XP System Restore not working
coyote
I have a 5 year + old Dell with XP installed. I have recently tried
several tweaks to the system as recommended from the book "Hacking
Windows XP" and after changes to the Start Up and System Boot files, I
not only lost, not only my DSL connection, but was unable to change the
date on System Restore or change the month. Note: after disabling some
of the unwanted boot files and then re-booting the PC, I found that all
of the System Files were disabled......don't understand that.
This is my first time with making these types of
modifications.....guess I'm in over my head. Can anyone help?
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Ron Badour
You need to tell us exactly what hacks you applied--specific information
please. And, what do you mean, the system files were disabled?
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Regards
Ron Badour
MS MVP
Windows Desktop Experience
"coyote" <coyote...@DoNotSpam.com> wrote in message
news:coyote...@DoNotSpam.com...
coyote
First off.......Thank you for responding to my 'help' request. For
clarification, this is a home computer with Verizon DSL internet service
but does not have any network connections. I do have a laptop that
feeds internet from a Verizon router.
Here's basically what I did in an attempt to speed up my computer:
I first modified the "boot.ini" file by typing "/noguiboot" after the
words 'fastdetect' in the last line of the XP existing boot file
instructions to eliminate the Windows XP start up screen. I also changed
the "timeout" setting from 30 seconds to 3 seconds.
In a related action to the above.....I went to the system configuration
settings and disabled (5)...and only (5) of the start up functions:
dxdllreg, hkcmd, igfxtray, realsched, UMAX VistaAccess (for an old
flatbed scanner I no longer have). I made the determination of which
ones to disable by going to a website called 'answersthatwork.com for an
evaluation of what each of these start-ups do before disableing them.
By the way, there are 24 start up functions on my computer as listed
in the "Startup" tab of the System configuration Utility.....not to
mention those listed under SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI, BOOT.INI and Services.
After making changes and rebooting my PC, every single one of the boxes
under all these headings was 'blanked' out. (None of the boxes checked).
Next I went to the "services" screen by following the path Start, Run,
and typing services.msc. In that utility I disabled Background
Intelligent Transfer Services, Distributed Link Tracking Client, Error
Reporting Servic, Fast User Switching Compatibility, Help and Support,
Indexing Service, Messenger, Network Location Awareness, Portable Media
Serial Number Service, SSDP Discovery Service, Terminal Services,
Windows Image Acquistion, Wireless Zero Configuration, Windows Time,
WebClient, & Task Scheduler. (this is what I meant by system
files....probably wrong wording). With this screen as with the one
mentioned above......after rebooting every single one of the services in
the 'services.msc' screen had been disabled - and that's 88 in all! I
re-set them after I saw what had happened, but frankly, I don't have a
clue which ones were set on 'automatic', 'manual', or 'disabled'.
I had, a first, lost both my DSL connection and the System Restore
function. I have since gone in and restored the above actions by
restoring all of the functions that I disabled earlier (with the
exception of changing the BOOT.INI wording -- I'd rather have a blank
screen than watch the Windows XP screen -- and the changes to the
"start up" screen in System Configuration). I did get back the DSL
connection but nothing seems to help the "System Restore" to function
properly. As stated earlier, it will come up.....I just can't change
the day or month to restore to an earlier time. I was hoping that if I
could restore the settings to an earlier date, it may change the
settings to their originals, especially those in 'services msc'
Grateful for any assistance,
coyote
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Daave
Did Windows System Restore *ever* work on that computer? Keep in mind
that there are a few third-party programs (like Norton and Kaspersky)
that interfere with System Restore. This page is required reading:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html
Many people have reported success with running SR in Safe Mode or Safe
Mode with Command Prompt:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304449
Also, you should be able to perform what is known as a manual system
restore if you are unable to run the regular Windows System Restore:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545
Jose
When the SR calendar comes up, each day that has a RP available will
be in a darker/bolder font and when you click it you will see a list
of RPs to choose for that day.
If a past day is "unclickable", then as far as Windows is concerned,
there are no RPs for that day.
coyote
Daave,
Thanks for the input. Let me answer your first question about 'have I
ever used the SR feature on this computer before'? Yes, over the past
years I have accessed that feature a couple of times and it worked
fine.
I read the "must read" link you provided and I was unsucessful in
getting it to work. I tried everything that was suggested (it was a very
informative article).
I have also tried System Restore in 'Safe Mode' several times (which I
failed to mention in my initial problem description). Each time I go to
Safe Mode my computer locks-up on the 'sign in' (password) screen.
The last suggestion you offered from Microsoft regarding "how to
recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from
starting" did not seem to fit with my problem of being unable to start
System Restore. My computer starts fine and I'm able to access every
feature in XP, internet, and every other feature (I believe). In
addition, that particular fix seemed pretty scary for an amateur like
myself to be attempting.
Of course, I may be wrong and that may be the proper course to take. I
would appreciate your re-evaluation before I take that step.
After visiting and trying the 'fixes' in the 'must read' link you sent.
The last suggestion it gave was to re-install SR from (I presume) the
installation disk. I tried that and was also unsuccessful, receiving
the message that 'Windows XP could not be insalled on this computer
because the version on the computer was newer than the disk version' (or
something to that effect). It's the one that came with the computer
when I purchased it new. Could that possibly be from downloading
Microsofts' Service Packs? I think I have Version 3 installed now.
Possibly you have other suggestions?
Thanks,
coyote
Jose,
I appreciate your 'chiming in' with helpful information. Each person
that responds reminds me that I failed to mention something of possible
importance in my initial request for help. You mentioned that "When the
SR calendar comes up, each day that has a RP available will be in a
darker/bolder font and when you click it you will see a list of RPs to
choose for that day."
days to choose from in the month of July, however when I click on any of
those choices, nothing happens. I can also go to the "create a restore
point" screen, type in the day/date and it seems to work. However, when
I then click through the choices to the screen just before it begins the
'restore' process, today's day/date are listed first with the restore
point listed below that. It will proceed to restore when you click on
the restore button but only restore to todays (whatever day you happen
to be doing this) date.
I have gone in to the "System Properties" screen to turn off the System
Restore feature, re-booted, and then turned it back on again in an
effort to eliminate previous restore points and tried it again, but with
no luck.
I'm open to any other insights and suggestions you may have.
thanks again,
Daave
1. You did not mention if you tried SR in Safe Mode *with Command
Prompt*. If not, here is the link again:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304449
Do you have Norton or Kaspersky installed?
2. This link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545
*is* the manual equivalent of rolling back to an earlier restore point.
Personally, I always make sure I image my entire hard drive before I
alter the registry. Otherwise, I agree with you that mucking around in
the registry like that may be dangerous. If you feel this is something
beyond your comfort level, you would be wise to pay a qualified tech
(not a Geek Squad type!) to help you out. But if you think this is
doable, go for it. But I do advise that you image the drive first to be
covered "just in case."
3. I would only reinstall System Restore if my two suggestions above
don't pan out. And yes, you need to use an installation CD with SP3
integrated into it. If yours doesn't have SP3, it is possible to create
a brand new installation CD, using a method called slipstreaming, so
that the CD *does* have SP3 integrated into it. I see you have a Dell,
and slipstreaming from a Dell CD is somewhat tricky because of some
unique folders and files. Google these terms:
slipstream
XP
SP3
dell
nlite
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=slipstream+xp+sp3+dell+nlite&aq=f&oq=&aqi=
and you should find a helpful page. For slipstreaming in general (if you
do it manually, rather than by using a program like nlite), see this
page:
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=295
To burn the CD, you need to use a program like Nero or CDBurnerXP and
there are links at the bottom of the page to guide you.
Of course, once you have the new and improved XP Dell Reinstallation CD
(at SP3 level), you will also be able to run a Repair Install, in
addition to being able to reinstall System Restore.
But I'm not sure you really need to reinstall SR. Try the first two
suggestions first.
HTH.
Jose
I am a chimer.
Booting in Safe Mode will not change the way the calendar of dates is
presented, what RPs you get to choose etc. Safe Mode is sometimes
that only way to get a selected RP complete the restoration process.
It was mentioned that some AV software can be an issue.
What you usually will see that might prompt you to try in Safe Mode is
- everything looks fine. You see your calendar, pick some date,
restore the point and reboot. After you reboot, you see a message
that nothing has changed. That is usually bad Restore Points, or AV
Software (Norton/Kapersky). A boot on Safe Mode may keep the
afflicting programs from interfereing since they are "protecting" your
sytem, recognize the significant change and do not allow it.
Microsoft recommends trying it if everything else fails.
If you click a bolder date in July, you should be able to choose a RP
from those for that day from a list, and click Next to continue. You
said "nothing happens", so I don't know what that means. The "nothing
happens" statements are hard to imagine - you clickd the date and
don't see any RPs for that day, you see the dates but can't choose
one, you choose one but can't click Next, you click Next and don't
proceed...
If you turn off the SR feature through System Properties, all RPs
except the current (last one) are deleted. Sometimes that is your
desire - to remove old infected ones or example. Turning it back on
will not bring them back - they are gone.
Did you do that? If yes, you will have zero RPs before that date. If
you have some accumlated RPs and toggle that option, they are gone.
I have to politely disagree some with Daave about KB307545 - it is not
the equivalent of a manual SR. That KB describes a method to try to
fix a system that will not boot and presenting specific errors and
restores only 5 of the many files from a SR point. If you have those
errors, your problem is likely something else that, but anyway...
Why don't you make some manual RP right now, reboot, make no changes,
try to restore to the one you just made, reboot. If you get the
message that nothing changed that is when the Safe Mode method might
work.
coyote
Jose,
In response to your latest reply; I have tried to reach the System
Restore in 'Safe Mode' (both regular Safe Mode and Safte Mode w/command
prompt) several times. Each time I go to Safe Mode my computer locks-up
on the 'sign in' (password) screen, so I've never been able to get as
far as the SR area.
To clarify what I meant when I said 'nothing happens' when I select a
RP: I can go to the System Restore screen and see the calendar with the
bold dates for the month of July. (On my calendar screen the SR dates,
or bold dates, are in dark blue and the dates that are unavailable are
light gray in color, while 'todays' is a solid colored square with that
date number in white...just so we're on the same page - figuratively
speaking).
It's been a while since I used the SR feature but as I recall, when you
clicked on one of the dates in bold, that date was changed so that it
looked like todays date, i.e. the square became solid colored with
numerals in white. And that's how SR recognized that you were selecting
that particular RP. And for additional example when you selected the <
(back) feature at the top of the calendar to go back a month, the
calendar changed to the previous month.
When I click the < (back) feature, nothing happens....by that I mean
that the calendar stays on July and does not change to June. When I
click on one of the bold dates to select a RP....nothing happens. If I
proceed to the final screen the date selected as a RP is today's date.
I don't know if that clarifies what I mean by "nothing happens" or not
but I don't know how to word it differently.
I have turned off the SR in System properties numerous times and
rebooted to verify that the old SR points were removed....and indeed
they were. Now let me explain that part. This may be a feature that I
don't understand, because I've never used it before but, in SR opening
(I believe) screen you are given a choice of proceeding to the calendar
screen and selecting (by clicking on) a RP date or choosing the "create
a restore point" option. If I click on the last option and type in a
date, before today's date, it will not restore to a previous (to
today's) date. I presume that option is only for securing 'today's
date' and can't be used to go back to an earlier date. None-the-less,
I've tried it both ways and neither feature works i.e. nothing happens.
I did try your suggestion to set a RP and use SR to see if it worked.
The response I got after rebooting was something to the effect of 'Your
computer could not be restored........did not work'.
Thanks,
coyote
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Daave
> The response I got after rebooting was
> something to the effect of 'Your computer could not be
> restored........did not work'.
It is *very* important to relay the complete, exact message. Is it one
of the messages that appears on this page?:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/error.html
And again,
Do you have Kaspersky or Norton installed?
Also,
Do you allow System Restore to monitor Dell's hidden Recovery Partition
(if one exists)? What is the model and model number of this Dell?
How much free space do you have on your C: partition?
What SP level is your Windows XP?
Have you ruled out a malware infection? What antivirus, antispyware
programs do you run and are their definitions up to date?
Since you were trying tweaks from a book called "Hacking Windows XP" and
you think you may be in "over your head," have you considered running
either a Repair or Clean Install? Do you have a Dell XP Reinstallation
CD and if so, what SP level is it?
Is all your data backed up to another medium? (That is *extremely*
important!)
Please make sure you answer *every* question in order to get the
quickest solution.
For others who use news readers and are not privy to the rest of the
thread, see this page:
http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-support/1220898.htm
or this one:
coyote
Daave,
It is possible that system restore is working after all. When I first
began to make some of the 'hacks' that were listed in the book "Hacking
Windows XP" that I mentioned earlier, I felt confident that if I were
unhappy with the way anything turned out, I would be able to use System
Restore and return the system back to it's original configuration.
Also as mentioned earlier, it's been a long time since I used SR and
was unfamiliar with the appearance of the calander, and since a few days
have now passed since I realized that I needed to make those changes, I
now see that the SR calander has made the past few calander days bolder
than they were 3 or 4 days ago. For example: when I first started
looking on the calander, I could see that the numerals for some of the
'older' days were gray in color and that the more recent days' numbers
were blue in color. I thought that those more recent days were the ones
that were available restore points. In the past few days I see that
they are even bolder and are the actual available restore dates. When I
ran a system restore today (Sat Aug 1), I was able to move the month
back and restore to July 31 and the message was "System restore was
successful".
What I don't understand is what I did to wipe out all available points
prior to my 'hacking' session on or around July 26. The calander was not
even available before July........meaning that I could not go back to
June or any month before that.
(answering your questions in order)
I do not have Norton or Kapersky virus protection. The only AV I had
installed was a free version of AVG. 2 days ago I deleted it thinking
that it was interferring with the SR function. Now I cannot get it to
reinstall. I get an error message on the AVG download page saying "AVG
download failed" "Error code 0xE001C008". I have since loaded Zone
Alarm as a firewall but do not have any virus protection.
You asked if I allow SR to monitor Dell's hidden Recovery Partition. I
don't know or how to find that out. I was unable to locate a model #
for my Dell only a service tag #6BXD941.
I also do not know how to tell how much free space is on the C:
partition.
I have downloaded the Service Pack 3 onto this computer.
I have not ruled out any malware infection, however I don't believe one
exists since, at least until a week ago, I was running regular virus
scans.
I do not know how to run Repair or Clean Install. I do have the
original XP installation disk from Dell, but can't use it since it does
not have the SP3 upgrade and it gives me the message "Windows cannot
install XP since the version on this computer is newer than the one on
the disk".
I also do not know how to back up all my data to another disk. If you
can give me a link that explains how to do that I would be very
grateful.
Thanks for patience in helping me thus far.
coyote
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Daave
Complete thread:
Comments inline.
coyote wrote:
> Daave,
> It is possible that system restore is working after all.
That wouldn't surprise me. :-) When you were "making those hacks," you
quite possibly disabled, then re-enabled System Restore, which would
have the effect of deleting all but your most recent restore point.
> When I first
> began to make some of the 'hacks' that were listed in the book
> "Hacking Windows XP" that I mentioned earlier, I felt confident that
> if I were unhappy with the way anything turned out, I would be able
> to use System Restore and return the system back to it's original
> configuration.
Coyote, your confidence was misplaced!
Never, ever, ever, tweak your system without imaging it first. Once you
create an image of your drive and validate the image archive, *then* you
may be confident that you can roll back to an earlier point in time.
Otherwise, all bets are off. System Restore can only do so much.
Depending on some of those hacks, I could see a situation which would
end in a non-bootable PC. (This is also why registry cleaners are almost
always not recommended.)
> Also as mentioned earlier, it's been a long time since I used SR and
> was unfamiliar with the appearance of the calander, and since a few
> days have now passed since I realized that I needed to make those
> changes, I now see that the SR calander has made the past few
> calander days bolder than they were 3 or 4 days ago. For example:
> when I first started looking on the calander, I could see that the
> numerals for some of the 'older' days were gray in color and that the
> more recent days' numbers were blue in color. I thought that those
> more recent days were the ones that were available restore points.
Darker or bolder (blue, I suppose) dates do correspond to actual Retore
Points. Lighter (gray) dates don't.
> In the past few days I see that they are even bolder and are the
> actual available restore dates.
Roger.
> When I ran a system restore today
> (Sat Aug 1), I was able to move the month back and restore to July 31
> and the message was "System restore was successful".
> What I don't understand is what I did to wipe out all available points
> prior to my 'hacking' session on or around July 26.
Since I wasn't there, I can't tell you. If you turned off System Restore
(and later turned it back on), that would certainly produce that
outcome. Or using Disk Cleanup (if you click on the More Options tab and
then on the Clean Up button under System Restore) would do this as well.
Then again, maybe one of the hacks produced the same outcome.
Again, before you mess around like you describe, it is imperative that
you image your drive! That way, if you screw up, all you need to is
restore the image and then your drive will be back to how it was
*exactly* at the moment you made the image of it.
> The calander was
> not even available before July........meaning that I could not go
> back to June or any month before that.
Roger. No Restore Points.
Another you thing you need to do is make sure you have enough free space
on C: so that programs like System Resore and Disk Defagmenter are able
to work. The recommended minimum os 15%, but I would shoot for 50% (to
give yourself lots of breathing room).
Also, where is your slider for Disk Space Usage when you do the
following?:
Right-click My Computer and select Properties. Click the System Restore
tab. Highlight C: and click Settings.
That is, what percentage is listed and how many MB does that translate
to?
> (answering your questions in order)
> I do not have Norton or Kapersky virus protection. The only AV I had
> installed was a free version of AVG.
Good. So far, there are no programs interfering with System Restore. And
I now think (as you have also surmised) that it was *always* working.
That is, the issue wasn't that it wasn't working. Rather, the issue was
how many Restore Points you had available.
> 2 days ago I deleted it thinking
> that it was interferring with the SR function.
I always get nervous when someone uses the word "deleted." Files get
deleted, whereas programs get uninstalled. Attempting to delete files
and folders associated with a program is a recipe for disaster.
Hopefully, what you did was to uninstall it via Control Panel's Add or
Remove Programs.
That being said, uninstalling AVG was overkill! And you made more work
for yourself.
But you still need to clarify. Did you uninstall it properly? Or did you
actaully "delete" it?
> Now I cannot get it to
> reinstall. I get an error message on the AVG download page saying
> "AVG download failed" "Error code 0xE001C008".
One more reason you should regularly image your hard drive!!!
> I have since loaded
> Zone Alarm as a firewall but do not have any virus protection.
Zone Alarm won't help you that much. Its only advantage is that it
monitors outgoing traffic. You need to prevent the bad things from
coming in! If there are no bad things coming in, there can be no bad
things going out!
The built-in Windows firewall (even though it only provides incoming
protection) is sufficient. I wouldn't waste my time with Zone Alarm.
So now you have no antivirus program. And I don't recall your ever
mentioning anything about other anti-malware programs (such as
MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware or SUPERAntiSpyware). In other words, your
system is not protected very well and is at serious risk of becoming
compromised.
> You asked if I allow SR to monitor Dell's hidden Recovery Partition.
> I don't know or how to find that out. I was unable to locate a model
> # for my Dell only a service tag #6BXD941.
I wouldn't worry about that. I read that somehwere in my research, but I
doubt very much that System Restore is capable of monitoring hidden
partitions! So please ignore that.
> I also do not know how to tell how much free space is on the C:
> partition.
Coyote, grasshopper, that is about as basic as it gets. If you didn't
know something so basic, you *definitely* should stay away from hacks
and tweaks you don't understand! My purpose is not to insult you in any
way. I just don't want to see you screw up your system! Read up on these
things first. Post questions. And make sure to image your drive before
embarking on any major changes!
Also, hacking and tweaking might nor result in any noticeable
performance gain anyway. Once you are advanced enough (not now), you may
want to consult this page:
http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm
But for now, just bookmark it. Know that changing those settings won't
necessarily improve performance that much. And please know that you
should image your hard drive before attempting anything like that!
If you want to imporve your performance, there are a number of things
many of us can recommend. That would involve another thread, though.
BTW, for determining amount of free space:
Double-click My Computer and right-click C: and select Properties. What
does the pie chart tell you? Just give me the GB figures for Used space,
Free space, and Capacity.
> I have downloaded the Service Pack 3 onto this computer.
Downloading isn't enough. Was it ever installed? Right-click My Computer
and select Properties. On the General tab, you should see which Service
Pack is installed (under System).
> I have not ruled out any malware infection, however I don't believe
> one exists since, at least until a week ago, I was running regular
> virus scans.
AVG doesn't catch everything. And although the new version does scan for
certain Spyware, again, it doesn't catch everything. This is why many of
us recommend MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware or SUPERAntiSpyware. (And there
are free versions of both.)
And remember you are defininitely at risk *now*!
I had asked about malware earlier because certain malware *does*
interfere with the running of System Restore. But SR seems to have been
running all along, eh?
> I do not know how to run Repair or Clean Install.
But you probably will need to learn at some point. If you have questions
in the future, just make a post before attempting either one so you may
get the proper guidance, including helpful Web pages.
> I do have the
> original XP installation disk from Dell, but can't use it since it
> does not have the SP3 upgrade and it gives me the message "Windows
> cannot install XP since the version on this computer is newer than
> the one on the disk".
That is why a slipstreamed disk is beneficial! Again, start a new thread
when you are ready to explorer how to do that.
> I also do not know how to back up all my data to another disk. If you
> can give me a link that explains how to do that I would be very
> grateful.
Purchase an external hard drive. Connect it to your PC. Use Windows
Explorer to copy the files. Again, this is worthy of another thread
since there are some locations (for e-mails, address book, and IE
Favorites) that are not universally known.
An external drive is also invaluable because you can image the entire
hard drive (your OS, all the programs, *and* all the data) and store the
image archive on it. Again, another thread! I would recommend this
newsgroup for that:
microsoft.public.windows.hardware
You will get excellent suggestions for what to look for (and where to
find) such a hard drive. Regarding imaging software, DriveImageXML gets
the job done (and it's free). But if you want a program that does much
more, I would suggest Acronis True Image Home (although it isn't free).
Again, another thread!
> Thanks for patience in helping me thus far.
> coyote
You're welcome. One final suggestion:
In order to get better advice, it is important to follow the conventions
of Usenet as best you can. Part of that it is to make sure you include
the text of the posts in your thread (judiciously snipping is alright as
long as you leave all the pertinent stuff). I noticed you are using a
Web forum to access this newsgroup, which is not the best way! Not only
that, its default mode is such that your posts don't include the text of
what you are replying to! That makes it very difficult to follow.
If you intend to post more to Usenet, you really should use a proper
news reader for these newsgroups. Hopefully, the following will help you
to do this:
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Tech_Support
(and scroll down to C. Usenet)
Make sure you continue to read to the point that says:
"Using Outlook Express/Windows Mail as Newsreader."
If you follow the conventions, more people will be able to follow the
thread and offer helpful suggestions.
One thing I like to see is inline posting. That way, if I were to read
your most recent post where you answer my (or someone else's) questions,
the answers will immediately follow (just like I did in this post). This
eliminates the need to scroll and scan -- or in your case, search
through other posts! (That is why I keep posting the Google Groups link
to the entire thread -- just in case someone else is interested to help
but has no idea what you are talking about because it was snipped away!)
Hope this helps and good luck.