Microsoft Confirms Windows 11 24H2 System Restore Points Expire After 60 Days

Changes to Windows 11 System Restore Point Retention

Microsoft has officially announced a new retention policy for System Restore points in Windows 11. As of the latest updates, these restore points will now be deleted automatically after a period of 60 days. Users need to take greater caution and regularly create restore points to ensure multiple backups are available. Nevertheless, keep in mind that Windows will remove the oldest restore points automatically once they exceed this 60-day window, effective by default in the Windows 11 24H2 version.

Understanding the Previous Retention Periods

The impact of this new policy compared to previous versions can be somewhat ambiguous. Following the June 2025 update’s introduction of the 60-day retention rule, I undertook a series of tests across various builds of Windows 11 installed on different PC brands. My findings showed a mixed bag: while some instances maintained System Restore points for only 10 days, others retained them for as long as 90 days.

Windows 11 System Restore Point Settings

Documentation Insights

Interestingly, Microsoft’s support document on System Restore has not provided any updated information regarding the retention period. However, an older reference—a Windows Server document titled “SystemRestoreConfig class” from December 2020—suggests that the default retention period was 90 days.

Retention Period Changes Over Time

This earlier documentation indicates that prior to Windows 11’s release, most versions, including Windows 10, had a System Restore point retention of around 90 days. However, since the launch of Windows 11 in 2021, this retention time has varied, ranging from 10 to 90 days.

New 60-Day Limit Confirmed

In the release notes pertaining to the June 2025 update, Microsoft confirmed the new 60-day limit for all future releases of Windows 11 version 24H2:

“After installing the June 2025 Windows security update, Windows 11, version 24H2 will retain system restore points for up to 60 days, ” Microsoft stated in its support documentation.

Verification of the New Policy

Following the update installation, Windows Latest was able to verify the 60-day expiration using a PowerShell command:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> $key = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore' >> (Get-ItemProperty -Path $key -Name RPLifeInterval).RPLifeInterval 5184000

Interpretation of PowerShell Findings

The output of 5184000 seconds confirms a 60-day retention period (calculated as 5184000 ÷ 86400 seconds).Therefore, for users of Windows 11 version 24H2, each restore point will be valid for two months. It’s noteworthy that removing the value will not affect the default setting, which remains at 60 days.

Comparison with Windows 10

In contrast, my assessment of Windows 10 installations reveals a retention setting of 7776000 seconds, equating to 90 days—consistent with older documentation.

Historical Context of System Restore

Historically, a support document that is no longer available referenced that System Restore points were originally intended to expire after 90 days. This policy was established with earlier versions like Windows Vista and 7. Furthermore, it’s important to note that when disk space becomes limited, Windows may automatically delete restore points to free up space, a behavior that persists today.

Conclusion and User Engagement

For many users, System Restore has been an essential feature that serves as a safety net to revert their system after an unsuccessful driver installation, application errors, or update complications. As part of our ongoing discussions about system maintenance, how frequently do you create System Restore points? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

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