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System Restore Error Code: 0x81000203

I've been trying to open System Restore from Control Panel -> System -> System Protection gives a message saying "There was an unexpected error in the property page: System Restore encountered an error. Please try to run System Restore again. (0x81000023) Please close the property page and try again." Trying to run rstrui.exe gives "System protection is turned off. To turn it back on so that you can use System Restore, configure system protection." I also note that Protection Settings, where the drives should be listed, simply says "searching". 

I have already confirmed that the Volume Shadow Copy and Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider services are running and have their startup set to Automatic. Google also suggests that the program "TuneUp Utilities" is a known cause of this error, but I have never used or installed that program. So, any assistance would be much appreciated.

Googling the issue, it appears to be set in Windows DNA, with tickets raised over 11 years ago for the same issue, what are the conditions that trigger this. I have a new laptop (Win10 Home) and its fine; my new swanky desktop is not (this is running Win 10 Pro).

I've wasted two days now trying various tricks, so some help would be much appreciated.

Hi,

 

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

 

I understand that you’re facing issue when performing System Restore on your PC. I will certainly try my best to assist you with the issue.

 

For further clarity on the issue, please respond to the questions below:

 

1.    Which build version of Windows 10 are you using currently?

2.    Are you aware of any changes made to the PC prior to which you weren’t facing this issue?

 

Refer the article Which version of Windows operating system am I running?

 

Meanwhile, let’s try enabling System Restore using Registry and see if that helps.

 

Note: Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. To backup and restore registry key, refer to this link.

 

  1. Press Windows Logo key + R, to open Run dialog box.
  2. Type regedit and click on OK.
  3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT
  4. Now look for SystemRestore key
  5. If the key doesn’t exist then, right click on System key, select New, and select Key.
  6. Rename the newly created Key to SystemRestore.
  7. On the right hand pane, right click on an empty space and select New, and select select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  8. Rename the newly created DWORD as DisableConfig.
  9. Double click on the DisableConfig DWORD and change the value to 0.
  10. Restart the PC

 

Let us know if you need any further assistance, we will be glad to assist you.

 

Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator

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Hey Prakhar

Thanks for the message. I'm currently on Win10 Pro, details below. I had tried to run the update to v2004, but this has failed, so I'm doing this again. I've also tried the utilities to find corrupted / missing files and update / fix, but this didnt help.

I also followed your instructions and the SystemRestore entry was missing from the Registry, so I added it, but again this has had no affect.

I had Bitdefender Free on the machine and had read that this could block restore, so I eventually managed to uninstall it and have an alternative installed now, BullGuard.

** Update ** I've just successfully upgraded to v2004 and this has cured the problem and system restore is working as expected.

Thanks,

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Hi,

Thank you for replying with the updated information on the issue.

Glad to know that everything is up and running after installing the latest Windows Updates.

If you face any further issues, then you can get back to us and we will certainly assist you with that.

Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

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Last updated May 16, 2024 Views 8,887 Applies to: