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System Restore Point

O&O AppBuster can delete apps, registry entries, and files. Create a system restore point before making changes so that Windows can restore system settings if a removal causes a problem.

Creating one on demand​

Actions → Create a system restore point

Confirm the prompt and wait for the message System Restore Point being created… to disappear. The restore point is named after O&O AppBuster, so you can recognise it later in the Windows restore dialog.

The automatic prompt​

Before the first change of a session, O&O AppBuster offers to create a restore point by itself:

Do you want to create a system restore point?

NOTE: Before the first change, you should create a system restore point. It will secure your system and enable you to return to the state you were in originally if a setting is not rendering results as desired.

THIS STEP IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!

Answer Yes unless you have a good reason not to.

When system protection is switched off​

Windows can only create restore points if System Protection is enabled for the system drive. Many PCs — especially ones set up by a manufacturer — have it switched off.

If that is the case, O&O AppBuster tells you and explains where to change it:

Control Panel → System and Security → System → System Protection, then Configure… for drive C:.

You can continue without a restore point (OK) or discard the pending change (Cancel). For a first larger clean-up, we would switch protection on first.

If creating the restore point fails​

O&O AppBuster reports an error and explains what to check:

  • Rights — administrator rights are required. O&O AppBuster runs elevated, so this is rarely the cause.
  • Free disk space — Windows reserves a share of the drive for restore points. If there is nothing left, no point can be created.
  • The service — the Volume Shadow Copy / System Restore service must be running.

Windows also limits how often restore points are created automatically; if you have just created one, a second one moments later may be silently skipped by Windows.

Using a restore point​

Restoring is done by Windows, not by O&O AppBuster:

  1. Open System Protection (search for Create a restore point in the Start menu).
  2. Click System Restore…
  3. Choose the restore point named after O&O AppBuster.
  4. Follow the wizard.
What a restore point does and does not do

A restore point brings back system files, installed programs, registry settings and drivers. It does not touch your personal documents. If an app kept its data in your user profile, a restore does not necessarily bring that data back.

Alternatives and complements​

A restore point is a safety net, not a backup. For the removals O&O AppBuster performs it is proportionate; for anything more far-reaching, a proper image backup is the better tool.

Other ways back, depending on what you removed:

What you removedHow to get it back
Windows app, current userInstall it again from O&O AppBuster
Windows app, entire PCMicrosoft Store
Desktop appIts own setup file
Orphaned or defect leftoversNothing to bring back — there was no working app there

Skipping the prompt​

If you start O&O AppBuster with the command-line parameter /nosrp, the restore point prompt is suppressed. This exists for unattended use on machines that are backed up by other means. Use it deliberately.