System Restore function does not work

[Guest]

I have XP Pro on one computer and XP Home Edition on another computer, already installed. But there is no System Restore function on the computer with the XP Home Edition (the "Sytem Properties" does not have a tab to select that function
Also, Start|All Programs|Accessories|System Tools|System Restore says it is not functioning and that I should Restart the computer and run the System Restore.... But How...
Help
Tim

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

Tim:

Previously posted information by MVP Doug Knox:

<quote>

Did you do a repair installation after installing SP1? If so, this is a known problem.

Click Start, Run and enter %WINDIR%\System32 Locate the WINSTA.DLL file and right click it, select Properties. If the version number is 5.1.2600.0, then its the pre-SP1 version. If its 5.1.2600.1106, its the SP1 version.

IF you had installed Service Pack 1 and subsequently did a repair installation, click Start, Run and enter %WINDIR%\ServicePackFiles\I386 Locate the Winsta.dll file. Right click it and select Properties. The version number should be 5.1.2600.1106. If so, right click the file and select Copy. Then go to the Windows\System32\dllcache folder, right click
in a blank area of the right pane and select Paste. Then go to the Windows\System32 folder and repeat. Windows may complain about the file being replaced. If so, click Cancel in the first dialog, and Yes in the second one to keep this file.

</quote>

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
www.mvps.org/sramesh2k

Free Online Virus Scanners and Security Tests:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Scanners.htm



I have XP Pro on one computer and XP Home Edition on another computer, already installed. But there is no System Restore function on the computer with the XP Home Edition (the "Sytem Properties" does not have a tab to select that function.
Also, Start|All Programs|Accessories|System Tools|System Restore says it is not functioning and that I should Restart the computer and run the System Restore.... But How....
Help!
Tim

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the response: I ran %WINDIR%\sYSTEM32 and verified that the WINSTA.DLL version was 5.1.2600.1106

Then I ran %WINDIR%\ServicePackFiles\I386 and verified that version number WINSTA.DLL version number was also 5.1.2600.1106. Then I copied the file and Looked for Windows\System32\dllcache but COULD NOT FIND A FOLDER! (Is it somehow hidden, becasue I tried to create a folder named dllcache and was told that a file of that name already exists?).

Anyway, when I tried to also save it to the Windows\System32 folder, window appeared asking if I wanted to replace the existing file, which had the same date and size (choice was Yes or No - no cancel option), so I selected Yes

Any comments..
Tim

 

[wojo]

You did just replace WINSTA.DLL in your system32 directory.
dllcache IS a hidden directory but you can still gain access to it by
changing your Windows explorer options to SHOW hidden files or folders.
Tools | Folder Options | View Tab |
Change radio button under "Hidden Files and Folders" to "Show Hidden Files
and Folders".

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the info but still no luck. I did the Toos | Folder Options | View Tab and selected the radio button for showing all hidden Files and Folders but there was still no folder called dllcache, even though I am sure it's there somewhere ( I cannot CREATE a folder of that name so I know it should be there). Any other ideas
Thanks
Tim

 

[Guest]

I finally figured out how to reveal the dllcache file (uncheck the "Hide Protected Operating System Files"). So I copied the Winsta.dll to the dllcache - - - but guess what: after a restart, still no restore function
Any other ideas
Tim

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Not one you're going to like but......

Once System Restore goes bad, the only thing you can do is stop it and
restart it. Start/run services.msc, locate the SR service and doubleclick
it. Click the stop button, then set the startup type dropdown to disabled.
Click apply/ok, then reboot.

Then, check the "System Volume Information folder" on each drive and delete
any contents. Reverse the steps to restart it.

Be forewarned that doing this removes all existing restore points, but it
doesn't really matter as they weren't working anyways.

If this does not help, follow these steps to reinstall System Restore:

Go to the Control Panel/Folder Options/View tab, set it to "Show hidden
files and folders" and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files
[recommended]". Also uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types".

Then, open Windows Explorer from Start/All Programs and go to the
C:\Windows\Inf folder. Locate the sr.inf file, right-click it and choose
install.

You may need to either insert your WinXP CD or know where your I386 folder
is located on the hard drive. You may also need to know where the
\ServicePackFiles folder is (usually under the Windows directory).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Guest]

Thanks Rick - Info was helpful, however - -

You said that I must stop sr and restart it by running services.msc. But when I did, it showed that the sr was already stopped. So I clicked the start button and got a message "Could not start the System Restore Service service on Local Computer Error 3: The system cannot find the path specified." the path specified is
"Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs". I did a search for svchost and came up with nothing

I completed the rest of the steps in yourinstructions but I still do not have a tab in My Computer properties for System Restore and services.msc still shows Stopped

I would appreciate any other ideas - maybe all I need is the correct executable pat

Tim

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Tim,

Follow the steps given previously to reinstall it (using the sr.inf file),
then retry. As to regaining the SR tab in system properties, close task
manager, then start/run regedit and drill down to this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\TaskManager

and delete it. Then close the registry editor and reopen Task Manager (you
may want to wait until after you reinstall SR and get the service running
again).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Win9x
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone

 

[Ramesh [MVP]]

C:\Windows\System32\Svchost.exe is not present? Do a search for it from Command prompt [dir c:\svchost.exe /s /a]

And, do you see any other errors in Event Log [Type eventvwr in RUN box]

--
Ramesh - Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
www.mvps.org/sramesh2k

Free Online Virus Scanners and Security Tests:
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Scanners.htm



Thanks Rick - Info was helpful, however - -

You said that I must stop sr and restart it by running services.msc. But when I did, it showed that the sr was already stopped. So I clicked the start button and got a message "Could not start the System Restore Service service on Local Computer Error 3: The system cannot find the path specified." the path specified is:
"Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs". I did a search for svchost and came up with nothing.

I completed the rest of the steps in yourinstructions but I still do not have a tab in My Computer properties for System Restore and services.msc still shows Stopped.

I would appreciate any other ideas - maybe all I need is the correct executable path

Tim