Quick fix: Open System Properties (Win + R, sysdm.cpl) → System Protection tab → select C: → Configure. Increase Max Usage slider to 10-15% (typically 50+ GB). Larger shadow storage retains more restore points before auto-eviction.

You create restore points manually. A week later they’re gone. System Restore says no restore points exist. Or you discover you have one restore point from a year ago and nothing recent. Restore points get auto-evicted when shadow copy storage hits its allocation limit — Windows defaults this to a small percentage of the drive, so points disappear fast on active systems.

Symptom: System Restore points disappear quickly; old points are no longer available when needed.
Affects: Windows 11 (and Windows 10) System Protection storage.
Fix time: ~5 minutes.

What causes this

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) stores restore points in C:\System Volume Information. The space allocated to this folder is capped — by default about 1-3% of the drive. When new restore points exceed the cap, VSS evicts older ones. On active drives with frequent file changes, even recent restore points can be evicted within days because every change adds to shadow storage usage.

Increasing the allocation extends retention. The trade-off: less free disk space (10% of a 500 GB drive = 50 GB).

Method 1: Increase System Restore storage allocation

The primary fix.

Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter.
Switch to the System Protection tab.
Select your System (C:) drive. Click Configure.
Confirm Turn on system protection is selected.
Move the Max Usage slider to 10-15% (the slider shows you the space allocated in GB at right). For a 500 GB SSD, 10% = 50 GB.
Click Apply → OK.
The allocation is increased. Existing restore points are preserved; new ones now have more space to grow into before auto-eviction triggers.

10% is reasonable for most users. For drives larger than 1 TB, 5% may be enough; for drives under 256 GB, allocate at least 20 GB even if it’s more than 10%.

Method 2: Force restore point creation at meaningful intervals

Use to ensure you have recent restore points before risky operations.

Open System Properties → System Protection.
Click Create to manually create a restore point. Name it (e.g., “Before Windows Update May 2026”).
Take this action before any risky change: Windows feature update, new driver install, registry edit, software install.
For scheduled automated points: open Task Scheduler → create a basic task. Set trigger to weekly. Action: run powershell.exe with arguments -Command "Checkpoint-Computer -Description 'Weekly auto-point' -RestorePointType 'MODIFY_SETTINGS'".
You now have predictable points to roll back to.

This compensates for Windows’ reduced default restore-point frequency in Windows 11.

Method 3: Verify VSS service is running and not throttled

Use when restore points disappear faster than expected even with high allocation.

Open Terminal (Admin).
Check VSS service status:
```
Get-Service VSS | Format-Table Name, Status, StartType
```
StartType should be Manual, Status either Running or Stopped (started on demand).
Check shadow storage status:
```
vssadmin list shadowstorage
```
Shows allocated and used space per volume.
If shadow storage allocation appears wrong (e.g., 0% or unbounded), set it explicitly:
```
vssadmin resize shadowstorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=50GB
```

Check restore points themselves:

Get-ComputerRestorePoint | Format-Table CreationTime, Description, RestorePointType

Older restore points should now persist longer.

This addresses the case where the allocation in System Properties UI doesn’t match the actual VSS state.

How to verify the fix worked

Open System Properties → System Protection → (C:) → Configure. Max Usage shows your set percentage.
Create a test restore point. Wait a week (or after many file changes). The point should still exist.
Run vssadmin list shadows in Terminal. Multiple shadow copies (each is a restore point) appear with timestamps.
Run Get-ComputerRestorePoint in PowerShell. List shows points spanning at least the past several weeks.

If none of these work

If restore points keep disappearing despite higher allocation, three causes apply. Drive too full: even with high allocation, if the C: drive is near-full, VSS aggressively evicts to free space. Keep at least 20% drive space free. Disk Cleanup deletes restore points: Disk Cleanup has a “More Options” tab with a System Restore cleanup that wipes all but the most recent point. Avoid that option. VSS service is being disabled: some “privacy” or “cleanup” tools (CCleaner, Bleachbit when misconfigured) delete shadow copies. Check Task Scheduler and startup apps for anything calling vssadmin delete. For chronic restore-point loss despite all measures, an alternative is third-party imaging — Macrium Reflect Free creates full disk images that don’t rely on VSS.

Bottom line: Restore points vanish because Windows allocates too little space to shadow storage — bump it to 10-15%, force creation before risky changes, and points persist as long as you need them.