Windows 11 Point-in-Time Restore - A New Way to Roll Back Your PC

Windows 11 Point-in-Time Restore: A New Way to Roll Back Your PC

Microsoft has added a new Windows 11 recovery feature called Point-in-Time Restore, and this one is worth paying attention to.

I discovered it after installing the 2026-06 Preview Update, KB5095093, which brought my system to build 26200.8737. After the update, a new recovery option appeared under:

Settings > System > Recovery > Point-in-time restore

This is not the same thing as the older System Restore feature many Windows users may remember. System Restore mainly focuses on Windows system files, drivers, registry settings, and some installed software. Point-in-Time Restore is designed to go further. It can roll the PC back to a recent saved state, including Windows, installed apps, settings, and local personal files.

That sounds powerful — and it is — but there are some important details users need to understand before treating it like magic. Spoiler alert: it is not magic. Windows still does not come with a tiny wizard in the basement fixing everything while you drink coffee.

What Point-in-Time Restore Does

Point-in-Time Restore creates automatic snapshots of your PC. If something goes wrong, the idea is that you can roll the computer back to one of those earlier snapshots.

Microsoft describes it as a way to quickly recover from problems such as:

Bad updates
Driver problems
Software issues
Configuration mistakes
Other system changes that cause trouble

The big difference is scope. Point-in-Time Restore is designed to restore more of the PC than classic System Restore. It includes the system state, apps, settings, and local user files.

That makes it much more useful — but also more serious. If you restore to yesterday, changes made after that restore point may be lost.

How to Find Point-in-Time Restore

To check whether your Windows 11 PC has this feature:

Open Settings.
Select System.
Select Recovery.
Look for Point-in-time restore.
Select View or edit.

If the feature is available, you should see options similar to these:

Point-in-Time Restore: On or Off
Restore point frequency
Restore point retention
Restore point disk usage
Current restore points

On my system, Point-in-Time Restore was turned on after installing KB5095093. The restore point frequency showed every 24 hours, and the retention period showed 72 hours.

One important note: even though the feature was turned on, Windows did not immediately show any available snapshots. The setting showed “No snapshots available.”

That tells us something useful right away.

Does Windows Create a Snapshot Immediately After Installing an Update?

Based on my first test, apparently not.

After installing the update that introduced the feature, Point-in-Time Restore was enabled, but no snapshot was immediately available.

That does not mean the feature is broken. It appears Windows waits for the next scheduled snapshot interval, which on my system was every 24 hours.

This is one of the first things I will continue testing.

Can Users Create a Snapshot Manually?

At this time, I do not see a manual “Create snapshot now” button in the Point-in-Time Restore settings.

That is a big difference from classic System Restore, where users could create a restore point manually before making a major change.

For now, Point-in-Time Restore appears to rely on automatic snapshots.

That means users should not assume they can quickly create a restore point right before installing a questionable program or driver. At least for now, Windows does not appear to make that easy.

Is There a PowerShell or Command-Line Tool to Force a Snapshot?

So far, I have not found a supported command that forces Windows to create a Point-in-Time Restore snapshot.

Microsoft documentation mentions command-line management through VSSAdmin for listing or removing restore points, but not for manually creating a new Point-in-Time Restore snapshot.

That does not mean no hidden method exists, but for everyday users, the practical answer is this:

No simple supported command is currently available.

If that changes, I will update my testing.

How Long Does Restoring Take?

Microsoft describes the restore process as happening “in minutes.”

That sounds encouraging, but real-world timing will depend on several things:

How fast your PC is
How much data needs to be restored
How much free space is available
Whether BitLocker is involved
How healthy the Windows installation is

Until I have a real snapshot available and can test the process, I would treat “in minutes” as a general expectation, not a guarantee.

What Happens to OneDrive Files?

This is where users need to be careful.

Microsoft says cloud data, such as files stored in OneDrive, is not affected directly by Point-in-Time Restore.

That means your cloud copy should remain in the cloud. However, local OneDrive files on the PC may roll back with the system, which could create conflicts if the cloud version and local version no longer match.

In plain English:

Your OneDrive cloud storage is not supposed to be rolled back.
Your local OneDrive folder on the PC may be affected.
If files changed after the restore point, OneDrive may need to resync.
Conflicts are possible.

So yes, OneDrive adds a wrinkle. Not a disaster, but definitely a wrinkle.

What Happens to Files on External Drives?

External drives do not appear to be part of Point-in-Time Restore.

This feature is aimed at the Windows system drive and the local PC state. If you have files stored on a USB drive, external hard drive, or separate backup drive, do not assume Point-in-Time Restore protects or restores them.

That is another reason this feature should not be confused with a true backup.

Can You Browse Available Snapshots Before Restoring?

From within Windows Settings, users can view available restore points once Windows has created them.

The restore process itself is handled through the Windows Recovery Environment, also called WinRE. That is the blue recovery screen environment used when Windows has trouble starting or when you choose Advanced startup.

The path is expected to be:

Settings > System > Recovery > Advanced startup

Then after restarting into recovery:

Troubleshoot > Point-in-time restore

From there, users should be able to select an available restore point before starting the restore.

Is There a Shortcut to Launch Point-in-Time Restore?

So far, I have not found a simple shortcut like the old System Restore command:

rstrui.exe

Classic System Restore had a direct launcher. Point-in-Time Restore does not appear to have an equivalent easy command yet.

For now, the normal path is through:

Settings > System > Recovery

or through the Windows Recovery Environment.

That may change as Microsoft continues improving the feature.

Point-in-Time Restore Is Not a Backup

This is the part I want every everyday Windows user to understand.

Point-in-Time Restore is a recovery tool. It is not a full backup.

It may help you recover from a bad update, bad driver, bad software installation, or system problem. But it should not replace a real backup plan.

You should still back up important files separately using something like:

File History
Windows Backup
OneDrive
An external drive
A full system image backup
Another trusted backup solution

Point-in-Time Restore may help get your PC working again, but it should not be your only safety net.

My Early Opinion

This could become one of the most useful Windows 11 recovery improvements in years.

The idea is simple: if something goes wrong, roll the PC back to a recent working state without forcing the user to reinstall Windows or manually undo every change.

That is a good idea.

But the feature is still new, and there are practical questions Microsoft’s documentation does not fully answer yet. I will be watching and testing:

When the first snapshot appears
Whether Windows creates snapshots after updates
How long a restore actually takes
What happens to OneDrive files
Whether external drives are affected
Whether a manual snapshot option appears later
Whether Microsoft adds an easier shortcut

For now, my advice is simple:

Turn it on if your system supports it.
Understand that snapshots are automatic.
Do not treat it as a full backup.
Keep backing up your important files.

Point-in-Time Restore may become a very helpful safety net, but even a good safety net is not the same thing as never falling.

 Stay safe, stay secure, and remember: when technology gives you a new recovery feature, test it before you trust it. 
(Created in collaboration with ChatGPT)