There are quite a few different methods users came up with to resolve this problem and we decided to include all of them in this article. Just make sure you follow the instructions carefully and the problem should be gone in no time!

What Causes the “You Must Enable System Protection on This Drive” Error on Windows?

This problem can be caused by two distinct causes. The first case scenario is that System Protection is simply not activated on your computer and you have to activate it manually. This can be more difficult if you have accessed System Restore from the Advanced Startup. The second cause may be the fact that the System Protection service is simply not running on your computer and you need to restart it properly. Make sure you check out both causes and the methods related to them!

Solution 1: Use Command Prompt to Rename Registry File and Perform the System Restore

System Restore can also be run in a command prompt window. However, before you run it, you should rename two system files which cause the “You must enable system protection on this drive” message to appear. Since this issue mostly occurs when you are not able to access your operating system, all troubleshooting will be run from the advanced startup options.

Solution 2: Enable System Protection using PowerShell

There is a simple PowerShell command which can bring back the system protection feature for the drive you want to restore. After that, you can visit System Restore settings to check whether you can enable System Protection for the drive where you have installed Windows in. Follow the steps below to execute this method! Let these commands do their thing! It should take a couple of seconds for them to finish their process. point in time, if you opt to go back.

Solution 3: Start the System Protection Service

If the System Protection Service isn’t running at all or if it’s broken, System Protection used for System Restore may not work properly and you may receive the message that it has been turned off. You should consider restarting the System Protection Service before re-running System Restore to see if the problem has been resolved. Follow the steps below! You may receive the following error message when you click on Start: Windows could not start the service on Local Computer. Error 1079: The account specified for this service differs from the account specified for other services running in the same process. If this happens, follow the instructions below to fix it.

Alternative: Use Command Prompt

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