Rstrui.exe not working or recognized in Windows 11

The rstrui.exe is an executable file of System Restore. Therefore, if you are facing a Rstrui.exe not working or recognized error, you won’t be able to perform System Restore on Windows 11/10. However, there are some easy fixes to this problem that we are going to discuss in this article.

The location of the legit rstrui.exe file is:

\Windows\System32\rstrui.exe

Rstrui.exe not working or recognized in Windows 11/10

When you try to run System Restore, you may see the following error message:

rstrui.exe is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Or

%SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe is not recognized

If you face this issue, these are the things you can do to fix it:

1. Run System File Checker
2. Run it in Safe Mode
3. Scan your computer with AV
4. Reset your system.

Let us talk about them in detail.

1] Run System File Checker

The most common reason for this problem is corrupt system files. Lucky for you, there is the System File Checker that can replace potentially corrupt system files with good ones.

Launch Command Prompt as an administrator from the Start Menu, type the following command, and hit Enter:

sfc /scannow

After the job is completed, restart your PC and then cow. Check if it fixes the issue. If the error is caused by corrupt system files, this command will definitely fix it.

2] Run it in Safe Mode

Boot into Safe Mode and see if you create a system restore point or restore to a prior restore point. Many times, non-Microsoft services or Drivers can interfere with the proper functioning of System Restore.

Safe Mode allows you to use the System Restore utility without having to deal with an error.

To do that, restart your PC and launch Advanced Boot Options by hitting F8 during the booting process. Now, select Safe mode with a Command Prompt, type the following command, and hit Enter.

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Now, follow the on-screen instruction to restore your Operating System.

Alternatively, you could also execute a Clean Boot and see if you are able to get system restore working.

3] Scan your computer for Malware

Rstrui.exe not working error can be because of a virus or malware. To fix that, you can use any free antivirus, however, in this example, we are going to use Windows Defender to fix the issue.

To do that, follow these steps:

1. Hit Win + S, type “Windows Security”, and hit Enter.
2. Click Virus & threat protection > Scan options > Windows Defender Offline scan > Scan now.
3. Scan and delete all the malicious files.

4] Reset your system

If the issue is still unresolved, it’s most likely due to system corruption that cannot be resolved conventionally. In this case, the applicable solution is to try Reset This PC to reset every Windows component. As a last resort, you may also try to Repair Windows using Installation Media.

Detailed read: System Restore not working, failed or did not complete successfully.