The legacy arc
System Restore lives on volume snapshots (VSS), needs admin, and is disabled by default where OEMs decided the disk tax wasn't justified. PowerShell exposes Enable-ComputerRestore / Checkpoint-Computer — both require elevation. So any per-account plan that starts “flip a quick restore point” is already off the rails by definition.
What undoes small changes reliably
- Before-image journals (see the write pattern): per-value records you replay to reverse.
- Documented defaults: settings whose stock value is public — restore writes the default, no snapshot needed.
- Absence-state semantics: policy values that default to absent restore by deletion, not by writing an opposite — see scope rules.
Where System Restore still stands up
It guards driver-level changes, feature updates, machine-scope policy — exactly the class your per-user tool has no business being near. Matching tool to scope means the recovery plan matches the change size; snapshots for surgery, journals for adjustments.
ProofTune ProjectEngineering notes — every claim here names the bytes a real tool touches. Verify first, install second.