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Need help with System Restore in XP.

by laurencewins
16 replies
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Hi all,

My dad is still using Windows XP. I have Windows 7 so I can't talk him through this troubleshooting problem myself and I don't have the answers anyway so I am hoping someone will know the answer.

He is trying to restore his system to a previous restore point. It seems to work but at the end he gets a message saying it was unable to restore to the earlier point. He has tried this with a few different points.

He and I have both Googled answers and he has tried numerous things including cleaning the registry, turning it on and off and other things but nothing helps.


He did recently update to Service Pack 3. He wonders if that affected it in any way.

So does anybody have any ideas he can try that haven't already been tried and that are easy to explain? Or a link to something that IS useful???

I would appreciate any help you may have to give and I thank people in advance for reading this thread.
#cleaning #problem #system restore
  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    Why is he trying to do a system restore?
    The problem with system restore is that if your computer has a problem when you create the retore point then when you try to retore it if will restore the problem also.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I don't know why but I don't think it was due to a problem. However, either way, it still doesn't work so I need to find a way to help him fix the problem. If you know how, please let me know.
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    • Profile picture of the author DJL
      This does not address his immediate problem, but for future reference, I would not recommend relying upon System Restore Points at all.

      A better strategy going forward would be to save a backup image of your OS drive periodically.

      I have used both Macrium Reflect (free) and Norton Ghost 15 (paid) for this purpose, and found both to work very satisfactorily when the OS goes haywire and needs to be restored from a previous, working condition.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jason Ladlee
        Just throwing this out there but, you might save some time and headache by just having him format it and reinstall windows (depending on what the issue is).

        I haven't dealt with XP in a while, but I do remember that a full format and reinstall didn't take more than an hour or so.
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        • Profile picture of the author DJL
          Originally Posted by Jason Ladlee View Post

          Just throwing this out there but, you might save some time and headache by just having him format it and reinstall windows (depending on what the issue is).

          I haven't dealt with XP in a while, but I do remember that a full format and reinstall didn't take more than an hour or so.
          This I would regard as a last resort, but it is sometimes the only workable solution.

          I recently did a clean install of Windows XP Pro for a friend who had a completely messed-up system.

          Starting from his original product installation disk, I had to install Service Pack 3, plus Internet Explorer 8, plus more than 100 Windows updates.

          The entire process took about twelve hours on a moderately fast computer with a 12 MB/sec broadband Internet connection.

          I left it for him to reinstall whatever applications he had, which took him a couple of days.

          After that I showed him how to use Macrium Reflect, and his full backup with verification turned on took about 40 minutes.

          My experience with Macrium indicates that restoring such a backup would take even less time.
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          • Profile picture of the author Jason Ladlee
            Originally Posted by DJL View Post

            This I would regard as a last resort, but it is sometimes the only workable solution.

            I recently did a clean install of Windows XP Pro for a friend who had a completely messed-up system.

            Starting from his original product installation disk, I had to install Service Pack 3, plus Internet Explorer 8, plus more than 100 Windows updates.

            The entire process took about twelve hours on a moderately fast computer with a 12 MB/sec broadband Internet connection.

            I left it for him to reinstall whatever applications he had, which took him a couple of days.

            After that I showed him how to use Macrium Reflect, and his full backup with verification turned on took about 40 minutes.

            My experience with Macrium indicates that restoring such a backup would take even less time.
            Most definitely as a last resort.
            You know what was missing from my equation? I never updated xp, had no idea they took that long.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I will suggest a reformat but that is a last resort for sure as it does take a while to redo everything. I do appreciate the offers of advice so far but am hoping for something that directly addresses his current problem.
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    • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
      Hi, Laurence, l do have XP on my PC, as well as 7 on my Laptop.


      I have found System restore won't work with XP, when Norton or probably other antivirus software is running.

      I would recommend turning off everything you can find with Norton, (or whatever one you have) then after restarting XP, try it then, should work.


      And a tip is also to take screen shots, of Norton before turning off stuff, so later on all you have to do is go to the Norton file and copy the image settings, (a lot faster than doing it manually).

      Good luck!


      Shane

      PS you take a screen shot with XP by pressing the SYSRQ key up top, then start Paint and click on paste, the screen image should be there, then save as a jpeg image on your desktop and repeat. But remember that Norton does scroll, so you might have to take 2 images for each section!
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Thanks Shane. I will suggest that to him and see if it works. I hope so. I will see.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    He doesn't use Norton so I am not sure why everyone thinks he does. But I will suggest he uninstall what he is using and see if that helps. Thanks guys.
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    • Profile picture of the author tagiscom
      Originally Posted by laurencewins View Post

      He doesn't use Norton so I am not sure why everyone thinks he does. But I will suggest he uninstall what he is using and see if that helps. Thanks guys.
      Its only because Norton and l think Mcfee can get dodgy with System restore on XP.

      Other ones, who knows?

      You can uninstall the whole thing, but it will drive you or your Father nuts, over time!


      Or having to figure out which button with double talk labels, gets rid of the annoying whatever!


      I can virtually guarantee you that unless you have a Trojan in the works it should fix it!

      Or you haven't defragged for a long period of time perhaps?

      I had a pesky Trojan on XP for about a year, until Norton and others finally got rid of it!


      So deleting restore points, when everything is fully operational, is a good habit, (Viruses like to hide in Restore points on XP).


      Shane
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  • Profile picture of the author KimW
    I didn't know anyone still used Norton.

    I still go back to my original question...what is the reason for the system restore. As the saying goes, if it aint broke don't fix it. But I do agree with most comments... system restore is basically crap. I turned it off on most machines I fixed at my shop and recommended what DJL did, a backup program.
    But I use and recommend Storagecraft's Shadowprotect/Desktop Version. Not cheap but it would better than any other programs I have tried.

    I think several here have given you sound advice.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I know he dues updates regularly so that is not the cause. But thanks for suggesting it anyway. Better to check than assume.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    You wrote that he recently updated Service Pack 3 and yes, that can be a problem.
    I believe you can undo and then reinstall updates.

    Can't say more without knowing what he is trying to fix or remove.

    Of course, also, XP is unsupported soon so he is going to want his
    data/software that needs to be transported.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    I want to thank everybody for their advice and tips. Dad has fixed the problem now. Hopefully it is fixed permanently and I know where to come for your tips if it stuffs up again.
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