[3 Ways] How to Turn off System Restore in Windows 10/11

Is it safe to turn off System Restore?

Whether it's safe to turn off System Restore Windows 10/11 depends on your specific situation and how you use your computer. System Restore is a feature in Windows that allows you to restore system files and settings to a previous point in time, which is useful when your system encounters problems.

Here are some considerations to help you decide if it's safe to turn off System Restore:

1. System Stability: If your computer is running smoothly and you are not experiencing any major issues, you may not need to enable System Restore.

2. Backup or clone solution: If you have another reliable backup or clone solution, such as regular system backups or system-cloned drives, you may feel comfortable turning off System Restore.

3. Disk space: System Restore uses disk space to store restore points. If disk space is limited on your system drive and you need to free up space, disabling System Restore can help.

4. Risk Tolerance: Consider your risk tolerance. If you're willing to troubleshoot and fix potential issues without relying on System Restore, you probably don't need to enable it.

Clone your system before turning off System Restore

Before deciding to disable System Restore in Windows 10/11, it is important to consider the potential consequences. While System Restore takes up more space over time, causing potential performance issues, it also lacks critical system and startup files needed for system recovery in the event of a crash. If you choose to turn off System Restore, you must implement alternative system protection Windows 10 measures.

An effective precaution is to clone your system beforehand. Cloning can preserve every aspect of your system, provide a comprehensive boot drive solution, facilitate disk upgrades, and meet other system needs.

Although Windows lacks native cloning tools, you can use reliable third-party software, such as AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, which is compatible with various Windows versions including Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7. The software allows seamless transfer of the entire system drive or migration of the operating system to another SSD/HDD without reinstallation. Additionally, its secure boot feature ensures successful booting from cloned drives.

Here is a simple guide to clone your system using AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional Edition:

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, click "Clone" in the main interface, and select "Clone Disk".

Step 2. Choose the hard disk that you need to clone as the source disk and click "Next".

Step 3. Select the destination disk to store the data on the source disk, and then click "Next".

Step 4. Then, you can check the source and destination disk in the next window or change to "Sector to Sector clone", and click the "Confirm" button to continue if there is no problem.

Here, you can also click the "Settings" button to adjust the partition size on the destination disk or tick "4k alignment" to optimize performance of SSD.

① Clone without resizing partitions: all partition will be cloned to the target disk as the original partition size. It is available when the target disk is large enough to hold all partitions on the source disk.
② Fit partitions to entire disk: all partitions will be cloned to the target disk and take up its full capacity according to the original partition size proportion.
③ Edit partitions on this disk: you can change every partition size on the target disk as you need.

Step 5. After returning to the main interface, check the pending operation and click "Apply" and "Proceed" to commit the operation.

If you are cloning the system hard drive to another hard drive, to successfully boot from the destination hard drive and avoid the embarrassing moment that cloned SSD won’t boot, please do as below:

Step 1. Restart your computer, long press the "F2" key (perhaps other keys like DEL), and access the BIOS environment.

Step 2. Change the boot order and set the cloned hard drive as the first boot drive in BIOS.

Step 3. Press "Enter". Now you should boot the computer from the cloned hard disk successfully.

How to turn off System Restore in Windows 10/11

After cloning your system, how to turn off System Restore Windows 10/11? There are three common methods: leveraging System Protection Settings, Group Policy Editor, or Registry Editor. These methods are also effective for disabling System Restore in Windows 7/8/8.1. Below, I'll outline each method and its detailed steps.

Way 1. Turn off System Restore from System protection

Regardless of your Windows version, you can use the following steps to achieve Windows 10 turn off System Restore. Please note that the interface may be slightly different depending on your operating system.

Step 1. Right-click This PC, and navigate to Properties > System Protection.

Step 2. Select the disk on which you want to disable System Restore and click the Configure button.

Step 3. Select the Disable system protection check box, and then click OK to confirm. For Windows 7 users, choose Turn off system protection.

Way 2. Disable System Restore via Group Policy Editor

The Local Group Policy Editor is only accessible in Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. If your system is one of these versions, you can continue using this method; otherwise, return to method 1.

Step 1. Press the Windows + R keys simultaneously to launch the Run dialog box. Enter gpedit.msc and press OK.

Step 2. In the window that opens, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > System Restore.

Step 3. Double-click Turn off System Restore, select Enable, and then click OK.

Way 3. Turn off System Restore using Registry Editor

You can choose to disable System Restore through the Registry Editor.

Step 1. Right-click Start on the taskbar and select Run. Enter regedit in the input box and click OK.

Step 2. If the User Account Control (UAC) window appears, select Yes.

Step 3. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following location:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT

Create a new key by right-clicking Windows NT, selecting New > Key, and renaming it System Restore.

Step 4. In the left panel, select System Restore, then right-click any empty area in the right panel and select DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value DisableSR.

Step 5. Double-click DisableSR, set the numeric data to 1, and click OK.

Final verdict

The outlined method provides a practical way to turn off System Restore Windows 10/11, ensuring users have control over system settings. However, before implementing any changes, you need to have a cloned Windows 10 system for system recovery in case of unexpected problems. AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro is a highly recommended tool.

In addition to system cloning, PA Pro also has many advanced features. From seamlessly converting MBR to GPT disk without data loss, to expanding the free space on your C drive, and even BitLocker protecting USB drive, its usefulness goes far beyond system recovery. In addition, the Server Edition meets the needs of Windows Server systems and provides comprehensive system management functions.

FAQs about disabling System Restore

Q1. What happens if you interrupt a Windows System Restore?

Interrupting the system recovery process may destabilize the system and may result in missing or corrupted system files, resulting in errors, crashes, and other operational issues.

Q2. Is System Restore on Windows 10 by default?

No, System Restore is disabled by default in Windows 10 and must be manually enabled by the user to function.

Q3. How long should a Windows 10 System Restore take?

Windows 10 system restore typically takes 20 to 45 minutes to complete, not hours.

Q4. How do you know if Windows 10 System Restore is stuck?

If no progress is made after four hours, Windows 10 System Restore may get stuck, especially during installation or registry restore. However, this problem can usually be solved by starting System Restore in Safe Mode or using Startup Repair.

Q5. Does System Restore remove viruses?

Yes, System Restore can effectively remove viruses and repair system damage caused by viruses by replacing corrupted system files and reverting changes to the registry. However, it does not guarantee the complete removal of all malware from the system.