Fix: System Restore Failed to Extract the File

System Restore is a feature of Windows that enables you to revert your computer to a previous state, which can be used to recover system malfunctions. So it’s like a prior backup point. Moreover, it doesn’t affect your personal files but it does remove updates and apps which were installed after the restore point was created.

In this article, we will be trying to resolve an error that some users are facing when doing a system restore to an earlier date. The issue doesn’t allow the user to restore from the restore point created.  It says “System Restore did not complete successfully” with the following Details:

System Restore failed to extract the file (\OneDrive) from the restore point. An unspecified error occurred during the System Restore. (0x8007018b)

Causes:

Let’s look at the possible solutions now.

Method 1: System Restore From Safe Mode

Before trying any fix you could first try disabling your antivirus completely and then do a restore. Similarly, also try disabling Windows Firewall and try to do a restore. If these did not help then let’s try doing a system restore from Safe Mode. Follow the instructions below:

1. Open Search bar and type Updates.
2. Click “Check for Updates“.
3. Choose the Recovery option from the Update & Security sidebar.

   

4. Now click the Restart now button from the Advanced Startup section.

   

5. Next, choose Troubleshoot option.

   

6. Then choose Startup Settings.

   

7. From the Startup Settings choose the 4th option, which is Enable Safe Mode.
8. After starting in safe mode, open search bar, and type CMD. Click Run as Administrator to open Command Prompt in the admin mode.
9. Additionally, turn off your network.
10. Now write the following command in the command prompt:

    rstrui.exe

11. Click enter and the system restore window should start.
12. Finally, select the restore point which you want to and see if the error occurs.

Method 2: Run Check Disk (chkdsk)

If System Restore is not working then there is a possibility that there is some issue with your hard drive. Check Disk or ‘chkdsk’ is a command-line tool that helps to analyze and fix file system and hard drive errors. Follow the steps below to scan your hard drive for bad sectors:

1. There are multiple ways to run Check Disk tool but we will be using the command line to force automatic Check Disk Scanning.
2. Open search bar and type cmd.
3. Click Run as Administrator to open Command Prompt in the admin mode.

   

4. Now in the command prompt, you can use three different commands:
   1. ‘chkdsk’ – This will it will scan your hard drive and report errors but not repair them.
   2. ‘chkdsk /f c:‘ – This command will also repair logical file system errors.
   3. ‘chkdsk /r c:‘ – This command will scan for both logical errors and bad sectors.
5. We recommend doing the third scan which because it is the most comprehensive scan. The ‘c:‘ letter is the name of the drive which you want to scan.
6. Run this command. It will take some time to scan and fix the errors.

   chkdsk /r c:

7. After the scan is complete, try doing the system restore again and see if the issue persists.

Method 3: Run the System File Checker (SFC) Tool

System File Checker or SFC is a tool to check and fix corrupt system files. It scans Windows and restores the files which are not functioning correctly. To run this tool follow the instructions below:

1. Open search bar and type cmd.
2. Click Run as Administrator to open Command Prompt in the admin mode.

   

3. For Windows 10, you first need to run the inbox Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) tool.
4. Run the command below and wait a few minutes to complete.

   DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

5. Next, run the following command to scan and replace the corrupted files.

   sfc /scannow

6. After the scanning is complete you will respectively receive a message telling you your scanned results.
7. Try doing the system restore again and see if the issue persists.

For more information about SFC, click this link. Method 4: Unlink One Drive

If you want to create a new restore point and are experiencing an issue creating one then this method will also be helpful to you. Follow the instructions below:

Unlinking One Drive

1. In our case, the problem arises when extracting the files from One Drive. So, to ignore these files first we need to disable/unlink One Drive.
2. To do that, right-click the white cloud icon showing on the right of the taskbar. If it’s not showing then an Upward pointing arrow(^) will be showing. Click and Expand to find the icon.

   

3. Right-click the icon and choose Settings.
4. Go to the Account tab and click Unlink this PC. Then click Unlink Account.

   

5. After your One Drive is unlinked, you can try doing a System Restore with the restore point you want. If it still doesn’t work then move onto Method 5.

Creating A New Restore Point

Now, if you want to create a new Restore point without any issues follow steps below:

1. Open search bar, type and choose the ‘Create a restore point‘ option.
2. The System Properties window will open.
3. In the System Protection tab, click the Create button.
4. Type a name for the restore point and click Create. The restore point will be created.

   

Method 5: Reinstall Windows 10

Reinstalling Windows should be your last resort. In case none of the above solutions works then you can try doing a fresh install of Windows. It is a lengthy process and there are a number of ways to do it like using a USB or through the ISO file. Follow this link to correctly reinstall Windows 10 in your computer.

If you specifically want to go back to a previous restore point and none of the above solutions has worked then, it’s probably better to wait for Microsoft to officially resolve this issue.