Run Windows System Restore from a C:\ prompt

As computer repairers, QBS PC Help see quite a few cases where users cannot get into Windows XP because of a damaged file or a bad software installation. Fortunately access to Safe Mode is nearly always possible and that means that Windows System Restore can often come to the rescue! But how do you do this, if you can’t get into Windows to run the program?

What we do is start up the PC and choose ’safe mode with a command prompt’ (i.e. keep hitting F8 as the PC starts and then select this option from the Start Up List that appears). This will load a minimum set of drivers so that safe mode can run and you will be asked to log in as the Administrator or by using your normal User Name.

You will be dumped at C/:Documents and Settings\Administrator (or User Name)> when finally you arrive in ‘DOS’. You now need to type CD\ and hit Enter to get to the C:\> prompt.

Once you get to the C:\> prompt type the following command:

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

Now press the Enter key and follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore the computer to an earlier state (i.e. to when it was working well). Now reboot the PC and see if you get to the Windows desktop.

If the PC still refuses to load Windows then there are several other possibilities, including:

• A boot sector virus or a resident virus that keeps changing file names.
• A hardware problem - hard drive, memory, power supply etc.
• If the PC is a laptop, a battery or charger that is not working or only working intermittently.

Sometimes, if all else fails, you’ve got no choice but to re-install Windows XP.

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This entry was posted on 04/09/2008 at 12:20 pm and is filed under PC tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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