How to Delete System and Point-in-time Restore Points in Windows 11

System Restore points save snapshots of your files and settings in Windows 11 so you can roll your PC back to a working state if a bad update breaks things. Windows uses standard System Restore points alongside point-in-time restore, a feature that keeps backups of your entire system for about 72 hours using reserved disk space.

Deleting these saved restore points frees up valuable space on your hard drive when they pile up over time. You can clear them out quickly using built-in Windows tools to get that storage back.

Option 1Delete All Restore Points Using System Protection

You can delete restore points on Windows 11 using the built-in System Protection menu to free up disk space on your hard drive. This method removes every saved backup point at once for the selected drive. Open the Settings app ⚙️, go to System, click About, and open System protection to start the cleanup process.

1. Open the Settings app. You can do this by pressing the Win+I.
2. Click on System in the menu on the left. Then, click on About on the right side.
3. Click on the System protection link. This will open a new window. You can close the Settings ⚙️ app now if you wish.
4. Under Protection Settings, choose a drive that has protection turned on. This is the drive where you want to delete all restore points. Then, click the Configure button.

   • Restore points from Point-in-time restore are only on your main system drive (C:).
   • Restore points from System Restore can be on any drive that has protection turned on.
5. Click the Delete button.
6. Admin privilege required: Click Continue to confirm that you want to delete them.
7. Click Close when the process is finished.
8. Click OK.
9. You will see that the “Current Usage” for the selected drive is now “0 bytes”. This means all restore points on that drive have been deleted.
10. Click OK again.

Option 2Delete All Restore Points on All Drives Using Command Prompt

You can delete restore points on all drives at the same time by running a quick command in the Command Prompt as an administrator. This method clears out all saved system backups across every hard drive in your computer to free up maximum disk space. Open Windows Terminal with administrator rights, select Command Prompt, and run the cleanup command.

1. Admin privilege required: Open Windows Terminal (Admin). Then, choose Command Prompt from the menu.
2. Copy and paste one of the commands below into Windows Terminal (Admin). Then, press the Enter key.

   • This command will ask you to confirm before deleting:
   • vssadmin delete shadows /all
   • Or, this command will delete without asking for confirmation:
   • vssadmin delete shadows /all /quiet

Option 3Delete All Restore Points on a Specific Drive Using Command Prompt

You can delete restore points on a specific drive using Command Prompt if you want to free up space on one hard drive without touching your other partitions. This targeted approach targets only the volume you choose while leaving your other backups intact. Open Windows Terminal with administrator privileges and run the drive-specific cleanup command.

1. Admin privilege required: Open Windows Terminal (Admin). Then, choose Command Prompt from the menu.
2. Type one of the commands below into Windows Terminal (Admin). Press the Enter key.
   

   • This command will ask you to confirm before deleting:
   
   vssadmin delete shadows /For=(drive letter): /all
   
   • Or, this command will delete without asking for confirmation:
   
   vssadmin delete shadows /For=(drive letter): /all /quiet
   

   📝ImportantIn the commands above, replace (drive letter) with the actual letter of the drive (for example, “C”) where you want to delete restore points.

   In the commands above, replace (drive letter) with the actual letter of the drive (for example, “C”) where you want to delete restore points.

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   • Restore points from Point-in-time restore are only on your main system drive (C:).
   
   
   • Restore points from System Restore can be on any drive that has protection turned on.

   For example, to delete all restore points on the C: drive:

   
   vssadmin delete shadows /For=C: /all /quiet
   

Option 4Delete the Oldest Restore Point on a Specific Drive Using Command Prompt

You can delete the oldest restore point on a chosen drive using Command Prompt to free up a small amount of disk space while keeping your recent backups safe. This method helps with troubleshooting without losing your most important recovery points. Open Windows Terminal as an administrator and run the command that removes only your oldest backup.

1. Admin privilege required: Open Windows Terminal (Admin). Then, choose Command Prompt from the menu.
2. Type one of the commands below into Windows Terminal (Admin). Press the Enter key.
   

   • This command will ask you to confirm before deleting:
   
   vssadmin delete shadows /For=(drive letter): /oldest
   
   • Or, this command will delete without asking for confirmation:
   
   vssadmin delete shadows /For=(drive letter): /oldest /quiet
   

   
   

   📝ImportantIn the commands above, replace (drive letter) with the actual letter of the drive (for example, "C") where you want to delete the oldest restore point.

   In the commands above, replace (drive letter) with the actual letter of the drive (for example, "C") where you want to delete the oldest restore point.

   
   
   • Restore points from Point-in-time restore are only on your main system drive (C:).
   
   
   • Restore points from System Restore can be on any drive that has protection turned on.
   
   

   For example, to delete the oldest restore point on the C: drive:

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   vssadmin delete shadows /For=C: /oldest /quiet
   

Option 5Delete a Specific Restore Point Using Command Prompt

You can delete a specific restore point by finding its unique ID number in Command Prompt and running a targeted removal command. This precise method lets you pick one exact backup to delete while keeping all other recovery points on your computer. Open Windows Terminal with administrator rights and list your backups to find the ID you want to target.

1. Admin privilege required: Open Windows Terminal (Admin). Then, choose Command Prompt from the menu.
2. Copy and paste the command below into Terminal (Admin). Press the Enter key.
3. vssadmin list shadows
4. You will see a list of all available restore points, each with its own unique "Shadow Copy ID".

   • A "ClientAccessible" type means it's a restore point from Point-in-time restore.
   • A "ClientAccessibleWriters" type means it's a restore point from System Restore.
5. Write down the "Shadow Copy ID" of the restore point you want to delete. For example, it might look like {c034d8e3-9e5b-47ed-8e56-fd50708045bd}.
6. Type one of the commands below into Windows Terminal (Admin). Press the Enter key.
   

   
   
   • This command will ask you to confirm before deleting:
   
   vssadmin delete shadows /Shadow=<Shadow Copy ID>
   
   • Or, this command will delete without asking for confirmation:
   
   vssadmin delete shadows /Shadow=<Shadow Copy ID> /quiet
   

   
   

   Important: In the commands above, replace <Shadow Copy ID> with the actual Shadow Copy ID you noted in step 4. Remember to include the curly braces {}.

   
   

   For example, if your Shadow Copy ID is {c034d8e3-9e5b-47ed-8e56-fd50708045bd}, the command would be:

   
   vssadmin delete shadows /Shadow={c034d8e3-9e5b-47ed-8e56-fd50708045bd} /quiet

Summary

Restore points function as saved snapshots of your computer. They help resolve problems by rolling back to an