System Restore Doesn't

[David Schwartz]

Hi. I'm running XP and haven't been able to use System Restore successfully
for months. It goes through the motions and then simply says 'could not
restore" or something similar. Any ideas why?
Thanks in advance.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "David Schwartz" <[email protected]>

| Hi. I'm running XP and haven't been able to use System Restore successfully
| for months. It goes through the motions and then simply says 'could not
| restore" or something similar. Any ideas why?
| Thanks in advance.

Perform it in Safe Mode.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Let's see if System Restore will function in Safe Mode.

Boot into Safe Mode and perform a test restore using the following link.
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/tips.html#3

How to starting Windows XP in Safe Mode:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/safemode.html

If there are any Norton applications installed, take a look at this page.
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/symantecdoc1.html

Here are some more troubleshooting steps to take when System Restore fails
to restore:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

The Event Viewer can sometimes be helpful in tracking down errors.
Using the Event Viewer to troubleshoot System Restore errors:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/source.html

Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.net

 

[David Schwartz]

I will, but why won't it work in "regular mode"?

 

[David Schwartz]

What will that tell us?

Let's see if System Restore will function in Safe Mode.

Boot into Safe Mode and perform a test restore using the following link.
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/tips.html#3

How to starting Windows XP in Safe Mode:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/safemode.html

If there are any Norton applications installed, take a look at this page.
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/symantecdoc1.html

Here are some more troubleshooting steps to take when System Restore fails
to restore:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

The Event Viewer can sometimes be helpful in tracking down errors.
Using the Event Viewer to troubleshoot System Restore errors:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/source.html

Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.net

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "David Schwartz" <[email protected]>

| I will, but why won't it work in "regular mode"?
|

Something is running in Normal Mode preventing the restore process from working correctly.

 

[Holz]

Hi. I'm running XP and haven't been able to use System Restore
successfully for months. It goes through the motions and then simply
says 'could not restore" or something similar. Any ideas why?
Thanks in advance.

Did you try to run in-place repair of XP?

 

[Mick Murphy]

Disable your Anti-virus before doing a System Restore.
If it is Norton; uninstall it!
Standard practice!

Cheers!

 

[David Schwartz]

No. What does that mean?

Did you try to run in-place repair of XP?

 

[Holz]

No. What does that mean?

You boot from the CD, as if you were about to run setup. When yo are
prompted to select new install or Repair the second time, not the
first, right after setup identified your existing installation and
listing it, select repair.

 

[David Schwartz]

I can't uninstall it. I mean, I can, but Norton's takes a long, long, long
time to install. I can certainly disable it, thought. Wouldn't that be
sufficient? What is the problem with Norton's and System Restore?
Dave

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Disabling just turns off the scanners. It might not be sufficient in the
case of Norton in my experience. Uninstalling Norton is not a trivial
experience but sometimes necessary when trying to resolve an issue.

 

[he]

I suspect that "Mick Murphy" meant for you to uninstall Norton and never
reinstall it. It seems that Norton AV has a bad reputation for many
reasons. I don't use it, so can't comment much. I have used Symantec's
corporate AV product, and it wasn't too bad.

AV programs usually try to protect system files against changes (one
common virus activity). A system restore may be changing system files
when restoring (by replacing them with a older copy), and some AV
programs may interpret this as viruslike behaviour. For similar reasons,
some software installer programs recommend disabling AV while installing
(not necessarily good advice, unless you are confident that the installer
is not infected with a virus).

Disabling your AV should be sufficient - if that is actually what is
causing your problems.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

I am afraid disabling is not always sufficient. In some cases
uninstallation is necessary.