOS
Go to the Boot menu
We put the medium first
Save the changes made to the BIOS and exit it; booting from the flash drive will begin automatically.
Save the settings and exit the BIOS
When the program loads from the flash drive, go to Automated Repair mode.
Select Automated Repair mode
Two systems will appear in the window: active and old. Select the one you want to roll back to and click on the Roll Back button. Instructions will appear on the screen, follow them.
Select the system to which the rollback will be performed

After 30 days have expired

If you no longer have the Windows.old folder, then rolling back without reinstalling the system is impossible. Create installation media from the version of Windows you want to downgrade to by mounting the system image onto a USB flash drive. Boot from the created media and go through the installation process of the desired operating system.

Install the system by uninstalling the previous version

Please note that you will have to uninstall Windows 10, as you need to format the hard drive partition on which the installation will be performed, which means that the license key will need to be entered again. If you want to save the files that you managed to acquire while using Windows 10, then copy them to third-party media, and after the installation is complete, transfer them back to your computer.

System Restore

System recovery is not a rollback to the previous operating system, but to the last restore point. Points can be created manually, but by default they are created automatically. They are needed so that if an unsolvable error occurs in the system, you can roll back all processes and computer settings to the moment when this error did not exist. To use the point, follow these steps:

Launch your computer's Control Panel. Opening the control panel
Go to the "Recovery" section. Find it using the search bar.
Go to the “Recovery” section
Run the recovery program.
Click the “Run System Restore” button
If you have several points, then you can select the one recommended by the system, or any other, by proceeding to manually selecting a point.
Select a recommended or other restore point
Wait until the system performs an automatic recovery. Once the process is complete, you will receive a notification that the system has been restored successfully. Done, now all the settings and parameters of the computer correspond to the properties that it had at the time the restore point was created.
We go through the process of rolling back to a restore point

Video: Applying restore points

Via command line

If your computer does not boot in normal mode, you can put it into safe mode with command line support, and then run the rstrui.exe command at the command prompt. Executing this command will start the recovery process, and all other actions will be the same as the normal recovery described above.

Run the command rstrui.exe to start the recovery

Return to original settings

If your computer settings have been changed for the worse, then you have the opportunity to roll back all settings to default values in a couple of steps:

Go to computer settings by holding down the Win+I keys on your keyboard, or through the search menu. Open the Settings application
Open the "Update and Security" section.
Select the “Update and Security” block
Open the “Recovery” subsection.
Go to the sub-item “Recovery”
Begin the process of returning your computer to its original state by clicking on the “Start” button.
Click on the “Start” button to begin resetting to default settings
You can choose one of two options: remove applications along with settings, but keeping personal files, or remove everything on the computer, leaving a completely clean Windows with an empty hard drive.
Choosing how to reset settings
Having chosen the rollback method, confirm the actions by clicking the “Reset” button. The reset process is performed automatically, wait until it is completed without interrupting the procedure.
Click on the “Reset” button to start the process

Additional method

If the method described above gives you an error or does not allow you to reset the settings for some other reason, then you can use a third-party program from Microsoft to achieve the goal:

Reset when the system is frozen

If, due to changes in computer settings, the system no longer starts, and because of this there is no access to computer settings, then you can recover without logging into the system, but for this you will need a recovery disk or bootable USB flash drive:

Recovery using the program

If the system encounters an insurmountable error, then you can restore it to its original state using a bootable USB flash drive and the official application from Microsoft:

Download and run the application from the official Microsoft website designed for installing Windows 10 - Installation Media Creation Tool.
Download the Installation Media Creation Tool program
After launching the application, select the version of the system installed on your computer.
Selecting system image parameters
When choosing an action, check the option “Create an installation flash drive” and go through the creation process to the end.
We indicate that we want to create an installation flash drive
Turn off the computer without removing the flash drive from the port, start the power-on process and as soon as the first signs of power-up appear on the screen, press the Delete button on the keyboard to go to the BIOS settings. The key may differ, which one it will be in your case, depending on the motherboard model. But when the system boots, lines will appear indicating the key to start the BIOS.
Use the Delete key to go to the BIOS
While in the BIOS, go to the Boot section or “Download” in the Russian version.
Open the “Download” menu
Place the flash drive with the recorded image first in the boot queue. This must be done so that when the computer turns on, it starts loading not from the hard drive, but from your flash drive. If you have a newer BIOS version - UEFI, then in the first place you need to put a flash drive whose name begins with UEFI: “Media name”.
Move the flash drive to the first place
Save the changes you made to the BIOS and exit. Loading from the flash drive will start automatically.
Exit the BIOS and save the changes made
When the first installation program window appears, do not start the process; instead, click on the Repair you computer button.
Select the "System Image Restore" option. Done, wait for the system to recover from the installation media you created.
Activate the “System Image Restore” function

What to do if these operations don't work

Rolling back to a previous operating system may not work if your Windows.old folder is damaged or lost. If the folder is unusable, then you have only one option - reinstall the system.

Restore may not work for the following reasons:

The restore point is damaged, use another, earlier point to successfully roll back the system;
if you are trying to recover through a third-party media, make sure that the correct version of the operating system is installed on it, and that it meets all the conditions: it has at least 4 GB of free space, formatted in FAT32 or NTFS format;
if one of the recovery methods suggested above does not work, then try recovering via a bootable USB flash drive, returning the computer to its original state, or resetting the settings to default values.

What can you do if Windows 10 freezes during a rollback?

If you are convinced that the system is frozen - the process does not move for more than twenty minutes, then you need to manually interrupt the process. Press the "Shutdown" button on the computer case for 5-10 seconds until it turns off. If this does not help, then unplug the device and wait until it turns off. Such actions can lead to an error, so resort to them only as a last resort.

After the computer turns off, start turning it on and enter the recovery menu. Typically, the F2 key is used for this, but the button may differ on your motherboard model. Use the prompt that appears on the screen during startup to find the right button. Once you enter the recovery menu, follow the reset and rollback instructions above.

If you were unable to enter the recovery menu, or the process started through this menu also froze, then create installation media and restore the computer using a system image, this method is described in the “Recovery using a program” section. If this does not help, then reinstall the system, while formatting the disk on which you currently have frozen Windows installed.

How to get back after a rollback

If you rolled back to Windows 7 or 8, and then decided to go back to the tenth version of the system, then use the same method as you used before when you switched from Windows 7 or 8 to Windows 10. Update through the update center or an installation flash drive, creating it using the official program from Microsoft - Installation Media Creation Tool. You can update to the new Windows as much as you like, and then roll back to the old system, for example, using the Windows.old folder, and then update again to the tenth version of the system.

Updating to Windows 10

The transition between versions of Windows can be done either by updating, moving from the old system to the new one, or by rolling back, moving from the new system to the old one. To restore full operation of the system, it is not necessary to switch from one version to another; it is enough to reset the settings or restore parameters to default values using built-in functions or bootable media.

If your Windows 10 PC is running slow or you're regularly experiencing errors and crashes, the easiest solution is to reset your PC to default settings, removing all your programs, files, and anything else that might be causing problems. This method is especially good if all other attempts have failed, but there is no installation disk with the OS and it is not possible to restore functionality in other ways. You'll learn basic PC recovery techniques: using the built-in Windows 10 tool through the Advanced Boot menu, as well as system image recovery so you can return your Windows 10 system to its original state in the future.

Method 1: Factory reset Windows 10

Click Start and type Recovery. Click "Restore to original state". A reset window will open in which you can select several options. If you're experiencing problems that you didn't have in Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, and you upgraded to Windows 10 less than a month ago, you can go back to your old OS. If you want to stay there, click "Start" under "Reset."

A dialog box will appear with two choices.

Reset Windows 10
This option will remove all programs on the computer, but will not affect other files such as documents and user settings. It will also remove programs you downloaded from the Internet, but any apps you installed from the Windows Store will be reinstalled. This is a convenient way to get your computer back to its previous state if it's not working properly and you don't want to have to restore files.
delete everything

The Delete All option does the same thing as the previous option, but it will also delete all of your files. This is the best way to restore your computer to factory condition without going back to the old operating system. This option works the same as a clean installation of Windows 10. If your computer originally came with Windows 10, then this will keep the programs that originally came with your PC.

NOTE: If you use any of these options (disabling the latter), you will lose the ability to revert to Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 in the future.

Method 2: Using an OS image

If you don't want to reinstall your OS now, but think you might want to in the future, it's worth backing up your OS in case it produces errors in the future. Thanks to this, you will have a ready-to-install image of your files, settings and applications. This is a convenient way to restore an operating system from an image to its current state at any time in the future.

To do this, click the "Search" menu and enter "Recovery." Click "Recovery" and wait until the download is complete. Click "Create a recovery disk" and follow the wizard's instructions.

You will be given the choice of where to place this image on your hard drive, optical drive, or network. Once you select the drive, click Next and then Start Backup. The image will be created. Now let's look at how to restore Windows if you already have it.

To use your OS image, go back to the reset menu we used earlier. This time, click Restart Now under Advanced Startup.

When your computer restarts, you will be given the option to reinstall Windows from the system image you created.

This is probably the best option as it returns the OS to the state you created the image in. Keep in mind that this option will delete all files created after the OS image, so make sure you have a backup of your information before doing this.

Using System Restore

System Restore is a way to undo changes using rollback points, allowing you to return system files and settings to an earlier point in time without affecting users' personal files. System Restore uses a feature called system protection that regularly creates and stores information about your PC's drivers, programs, registry, system files, and settings as rollback points.
If you can't solve problems with Windows 10, you can perform a Windows Rollback to return your system to Windows to an earlier point, called a checkpoint.

Note: To perform a rollback, you must be logged into the OS as an administrator.

In the search, enter “Recovery” and select the appropriate item from the search results.

When you run the rollback process, the OS will automatically create a checkpoint before continuing so you can undo the changes if necessary.

If you booted Windows in Safe Mode, a checkpoint will not be created until the recovery continues. In this situation, you will not be able to cancel the rollback process.

Windows 10 System Restore at Startup

Now you will learn how to perform a system restore on Windows 10 at boot via BIOS:

Now you know how to boot into advanced boot mode through the BIOS and start the OS recovery procedure.

How to restore Windows using a boot disk or flash drive?

Many users know how to reinstall the OS, but few people know how to restore Windows from bootable media.
To start the recovery process, boot from the installation media. After loading, a window will appear asking you to select a language. Click “Next” and in the next window click on the “Recovery” link.

A similar advanced boot menu will launch.