I need to restore my computer to an earlier time, but System Restore is not an option as it doe not work. Everytime I try, it just says Unable to Restore. I've heard that if I start my system and continuosly hit F8, it will bring me to a screen with an option for 'Last known good configuration' and that this would help. Does anybody know about this and will it?
I had a problem with System Restore not able to do a restore, and was successful with Last Known Good Configuration. I must have been having problems for a while, as the Restore point was way back. Reset Restore and have had no further problems.
The problem is complex. I originally tried to get rid of some unwanted programs that were pre-installed on my computer. Eg.Corel, McAfee. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, I ended up getting a Windows Installer screen at startup that prompted me to install the Corel disc, (which I don't have as it was preinstalled )and unless I hit Ctrl/Alt/Delete to end the program, it would always come up. Stupidly, I had originally did a System Restore last week and what it did was it got rid of the Installer screen, but then I could not download any programs. It would always say HTTP error 403. You may not be authorized. So, being an even bigger idiot, I thought I would 'Undo' the System restore, and that brought me back to my original problem. Not wanting to leave things alone (since I had the installer screen back again!), I thought I would 'Undo' the restore a second time, leaving me with the download problem again. I thought that this maybe would have brought me back to a better configuration, but it didn't. Now, if I try to do a Restore, nothing I try, no points can be restored.
I have tried the F8, and of course, that didn't work either. So...is my only option to reinstall XP?
Don't do anything rash. If I read you, you want to get rid of the Corel start-up request. Does it come up after windows loads?
Probably a piece of Corel left somewhere. Go to msconfig (Start, Run, type in msconfig and hit run) and click the start-up tab. Uncheck anything related to what you removed and don't want to run - especially a Corel reference. Click OK and reboot to see what happens. You can also look in the Services tab in msconfig. Click the box to Hide All Microsoft Services and see if anything there can be disabled. If you want to delete the unchecked items in the Start-Up tab, get MS Config Cleanup and run it.
Thanks, but I did that already. Then when it didn't work, I tried to undo for a second time System Restore, and now the Corel screen doesn't pop up. But when I try to download ANYTHING, whether it be Explorer or Firefox, it just won't load.
Could try restoring possible corrupt files with sfc. Go to RUN and type sfc /scannow then OK - note the space before the slash is needed. Will take a while to run. When done, reboot. Another option is an XP repair install. Could help, and you won't lose any installed programs. Only problem is that you will lose any Windows customizations, and will have to redo them.
Sometimes the windows installer gets confused (if software is partially uninstaaled but the install/uninstall info is not properly removed from the registry. This is best solved by using MS Windows installer cleanup utility:
When you open it, scroll down, see if the software you wanted to uninstall is listed, if so highlight that and click remove. This will clean up the registry install/uninstall info.
maxd
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April 6th, 2006 00:00
What's the problem necessitating this ?
rickmktg
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April 6th, 2006 00:00
kirkd
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April 6th, 2006 10:00
Daved67
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April 6th, 2006 16:00
The problem is complex. I originally tried to get rid of some unwanted programs that were pre-installed on my computer. Eg.Corel, McAfee. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, I ended up getting a Windows Installer screen at startup that prompted me to install the Corel disc, (which I don't have as it was preinstalled )and unless I hit Ctrl/Alt/Delete to end the program, it would always come up. Stupidly, I had originally did a System Restore last week and what it did was it got rid of the Installer screen, but then I could not download any programs. It would always say HTTP error 403. You may not be authorized. So, being an even bigger idiot, I thought I would 'Undo' the System restore, and that brought me back to my original problem. Not wanting to leave things alone (since I had the installer screen back again!), I thought I would 'Undo' the restore a second time, leaving me with the download problem again. I thought that this maybe would have brought me back to a better configuration, but it didn't. Now, if I try to do a Restore, nothing I try, no points can be restored.
I have tried the F8, and of course, that didn't work either. So...is my only option to reinstall XP?
kirkd
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April 6th, 2006 16:00
Probably a piece of Corel left somewhere. Go to msconfig (Start, Run, type in msconfig and hit run) and click the start-up tab. Uncheck anything related to what you removed and don't want to run - especially a Corel reference. Click OK and reboot to see what happens. You can also look in the Services tab in msconfig. Click the box to Hide All Microsoft Services and see if anything there can be disabled. If you want to delete the unchecked items in the Start-Up tab, get MS Config Cleanup and run it.
Daved67
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April 6th, 2006 21:00
kirkd
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April 6th, 2006 23:00
JRosenfeld
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April 7th, 2006 13:00
Windows Installer cleanup
When you open it, scroll down, see if the software you wanted to uninstall is listed, if so highlight that and click remove. This will clean up the registry install/uninstall info.