How to Add a 'Create Restore Point' Option to Context Menu in Windows 11

Creating a system restore is one of the best habits you can get into, as it helps you roll back the recent changes like a new driver update, an application install, a system setting reconfiguration, or even a major update to the Windows.

Though you can set the restore point to automatically detect system changes, however, it will also roll back changes to your personal files and folders and potentially delete your personal stuff.

Fortunately, creating a restore point manually eradicates this problem and does not roll back any changes made to your personal files and folder and is recommended before installing a major update, an application, or drastically changing system settings.

That being said, it is not very convenient to go through hoops of menus just to create a quick restore point before a software install or reconfiguring system settings. To add the ‘Create Restore Point’ option in the context menu, you can either create a registry file and simply merge it with your existing registry files, or if you like to have more granular control, you can manually create one using the Registry Editor on your Windows machine.

This method is best suitable if you wish to quickly create an option and don’t wish to get into fuss and muss of navigating directories in the Registry Editor. Moreover, this method makes a complicated process a very simple task to achieve.

To add the context menu option this way, open the Start Menu and type Notepad. From the results, click on the ‘Notepad’ tile to open it.

Next, type or copy+paster the below-mentioned code in the notepad file. Once, pasted, click on the ‘File’ tab from the top right corner of the Notepad window and select the ‘Save As’ option. This will open a separate window on your screen.

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\Create Restore Point]
"HasLUAShield"=""
"Icon"="SystemPropertiesProtection.exe"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\Create Restore Point\command]
@="PowerShell -windowstyle hidden -command \"Start-Process cmd -ArgumentList '/s,/c, PowerShell Checkpoint-Computer -Description \"Manual\" -RestorePointType \"MODIFY_SETTINGS\"' -Verb runAs\""

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore]
"SystemRestorePointCreationFrequency"=dword:00000000

Then, give the file an appropriate name and add the extension .reg and click on the drop-down menu following the ‘Save as type’ option, and select the ‘All files’ option. Finally, click on the ‘Save’ to save the file in your preferred location.

After that, head to the saved file and double-click on the file to merge it to the existing files.

A UAC screen will appear on your screen. If you’re not logged in with an administrator account, enter credentials for one. Otherwise, click on the ‘Yes’ button present on the window to continue.

After that, a prompt will appear notifying you of the potential hazards of adding untrusted files to the registry. Read the prompt carefully, and click on the ‘Yes’ button to continue.

Then, restart your PC from the Start Menu. After restarting, right-click in the empty space on your desktop and click on the ‘Show more options’ option. Then, you will be able to locate the ‘Create Restore Point’ option in the context menu.

This route of adding the context menu is definitely much lengthier and typical, however, you have complete control over the process and get to know where exactly are you creating a registry entry.

To open the Registry Editor, open the Start Menu and type Registry. Then, from the search results, click on the ‘Registry Editor’ tile to open it.

Then, navigate to the below-mentioned address in the Registry Editor. You can type or copy+paste the text on the address bar and hit Enter on your keyboard.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell

Next, create a new sub-key by right-clicking on the ‘Shell’ key and hovering over the ‘New’ option, and selecting the ‘Key’ option. Then, name it ‘RestorePoint’.

After that, select the created sub-key. Then, right-click the right-section of the window, and hover over the ‘New’ option. Next, click on the ‘String’ option to create a string file. Name the created string file MUIVerb.

Now, double-click on the MUIVerb string file to edit it. Then, in the text box present under the ‘Value:’ field type Create Restore Point, and click on the ‘OK’ button to save the changes and close the window.

After that, right-click in the empty space, hover over the ‘New’ option and select the ‘String’ option to create a new string file. Name the file Icon.

Then double-click on the ‘Icon’ string file to edit it. Next, type the below-mentioned in the textbox present right below the ‘Value:’ field on the pane and click on the ‘OK’ button to apply the changes.

C:\Windows\System32\rstrui.exe

Now, from the left section of the window, right-click on the ‘RestorePoint’ key and hover over the ‘New’ option, then select the ‘Key’ option from the context menu to create a new key. Once created, name the subkey ‘Command’.

After that, from the right section, double-click on the ‘Default’ parameter to edit it.

Now, type or copy+paste the below-mentioned code in the textbox present under the ‘Value:’ field and click on the ‘OK’ button to apply the changes.

powershell.exe -c start -verb runas cmd '/k wmic.exe /Namespace:\\root\default Path SystemRestore Call CreateRestorePoint \"My Restore point\", 100, 7'