How to do a System Restore in Windows XP?

At one time or another you may find yourself in a situation whereby you have just installed a new software on your computer and the next thing you know your Windows starts to act funny or not working at all. "It was working fine yesterday and today it has gone crazy". Sounds familiar? The first thing is to try and remember what changes you have made to your Windows recently. It is possible that the new software or the new driver you installed the day before is not quite compatible with your hardware. The good case scenario might be that whenever you start the new software, it gives you an error message and refuse to continue. The worse case scenario would be that you cannot even start up your Windows anymore and instead you get a "Blue Screen death".

To troubleshoot can be a long process of eliminating the different possibilities. That would be for another article. For now, we will concentrate on how to restore the system back to its previous state using the System Restore program. When enabled, System Restore takes a "snapshot" of critical system files and some program files and stores this information as restore points. You can use these restore points to return Windows XP to a previous state.

Tip: Usually the System Restore program will take a snapshot before a new software installation begins. I have found that sometimes it doesn't, for whatever reason. Therefore it is a good practice to manually create a restore point before proceeding to install the software.

Steps on how to restore Wndows XP back to a previous state

1. If you are able to start up Windows XP
   
   • Log on to Windows as Administrator.
   • Click Start, select All Programs, and then Accessories, System Tools, and then click System Restore.
   • The System Restore program starts. On the Welcome page, click Restore my computer to an earlier time and then click Next.
   • On the Select a Restore Point page, click the most recent system checkpoint in the On this list, click a restore point list, and then click Next. A System Restore message may appear that lists configuration changes that System Restore will make. Click OK.
   • On the Confirm Restore Point Selection page, click Next. System Restore restores the previous Windows XP configuration, and it will require you to restart the computer.
   • Log on to the computer as Administrator. The System Restore Restoration Complete page appears.
   • Click OK.
   
   
   


2. If WIndows XP is not able to start up
   In this case, you will need to start the System Restore tool at the DOS command prompt.
   
   • Restart your computer, and then press F8 during the initial startup. From the menu shown, choose to start your computer in Safe Mode with a command prompt.
   • Log on to your computer with an administrator account or with an user account with administrator privileges.
   • At the command prompt, type the following command follow by the ENTER key:
     %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
   • Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer to an earlier state.

If everything went ok, you will be informed by Windows XP that the System Restore has been successful. Hopefully this will resolve your problem. But sometimes the System Restore will fail to restore to the previous state and will display an error message saying that the restore process has been unsuccessful. In which case, try the next earlier date available. If all attempts failed, you may need the help of someone more knowledgeable to help you troubleshoot as to the cause of your troubles.