Help - system restore

[paydaymom]

Ok, trying to make a long story short. My son removed some programs from my dad's delll...now the computer comes up and you can go under user but no start menu or even desktop icons. Is there a way when you start a laptop up to go into system restore and take it back to an earlier point? It is running windows xp. Thank in advance for any advice!!

[TwoRails]

If he actually removed programs, then no, System Restore will not help much. If you have a restore point, you an give it a try as it may fix some botched registry settings and get a little stuff back, but not the stuff that's been deleted.

[paydaymom]

Originally Posted by TwoRails If he actually removed programs, then no, System Restore will not help much. If you have a restore point, you an give it a try as it may fix some botched registry settings and get a little stuff back, but not the stuff that's been deleted.

so can you do a system restore from a reboot w/out going into the system just so it will run? There is not any good info on it we just want it to be functioning

[Panama Red]

If you're running XP w/SP2, tap the F8 key on start up and you should get the Safe options and one for a Restore option. (Last known good config)

[liambl]

There is a way to get into the actual System Restore program within Windows. Similar to what PR said, tap the F8 key except select Safe mode. When it fully loads, a window will pop up saying you are using diagnostic startup. It will ask if you want to run System Resore or continue running in Safemode.

[juppy]

Question here, guys....if it's a Dell and it was shipped with XP, shouldn't it have that Dell System Restore utility that will set the whole system back to the way it was when it was shipped? I don't remember exactly, but I think it was like Ctrl-F11 or maybe Ctrl-F12 when booting up. Wouldn't that work, if she's just trying to get it back to a working state and not worried about any info that was on it?

[glc]

Correct. If it's less than 3 years old, press Ctrl+F11.

[paydaymom]

I did the Ctrl+F12 but can not find how to basically reinstall windows. Apparently I have forgot more than I remember when it comes to computers. I have Windows XP that came w/ my dell laptop. Would it be possible to use that to reinstall on this laptop and use the key off the bottom of this one? Can you all tell I am lost? Thanks for your help. I did figure how how to do the system restore but it did not fix the problem...btw.

[glc]

Ctrl+F11, not Ctrl+F12. This will run Symantec Restore. This restores an exact image to the hard drive, it will be back to exactly how the machine was originally sold.