System Restore has been a feature of the last few iterations of Windows that allows the user to rollback the operating system to a previous state, typically in an attempt to address a newly developed system problem. Restore points are taken every time a new driver is installed or new system updates are applied. Even though System Restore collects snapshots of of key bits in the operating system, like the registry or Windows system files, and not your user data or even program installations, it still automatically prunes it’s data store as new snapshots are initiated.

Generally, Windows does a sufficient job in managing restore points – you don’t often need access to any restore point past the last couple of weeks. However, there may be scenarios where you wish to keep a restore point long after Windows would have pruned it from it’s repository. While there is not an obvious way to accomplish this, it is possible to back-up restore points yourself.

First, restore points are stored in the folder System Volume Information which is hidden by default on your C drive so you will need to enable show protected operating system files. In Windows Explorer under Windows 7, click Organize->Folder and search options.

In the Folder Options dialog click the View tab and enable the radio button for hide protected operating system files.

With the System Volume Information folder now visible in Windows Explorer, right-click on it, choose Properties, and then finally the Security tab.

On the Security tab click Continue to view the Permissions for System Volume Information.

You will see that the SYSTEM account has Full Control over this folder; we need to add our own user account and subsequent permissions in order to work within the folder ourselves. Click the Add button and supply your Windows user account name in the blank form field.

You can now freely access the System Volume Information folder through Windows Explorer. Unfortunately, System Restore does not use descriptive folder names so it can be difficult to locate the exact snapshot you wish to copy elsewhere. The best method I’ve found is to look at the creation or modification date of the folder. Once located, move the folder to another safe location to prevent System Restore from automatically deleting it.

At a later date, should you wish to restore from a snapshot you previously backed-up using this method merely copy it back into the System Volume Information folder. You should then see the restore date become available through the traditional System Restore wizard.