Scheduled Tasks in XP

[DarrellCoe]

Being new to XP, I recently inherited my Father's Dell 4550. Upon booting the sytem up the first time I encounters problems..The system would only display the desktop with no programs and no START button. Recent inquiries to this forum suggested I use a system restore. In attempting to do a system restore, I found there were no entries to restore too. I have since reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Windows XP and the system is now operationable. To avoid the restore issue again, could someone advise me as to how to set up my computer to save system information so if I need to do a restore, there will be entries I can use. Also, does this procedure done a a daily , monthly or annually? Does the computer need to be running at the time of the backup?

Advance Thanks to anyone who can assist

 

[wilywombat]

Go to "Start" ,"Help and Support", "Undo changes to your computer with System Restore".
Select "Create a Restore Point"
Job Done.

Your sytsem should create a restore point before any software installation (including patches and upgrades) that you do

 

[Bobbye]

To avoid the restore issue again, could someone advise me as to how to set up my computer to save system information so if I need to do a restore, there will be entries I can use. Also, does this procedure done a a daily , monthly or annually? Does the computer need to be running at the time of the backup?

First, make sure System Restore is turned on:
Control Panel> System> System Restore tab> NO checkmark in the 'turn off' line> make sure the correct drive is being monitored.

The system will create a new restore point every 24 hours- IF the system is on. You might find this helpful:
Create a shortcut for System Restore> unlock the Taskbar> drag the shortcut into the Quick Launch toolbar> Lock Taskbar back.

This serves as a good reminder to set your own restore points:
1. Before updating
2. Before installing
3. Before uninstalling
4. Before doing extensive system work

Thing to remember about System Restore:

1.Ensure the System Restore service is running.
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.
3.Examine event logs for any system restore-related errors that could help you identify the problem.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/faqsrwxp.mspx

4.If you cannot access System Restore from the Normal Mode:
Boot into Safe Mode: Start> Run> cmd> type in:
C:\Windows\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe

which is the Restore program, it will prompt with Create vs Restore and you can pick
a Restore point.

5. The System Restore feature should be your own best friend on the computer!
6. If you suspect or have malware, do NOT use System Restore. Most people don't know exactly when the system got infected and using an infected restore point can reinfect the system. Old restore points are removed after a malware cleaning.