3 Ways to Delete Old Restore Points in Windows 11

Quick Tips

• The easiest way to delete old system restore points is via the System Protection settings.
• If you want to delete a specific system restore point, you will have to use the Command Prompt or PowerShell.

Method 1. How to Delete Old Restore Points via System Protection Settings

The quickest way to delete old system restore points in Windows is via the System Protection settings. You can use this method to delete multiple restore points in Windows at once.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Type sysdm.cpl in the box and press Enter.

Step 3: In the System Properties dialog, switch to the System Protection tab.

Step 4: Under Protection Settings, select the drive from which you want to delete system restore points. Then, click the Configure button.

Step 5: Click the Delete button to remove all the restore points.

Step 6: Select Continue to confirm the action.

Optionally, you can use the slider next to Max Usage to increase or decrease the storage space allocated for storing the System Restore Points on Windows. Then, hit Apply to save the changes.

Method 2. How to Delete Old Restore Points With Disk Cleanup

Disk Cleanup is a useful Windows tool that lets you free up storage space by deleting temporary files. With Disk Cleanup, you can keep the most recent restore point in Windows 11 and delete all the others. Here’s how:

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type disk cleanup in the box, and press Enter.

Step 2: Use the drop-down menu to select a drive from which you want to delete old restore points. Then, click OK.

Step 3: Click the Clean up system files button.

Step 4: Select your drive again and click OK.

Step 5: Switch to the More Options tab and click the Clean up button under System Restore and Shadow Copies.

Step 6: Click the Delete button to confirm the action.

Method 3. How to Delete Old Restore Points Using Command Prompt or PowerShell

Another way to remove outdated restore points involves using a command-line tool like Command Prompt or PowerShell. Unlike the above methods, using Command Prompt or PowerShell allows you to select and delete specific system restore points on your computer.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar, type cmd or PowerShell in the search box, and select Run as administrator.

Step 2: Type the following command in the console and press Enter to view a list of restore points stored on your system:

vssadmin list shadows

Step 3: Note down the Shadow Copy ID of the restore point you want to delete.

Step 4: Paste the following command and press Enter to delete the restore point. Ensure you replace Shadow Copy ID in the following command with the actual ID noted in the previous step.

vssadmin delete shadows /Shadow={Shadow Copy ID}

Step 5: Enter Y to confirm.

Once you run the above command, Windows will delete the specified restore point. Alternatively, if you want to delete all the existing restore points on Windows, run this command instead:

vssadmin delete shadows /all