System Restore won't work.

Whenever i try to go to a restore point i have created i get the
message ..."Restoration Incomplete. Your computer cannot be restored
to (whatever point it was i selected) Please choose another point.  I
choose another point....matter of fact....none of them i choose will
work.

I even turned off system restore...and then turned it back
on....thereby purging all restore points.  When you do this an
automatic restore point is created.  I tested this automatic restore
point after one to two days...and it works fine during that
period....but after that......any restore points i have created...or
even that automatic one that was generated when i turned system restore
back on....none of the restore points will work.

I even chatted with HP online....and they gave me a patch to install
saying this would solve the problem....this was the patch right here:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/regs_edits/systemrestore.reg

It did not work.

I found out through some research of my own....that if i turn off my
computer....and boot it up tapping f8 and enter using safe mode...and
THEN go to system restore....that i am successfully able to restore my
computer........but this is impractical...and takes a long time to do!

Why does this work in Safe mode....and not like it is supposed to in
regular operating mode??

HP also told me that if the patch did not work....that my only
alternative would be to reformat my hard drive....and i REALLY don't
want to do that unless it is absolutely neccessary!!

What i am ultimately wanting....is for system restore to function
normally and consistently in the manner it is supposed to.

HELP!!!

Larry

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 12 Mar 2006 18:49 PST

saintsuperb...

This page from Microsoft outlines common reasons why System Restore
might not work, as well as solutions, most of which it seems you've
tried:

"There is less than 200 MB of free space available on the computer
 ? free up some space on the hard drive by deleting unused files or
 images.

 After rebooting, the restoration is unsuccessful?choose an earlier
 restore point and try again.

 Restoration was denied due to non-administrator status?log out and
 then back in as an administrator.

 The System Restore Service is not running?Open Administrative Tools,
 click Computer Management, and then click Services and Applications.
 Click Services, and double-click System Restore Services from the
 list. Verify the service is started and running. If not, under
 Service status, click Start and change the startup type to Automatic"
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx

Making sure you have Administative rights is my best guess.


Another page from Microsoft suggests the following:

"Try these steps if System Restore does not appear to work:

 1. Ensure the System Restore service is running. For more
 information, see: How can I verify that the System Restore
 services are running on my machine?

 2. Verify that you have enough free space on all your
 drives as required by System Restore. If the free space
 on any partition system restore is monitoring falls below
 50 MB, System Restore will suspend and purge out all
 restore points to free up disk space. It will automatically
 reactivate when 200 MB+ free space is available. For more
 information, see How the System Restore Tool Handles
 Hard-Disk Space Usage.

 3. Examine event logs for any system restore-related errors
 that could help you identify the problem."

Event logs can be found by r-clicking My Computer, selecting
Manage and opening Event Viewer.


Let me know where this takes you...

sublime1-ga

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Clarification of Question by saintsuperb-ga on 12 Mar 2006 18:52 PST

Yes..... i ran across all of these in my research....and tried and
confirmed each and every one of them......to no avail.....i am
stumped???

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Clarification of Question by saintsuperb-ga on 13 Mar 2006 00:31 PST

hI tlspiegel...

yes i did visit each and every link.....they were either the
same.....or almost nearly the same....of all the pages i uncovered
while researching this problem.  I even tried  the solution you
posted......and then found out it had the same result as when i turned
off system restore....and then turned it back on.

When i do that.....system restore seems to work for a day or
two....then quits??...i am beginning to supspect that the restore
points are good only until a new automatic 24 hour system checkpoint
is created??

I am going to monitor that .....the next time i see a new 24 hour
generated restore point that i did not create....i am then going to
try and restore to a point before the 24 hour point......if i
cannot.....then i suspect it might have something to do with  the
automatically generated 24 hour system checkpoint.

I do appreciate your time and help though!!!

Hi saintsuperb,

I'm sorry I don't have enough time to research your question properly,
however I do want to try and help you.

Perhaps something I post will be helpful to you.

Solution: 
Click Start | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services. 
Right-click System Restore Service and click Properties. 
From the Startup Type drop-down, select Disabled. 
Click OK. 
Close the Services and Administrative Tools windows. 
Right-click My Computer, click Properties, and click the System
Restore tab. The System Restore tab should now display properly;
however, the System Restore service will be disabled.
Enable System Restore and click Apply.



http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsme.systemtools/browse_thread/thread/8c4a1ecf85706978/d0f962f9dd44b3af%23d0f962f9dd44b3af?sa=X&oi=groupsr&start=2&num=3


http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsme.general/browse_thread/thread/7907962168f48d11/7845843cce3483ef?lnk=st&q=System+Restore+Will+Not+Work&rnum=8&hl=en#7845843cce3483ef


http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

Hi tispiegel.....

I appreciate your post..... i did  go through this procedure once
before.....that purges the system restore points and you start anew
with a freshly  automatically generated restore point.  This restore
point will work for a day....maybe two....and then it....and any other
restore point i create after approximately the first two days after
purging....will become useless and not work anymore.

The only way i am able to get system restore to work is to access it via safe mode.

I do appreciate your time in responding.
:)

Hi saintsuperb,

Did you go to the 3 links I provided.  There were more "fixes" you might try.

Good luck to you,
tlspiegel