The “restore point cannot be created” issue is caused by low disk space, corrupted system files, old restore points, etc. To fix it, free disk space, run SFC and CHKDSK, clear old restore points, and more. Read this post from MiniTool to get a complete guide.

About Restore Point Cannot Be Created in Windows 10/11

System Restore is a Windows feature that allows users to use restore points to revert the operating system’s settings, files, and programs to a previous state to fix problems like system instability or software corruption.

However, some people report that the restore point could not be created in Windows 10/11. For example, here is a user report from the learn.microsoft.com forum:

...I am unable to create Restore point today ...got the message after failed: "The restore point could not be created for the following reason: The write experienced a transient error. If the backup process is retired, the error may not reoccur. (0x800423F3) "...I need help...https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/4340779/unable-to-create-restore-point-windows-10

Have you also experienced the same issue on your computer? If so, continue reading to get reasons and solutions for this issue.

Why Restore Point Cannot Be Created in Windows 10/11

The restore point could not be created because of these reasons:

  • Insufficient disk space
  • Not enough disk space to store restore points
  • Corrupted system files
  • Disabled System Restore
  • Antivirus software interference
  • Disabled or stopped Volume Shadow Copy service
  • Corrupt previous restore points
  • System issues
  • Disk issues
  • Necessary services not running

Alternative Tip: Use MiniTool ShadowMaker to Create a System Backup

System restore point can help you revert to a previous status. But after performing a system restore, programs and drivers installed after the chosen restore point will be removed. Additionally, if the volume that holds the system restore point is corrupt, it won’t work.

In this case, it is recommended to use MiniTool ShadowMaker. It offers backup features to help you perform system backup and file backup with ease.

Here’s how to use it to back up the system:

Step 1. Download and install MiniTool ShadowMaker on your PC.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2. Launch this app to access the main interface, and then select Backup from the left panel.

Step 3. Here, the system-required partitions are checked by default, and the destination folder is created automatically.

Note:
If you want to save your system backup to another specific location, go to DESTINATION and choose a preferred destination path, like an external drive, to store the system image.
select Backup from the left panel of MiniTool ShadowMaker

Step 4. Click Back Up Now at the bottom right corner and click OK in the pop-up window to confirm.

click Back Up Now and OK sequentially in MiniTool ShadowMaker

Step 5. Wait for the process to complete in the Manage page. Once the progress bar is full, the backup is successful, and you will see some green text indicating how long ago your last backup was.

wait for the backup process to complete in MiniTool ShadowMaker
Note:
This backup software can also help you sync files, clone a disk, and provide other features to assist in managing your computer.

How to Fix the “Restore Point Cannot Be Created” Issue

To fix the “restore point not working” issue, try enabling System Protection, checking max disk usage, clearing old restore points, running SFC/DISM/CHKDSK, renaming system restore file, and other useful methods.

Method 1. Enable System Protection

If you turn off or haven’t enabled System Protection of your system drive, the option of the Create button will be grayed out. In this case, enable System Protection to fix the “restore point not working” issue. Here’s the guide:

Step 1. Press Win + R to open Run, type “sysdm.cpl”, and press Enter.

Step 2. Go to the System Protection tab, select your system drive (usually C:), and click Configure.

select the system drive and click Configure in the System Protection tab

Step 3. Choose Turn on system protection, click Apply, and OK.

Turn on system protection in the System Protection window

Once done, you could successfully create a restore point.

Method 2. Enable System Restore via Group Policy Editor

If the Create and Configure buttons are grayed out in System Protection, use Group Policy Editor to enable System Restore and fix the “unable to create restore point” issue. Here’s how to do that:

Step 1. Open the Run window, type “gpedit.msc”, and press Enter.

Step 2. In the Group Policy Editor window, select Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > System Restore.

navigate to find System Restore in Local Group Policy Editor

Step 3. Check the state of Turn off Configuration and Turn off System Restore. If any of them is Enabled, double-click it and choose Not Configured.

Step 4. Click Apply and OK to save the changes. Then, create a restore point again and check if the issue is fixed.

Method 3. Ensure Enough Storage Is Assigned to System Restore

Also, if you assigned insufficient max disk usage for System Protection, it’s easy to encounter the “unable to create restore point” issue. In this situation, try adjusting the slider of max disk usage to fix the issue. Here’s the process:

Step 1. Open the System Properties window and go to the System Protection tab.

Step 2. Click the Configure button.

Step 3. At the bottom of the pop-up window, a slider is here. Use the slider to adjust the max disk space usage for system protection. Note 3-10% of the total storage space is suitable.

use the slider to adjust max disk usage for System Protection

Method 4. Clear Old Restore Points

Old restore points may take up space and cause the “restore point could not be created” issue. In such circumstances, clearing all old restore points to fix it with the following steps:

Step 1. Open the System Protection tab in System Properties again.

Step 2. Ensure that your system drive is selected and click Configure.

click Configure in the System Protection tab of System Properties

Step 3. In the pop-up window, click Delete to delete all restore points for this drive. Then, click the Continue button in the warning window.

click Delete to clear all restore points in the System Protection window

Step 4. Once done, all the restore points are deleted, and click Close in the prompt window. Now, try to create the system again to check if the issue is fixed.

Method 5. Free Up Disk Space

If there are not enough free space on your system drive, restore point cannot be created as well. In this situation, use Disk Cleanup to remove unwanted files, caches and junk files to troubleshoot the issue. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Open the Search window, type “disk cleanup” in the box, and press Enter.

Step 2. Choose the system drive from the dropdown menu and click OK.

select the system drive and click OK in the Disk Cleanup: Drive Selection window

Step 3. In the File to delete list, check the boxes of “Recycle Bin“, “Temporary Internet Files“, and “Temporary files“.

check the box of files you want to delete and click OK

Step 4. In the pop-up confirmation window, click Delete Files to continue.

click Delete Files in the Disk Cleanup window

Step 5. Once the process is finished, click the Clean up system files button. Then, select the system drive again and click OK.

Step 6. Check the boxes of files to delete. Next, click OK and Delete Files sequentially to delete the selected files.

After clearing all the unwanted files, try to check if a restore point can be created successfully.

Method 6. Run SFC and DISM

Corrupted system files may cause various issues on a computer, including being unable to create a restore point. If you suspect the issue on your PC is caused by this reason, run the SFC and DISM commands to fix the issue. Here’s the tutorial:

Step 1. Open the Search window, and type “cmd” in the search box.

Step 2. Right-click Command Prompt under Best match, and select Run as administrator.

Step 3. In the elevated Command Prompt window, type “sfc /scannow” and press Enter.

run SFC command in the elevated Command Prompt window

Step 4. If SFC cannot fix the corruption, run the following DISM commands:

  • DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
  • DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
  • DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

Once the process is complete, restart your PC and check if you can create a restore point successfully.

Method 7. Run CHKDSK

If there are disk errors on your PC, you may fail to create a restore point easily. Therefore, perform the CHKDSK command with the following steps to fix the issue:

  1. Run Command Prompt as administrator.
  2. Type “chkdsk /r /x” and press Enter.
  3. Now, you will receive a question: “Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts?” Then, type Y and press Enter to continue.
  4. Restart the PC to start the check.
  5. Once done, it will fix all the issues and boot your PC into normal Windows. Now, check if you can create a restore point.
run CHKDSK command in elevated Command Prompt

Method 8. Disable Antivirus Software

Sometimes, the antivirus software that you’ve installed or used on your PC may interfere with the process of creating a system restore. In such circumstances, try disabling antivirus software to fix the “cannot create restore point” issue. Here’s the guide on disabling Windows Security:

Step 1. Press the Win + I to open Settings and go to Update & Security > Windows Security.

Step 2. Under the Protection areas section, click Virus & threat protection.

select Virus & threat protection in the Windows Security page

Step 3. Find Virus & threat protection settings and click Manage settings under it.

click Manage settings under Virus & threat protection settings

Step 4. On the next page, toggle off the following switches:

  • Real-time protection
  • Cloud-delivered protection
  • Automatic sample submission
  • Tamper Protection
turn off all Virus & threat protection settings in Windows Security

Step 5. Now, the Windows antivirus is disabled temporarily. Try creating a restore point again to check if the issue has been resolved.

Method 9. Restart the Volume Shadow Copy Service

Volume Shadow Copy is a service that is responsible for creating a snapshot of a storage volume at a specific point in time, allowing the creation of a restore point.

Therefore, if you failed to create restore point in Windows 10/11, check whether the service is working properly. Here’s the guide:

Step 1. Open the Run window, type “services.msc”, and press Enter.

Step 2. In the pop-up Services window, scroll down to find the Volume Shadow Copy entry.

Step 3. Right-click it and select Properties.

Step 4. Select Automatic from the drop-down menu of Startup type. Then, check the Service status. Click Start it if it is not running; select Stop and Restart it if it is running.

enable Volume Shadow Copy service in the Services window

Step 5. Click Apply and OK sequentially to save the changes. Then, try creating a restore point again and check if the issue is fixed.

Method 10. Rename System Restores File

Some people report that they fix the “failed to create restore point” issue successfully by renaming system restore file. If you want to have a try, please do the following steps:

  1. Open the Run window.
  2. Type “%windir%\System32\Tasks\Microsoft\Windows\SystemRestore” in the box and press Enter.
  3. In the pop-up window, find the SR file and rename it to SR.sav.
  4. After that, go to create a system restore point and check if the issue has been resolved.

Method 11. Reset Your PC

If none of the above methods can help you troubleshoot the “restore point could not be created” issue, try resetting your PC without losing your personal data. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Open Settings, go to Update & Security > Recovery, and then click Get started under the Reset this PC section.

click Get started under Reset this PC in Settings

Step 2. In the prompt window, choose Keep my files to reset your PC without losing your personal files.

select Keep my files in the Choose an option page of Reset this PC

Step 3. In the next screen, choose an option from Cloud download and Local reinstall to reinstall Windows. After that, click Next to move on.

Step 4. Now, Windows tells you what resetting will do. Click Reset to execute this operation.

click Reset to start resetting this PC

After resetting your computer, try creating a restore point again to check if the issue is resolved.

I failed to create a restore point on my computer. Luckily, this post offers some useful methods to help me solve the issue successfully. I want to share it!Click to Tweet

Final Words

This post lists the reasons for the “restore point cannot be created” issue in Windows 10/11, and offers some useful solutions. Also, it introduces a powerful backup tool, MiniTool ShadowMaker, to help you back up your system with ease.

What’s more, if you encounter issues with this software, send an email to [email protected] to contact us.

Restore Point Cannot Be Created FAQ

1. How do I manually create a System Restore point?
To do that, please do the following steps:
1. Type “create a restore point” in the search box and press Enter.
2. In the System Protection tab, find the target drive (usually the C: drive).
3. Check if "Protection" is set to On. If it’s Off, click Configure, select Turn on system protection, click Apply, and then OK.
4. Click Create.
5. Type a name and click Create.
6. Once it’s finished, click Close and then OK.
2. Does Windows 11 automatically create restore points?
Yes. Windows 11 automatically creates restore points when significant system events occur, such as a new Windows update or the installation of a new application.
3. How often does Windows automatically create a restore point?
Windows automatically creates a restore point when important system events take place. If no other restore points have been created in the last seven days, Windows will create one automatically on a weekly basis.
4. Is F11 or F12 factory reset?
F11 is the function key most commonly used for a factory reset, while F12 typically brings up the boot menu. However, the specific function key can vary by manufacturer.
5. Do I need a product key to reinstall?
No, you don’t need a product key to reinstall Windows if you are reinstalling it on the same hardware and it was previously activated.
  • linkedin
  • reddit

About The Author

Charlotte
Charlotte

Position: Columnist

Charlotte is a columnist who loves to help others solve errors in computer use. She is good at data recovery and disk & partition management, which includes copying partitions, formatting partitions, etc. Her articles are simple and easy to understand, so even people who know little about computers can understand. In her spare time, she likes reading books, listening to music, playing badminton, etc.

User Comments :