You can manually set up restore points via the System Properties window. However, it’s quicker to set up restore points with shortcuts. As such, let’s explore how to set up desktop, taskbar, Start menu, and keyboard shortcuts that create restore points in Windows 11.
Enable System Protection in Windows 11
It’s no good setting up any shortcuts for creating restore points if system protection isn’t enabled in Windows 11. First, check if system protection is enabled on your PC. If it isn’t, select the Turn on system protection option. Our guide on how to check if system restore is enabled includes full instructions for how you can do that in Windows 11.
How to Add a Create Restore Point Shortcut to the Desktop
The desktop is the primary place to add shortcuts for software, files, and commands. You can set up a desktop shortcut based on a command that creates restore points. These are the steps for adding a restore point shortcut to Windows 11’s desktop.
Right-click somewhere on your desktop wallpaper to select New. Click Shortcut to bring up the Create Shortcut window. Copy and paste this text into the location box with the Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V hotkeys: cmd. exe /k “wmic. exe /Namespace:\root\default Path SystemRestore Call CreateRestorePoint “My Shortcut Restore Point”, 100, 7” Select the Next option. Type Create Restore Point in the name box. Press the Finish button to add the Create Restore Point shortcut. Right-click the Create Restore Point shortcut to select Properties. Click Advanced to open the window in the screenshot directly below. Select the Run as administrator checkbox there, and click the OK button. Click Apply to save the settings.
To change the shortcut’s icon, click the Change Icon button in the Create Restore Points Properties window. Input the path C:\Windows\System32\imageres.dll in the Look for icons box, and press the Enter key. Choose an icon from the ones available, click OK, and select the Apply option.
Now you can double-click the Create System Restore Point shortcut on your desktop. A Command Prompt window will then open. Close that window when the restore point has been established.
Open System Restore to see the new restore point. To do so, click the Start taskbar button with your right mouse button and select Run. Type rstrui in Run and click OK. Click Choose a different restore point and Next within the System Restore tool. Then you’ll see a new restore point with the current date is available for selection there.
How to Add a Create Restore Point Shortcut to the Taskbar and Start menu
When you’ve set up a Create Restore Point desktop shortcut, you can pin it to the taskbar or Start menu. Right-click the Create Restore Point icon to select Show more options for the classic context menu. There you can select Pin to Start menu to add the shortcut to the Start menu’s pinned section. To add it to the taskbar, select Pin to taskbar.
How to Set Up a Create Restore Point Hotkey
A hotkey for creating system restore points is even more convenient than a desktop shortcut. You can set up such a hotkey by applying a key combination to a Create Restore Point desktop shortcut in the following steps.
Set up a desktop shortcut that creates a restore point as outlined above. Click the Create Restore Point desktop icon to select Properties. Next, click inside the Shortcut key box to place a text cursor there. Press the R key to establish a Ctrl + Alt + R keyboard shortcut. Click Apply > OK to save the hotkey.
Now press your new Ctrl + Alt + R keyboard shortcut to create a restore point. Pressing that hotkey activates its desktop shortcut. So, don’t delete the Create Restore Point desktop shortcut.
Instantly Create System Restore Points With Shortcuts
Rolling Windows 11 back to restore points can resolve a wide variety of blue screen and DLL errors. So, it’s a good idea to set up restore points regularly for PC backup purposes. Setting up shortcuts with the methods specified above will enable you to quickly and easily create system restore points.
