System Restore stopped working

[Guest]

I've just noticed System Restore stopped working back in July. I'm using XP
Home with SP1 on a home network. I've tried the following things:

If I access SR thorough start/all programs/accessories/system tools/System
restore I get the message System Restore is not able to protect your
computer. Please restart your computer, and then run System restore again.
This doesn't work.

If I access System properties there is no tab for System restore.

I've looked at System Restore Service properties and tried to start it and I
get the message "Could not start System restore Services on local computer.
Error 3. The system cannot find the path specified. The path is correct i.e.
c:\windows\system32\svchost.exe -k netsvcs

Can anyone help?

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Clyde,

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 (you may
need to set folder options/view tab to see hidden and system folders for
this) 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 "Show the contents of system folders", then 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" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Stan]

Also, upgrading to SP2 couldn't hurt.

-Stan

 

[Guest]

Eventually the only solution that worked was to rename the system volume
information folder, reboot and enable SR. I got this solution from Microsoft
knowledge database. Thanks for the advice, I've certainly learnt a bit more
about XP.