Exploring the PowerShell Cmdlet: Get-ComputerRestorePoint

Welcome back to Wahmans Powershell blog! Today, we’re diving into a handy but often overlooked cmdlet: Get-ComputerRestorePoint.

According to Microsoft, Get-ComputerRestorePoint "gets the restore points on the local computer." This means you can view all system restore points created on a machine—extremely useful when you’re troubleshooting or managing system states programmatically.

Understanding Restore Points

System Restore Points allow Windows to save the state of the system files and settings at a particular point in time. These are usually created before installing new software, driver updates, or making significant system changes. Being able to retrieve and analyze these restore points via PowerShell can be invaluable for system administrators and enthusiasts alike.

Example 1: Basic Usage – Retrieve All Restore Points

This very basic use-case lists all available restore points on your local computer:

Get-ComputerRestorePoint

You’ll receive output including fields such as SequenceNumber, Description, CreationTime, and EventType.

Example 2: Filter Restore Points by Description

If you’re looking for a specific restore point, such as one made before installing a particular application, you can filter them. Here’s how to find all restore points related to Windows Update:

Get-ComputerRestorePoint | Where-Object { $_.Description -like "*Windows Update*" }

This filters the results to only show restore points that have descriptions containing "Windows Update".

Example 3: Restore Point Summary for Reporting

Let’s say you want to get a quick summary: how many restore points exist and their types. This can help in documentation or audits.

Get-ComputerRestorePoint | Group-Object -Property EventType | Select-Object Name, Count

This gives you a breakdown of restore points by type (like application install, manual, etc.).

Example 4: Automating Restore Point Validation

Here’s something more advanced. Suppose you’re running a maintenance script that checks if a restore point exists in the last 24 hours before allowing patches. Here’s how you might do that:

$recentRestore = Get-ComputerRestorePoint | Where-Object {
    ($_.CreationTime -gt (Get-Date).AddHours(-24))
}

if ($recentRestore) {
    Write-Host "Recent restore point found. Proceeding with patch installation."
} else {
    Write-Host "No recent restore point found. Recommend creating one before continuing."
}

This way, you can safely automate installations by ensuring recovery options are available.

Conclusion

The Get-ComputerRestorePoint cmdlet is a great tool for getting insight into historical system states. Whether you’re just listing them out or integrating its functionality into maintenance routines, it’s a valuable part of your PowerShell toolkit.

Happy scripting, and I will see you in the next post!