Tip of the Week: Working Around Windows’ Restore Point Issue

One would think that a program called System Restore would be one that would be prioritized as one to get right. Unfortunately, this seems not to be the case, as utilizing one of your restore points after performing a Windows Update can cause some serious issues. For our tip, we’ll go over how to avoid these issues with a workaround.

Error Code 0xc000021a

It doesn’t take much to activate the issue. Essentially, if you create a restore point before attempting to update Windows and then try to revert back to those restore points, error code 0xc000021a kicks in, and - even after repeated reboots - you will not be able to access the desktop. This is because the system restoration process creates a catalogue of files, with driver files waiting to be restored upon restart. However, when a restart takes place, the existing versions are loaded up first. Because the versions of the catalogue files don’t match, the restart process is halted.

Avoiding the Problem

Microsoft’s official stance is that a user shouldn’t use the System Restore utility at all, but should instead utilize the Windows Recovery Environment, or WinRE.

The following steps should help you:

• Restart your computer, holding down the shift key to boot up the Windows Recovery Environment.
• Once there, select Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, More Recovery Options, and finally, Startup Settings.
• Select Restart Now.
• Your computer will reboot to a menu. Select Disable Driver Signature Reinforcement. This may require you to use the F7 key.

Before you do all this, and get yourself stuck in a complicated situation, we recommend reaching out to the professionals here at Washington Works to help you with your work computer or laptop.

Plus, we test new Windows updates out before deploying them across our clients’ networks, to reduce issues that would require a sudden restore. Need help? Give us a call at 301-571-5040.