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Troubleshooting steps for issues when you try to use the System Restore tool in Windows XP

Article ID: 302796 - View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q302796

Introduction

This article describes how to perform troubleshooting steps for issues that may occur when you try to use the System Restore tool in Windows XP.

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Where to start

If System Restore does not start, follow these steps:

Run Windows Update to check for and to install any system updates. Visit the following Microsoft Web site to check for updates:
http://update.microsoft.com
(http://update.microsoft.com)
If you are prompted, restart the computer.
After the computer restarts, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then click System Restore.

If System Restore did not start, you can use the "Advanced troubleshooting" section to try to resolve your issue. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/

(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/)

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Advanced troubleshooting

This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, you might want to ask someone for help or contact support. For information about how to do this, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/

(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/)

Method 1: Make sure that the System Restore service is running

To do this, use one of the following methods:

Look in Control Panel. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, and then type compmgmt.msc in the Open box, and then press Enter.
2. Expand Services, and then click System Restore Services..
  
  If the Status of System Restore Service is not Started, click Start on the toolbar to start it.
Open a Command Prompt window. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type CMD in the Open box, and then press Enter.
2. Type Net Start at the command prompt to make sure that the System Restore Service is up and is running.
  
  If the System Restore Service is not listed, type net start "System Restore Service", and then press Enter.

Method 2: Make sure that System Restore is enabled on the drives where you want System Restore enabled

To do this follow these steps:

Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
Click the System Restore tab.
If the System Restore is enabled, the Status column of a drive will show Monitoring.
If not, you can clear to clear the Turn off System Restore on all drives, and then click OK to enable it.

Method 3: Make sure that you have sufficient disk space on all the drives where System Restore is enabled

To do this, follow these steps:

To check for free disk space, click Start, click Run, type diskmgmt.msc and then press Enter. Look at each drive System Restore is monitoring for free space.
If the free space on any partition system restore is monitoring falls lower than 50 MB, System Restore will suspend and remove all restore points to free disk space. You should have already received a low free disk space message by now. System Restore will resume monitoring when free disk space reaches 200 MB.

Note In most cases you do not have to have System Restore monitor Partitions/drives other than the one Windows is installed on. System Restore does not monitor data files.

Method 4: View the event logs to investigate System Restore service errors

To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type eventvwr.msc /s in the Open box, and then press Enter.
Click the System category.
Click the Source tab to sort by name, and then look for "sr" or "srservice." Double-click each of these services, and then evaluate the event description for any indication of the cause of the problem.

Method 5: Boot in safe mode and run the System Restore tool

To boot in safe mode follow these steps:

Restart the computer. Immediately after the screen goes blank for the first time, or after the BIOS post ends, start taping the F8 key repeatedly. The Windows Advanced Options menu appears.

If the menu does not appear, restart the computer and try again.
Select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER. As files load they will scroll down the screen.

Note Safe mode uses a minimal set of device drivers and services to start Windows. The default Microsoft VGA driver is used for display at 640 X480 resolution and in 16 colors.
Log on to the Administrator account. If a password was never set, leave the password blank and press ENTER or click the green arrow.
Click No in the safe mode information screen to start System Restore.
Select Restore my computer to an earlier time, and then click Next to proceed to select a date with restore points available.
Click Next to begin restoring the system to a previous state.