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

  [Datalyst Blog](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/categories/blog)   [How To](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/categories/how-to)

  [Daniel Mathieu](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/daniel-mathieu)

  Wednesday, 10 July 2019

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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 Datalyst 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 (774) 213-9701.

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  [Quick Tips](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/tags/quick-tips)   [Windows](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/tags/windows)   [Tip of the Week](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/tags/tip-of-the-week)

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 About the author

 [ ![Daniel Mathieu](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/images/easyblog_avatar/808_808_blogauthor.png) ](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/daniel-mathieu)

 [Daniel Mathieu](https://datalyst.directivesites.com/blog/blogger/daniel-mathieu)

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Dan is a trusted IT advisor with a background of over 25 years in IT and continuously works on the challenges of putting the right people in place to drive business growth and customer satisfaction.

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