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Rollback Windows XP system. How to rollback system to windows xp? Using the built-in program in windows xp to restore the system

The Windows XP operating system two years ago was the most popular operating system in the whole world - it combined ease of use, reliability and was perfect for solving most tasks performed on a PC.

Although Microsoft stopped supporting XP, a fifth of all computers are still running it. One of the reasons for this popularity is the ability to rollback Windows XP to a working state in case of any problems.

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System restore service check

Windows XP has a built-in ability to restore the system in the event of a failure and incorrect operation. The mechanism itself is quite simple - “snapshots” of the configuration and settings of important system parameters are created and placed in the form of “restore point” files in a specific folder on the hard disk.

This method, unlike a complete reinstallation of the system, usually does not affect the safety of files and user data (depending on the settings of the "restore point" when it was created). To check if the recovery system is active, you must:

Click "Start";
Right click on "My Computer" and go to "Properties" -\u003e "System Restore".

Create a restore point

Although Windows itself creates restore points (this happens when installing new programs and drivers, installing updates and according to the set schedule), it is best to periodically create them yourself. This is done as follows:

First you need to go to: "Start" -\u003e "All Programs" -\u003e "Standard" -\u003e "System Restore";
Then select "Create a restore point";
Give a name to the restore point and click "Create".

System Restore

If a restore point is created during the period of stable operation of Windows, you do not need to worry about system failures. To restore the system to work, you will need:

Go to: "Start" -\u003e "All Programs" -\u003e "Accessories" -\u003e "System Tools" -\u003e "System Restore";
Select "Restore an earlier state of the computer" -\u003e "Next";

Please note that all installed programs and settings made after the restore point date will be lost (the same applies to files, depending on the settings specified at the time the restore point was created).

Safe mode

If the computer fails to boot normally as a result of the crash, but a Windows restore point was previously created, you can perform a recovery from safe mode ("safemode"). This is done as follows:

You need to restart your computer (or turn it on);
Press the "F8" button when loading;
In the window that appears with additional boot options, select "Safe Mode" using the arrows and press "Enter";
Wait for the computer to boot into "safe mode";
Go to: "Start" -\u003e "All Programs" -\u003e "Accessories" -\u003e "System Tools" -\u003e "System Restore";
Select "Restore an earlier state of the computer" -\u003e "Next";
In the left window select the date of the required checkpoint;
Click "Next" and "Next" again (to confirm);
Wait for the system to reboot.

A fully working function of restoring one of the previously saved system states appeared in Windows XP. This is a very useful and necessary feature of the OS to bring it back to life after a software problem. The user himself is to blame for the occurrence of some of these situations, but most conflicts are associated with the imperfection of the operating system and the software products used in it. It often happens that the operating system generates an error while loading the desktop or launching an application after installing or uninstalling a software product (application, driver of a new device), deleting or modifying a system file, or being infected with malicious files. In addition to error messages, Windows can slow down, constantly drop to the desktop, or display system tray notifications.

For the most part, these things cannot be solved by removing the problematic driver, application, or restoring the system file. What remains besides reinstalling the operating system? Her recovery. Today we will look at how to rollback Windows XP without using the disk with the installation files.

Windows XP recovery implementation

After installing Windows, the System Restore Application starts automatically and creates a rollback or restore point when performing most actions that can harm the system (modify or replace system files, work with the registry in write mode):

installing programs using Windows Installer and other installers that support system recovery;
before installing updates and drivers;
every day with default settings;
at the request of the user.

A restore point is a hidden system directory called System Volume Information. It stores copies of Windows registry entries, installed applications, and system components. For this, a free amount of disk space is allocated on the system volume, up to 12% of the total size of the partition.

Due to the imperfection of system recovery in XP (full registry reservation, backing up only certain types of files from a clearly limited list of directories), after OS rollback to a previous state after updating a driver or program, they can often not completely return to their previous state. As a result, you have to manually reinstall the product.

Working with Windows XP Recovery

In order to make sure that the System Restore Application is active, call the "Properties" directory "My Computer" and go to the "System Restore" tab.

In order to view the system restore points and roll back XP, we call the "System Restore" window using one of the proposed methods.
Enter "rstui" or "rstui.exe" in the "Run" line and press "Enter".

We go to the address:

We select the first option, as shown in the screenshot, in order to be able to view all the Windows XP restore points created by you and the operating system and roll back its state to the selected moment.

We select the rollback point from the list or through the calendar.

This will provide more convenience when there are many restore points spread over a significant time span. The days when rollback points were created are shown in bold.

Click "Next".

We close all running applications, as warned by the recovery program, and click "Next".

We are waiting for the completion of operations to copy earlier versions of system files.

We reboot the computer after a window appears with information about the completion of the system rollback procedure.

Solution of problems

There are times when a restore fails for a number of reasons. In such cases, you need to start the system rollback process again, but at the second step, choose to undo the last restore, as in the screenshot. Then you can try to rollback again, but choose a different point (preferably created just before the used one).

It is possible that service files located in System Volume Information are corrupted, which prevents attempts to access them.

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In case of failures and errors, to return the operating system to its previous state, Windows XP has a built-in system for archiving the registry and system data. Although it is imperfect in many ways, it often helps to solve problems. The name in English is System Restore Application, which means system recovery program. The process of restoring a system to its previous state is often referred to as "System Rollback". The program can be accessed in different ways. The first thing to do is to check if you have System Restore enabled. To do this, right-click on the "My Computer" icon (see the note at the end) and select "Properties" in the drop-down menu. In the window that opens under the name "Properties", select the "System Restore" tab at the top. The window contains a list of disks and if the recovery system is enabled, then next to each entry, there should be an inscription "Monitoring". At the bottom there is an inscription "Disable system restore on all disks", when the system is on, there should not be a checkmark opposite the inscription. When you select a disk and click the "Options" button, a window of the same name will open, in which you can disable System Restore on this disk. Here you can also change the disk space allocated for archiving using the slider. System Restore creates what are called system restore points. By default, restore points are created periodically and at important system events, for example: installation of programs, drivers, batch updates. You can create your own restore points. It is especially useful to do this if you intend to perform questionable actions in the system, in the positive outcome of which you are not sure.

There are several ways to use the recovery system. The first way is through Windows Help and Support. To do this, press the start button and in the menu on the right we click "Help and Support" and on the right we find "Undo changes using System Restore" and click on this inscription. The "System Restore" window opens where you can select "Restore an earlier state of the computer" or "Create a restore point", select what you need and click "Next". If you selected "Restoring an earlier state of the computer", a corresponding window with a calendar will open, where you can select a restore point by date or time and click "Next" to continue the recovery. When choosing to create a restore point in the window that opens, you need to enter the name of your point and click the "Next" button to create it.

Sometimes there is no "Help and Support" in the "Start" menu, then you can try to call it with the F1 key. If this does not help, then, most likely, the Help and Support service is disabled. How to deal with services, you can read and.

You can open the "System Restore" window by going to Start\u003e All Programs\u003e Accessories\u003e System Tools\u003e System Restore.

Note: Sometimes users, not knowing how to display a full-fledged icon "My Computer" on the desktop, pull out a shortcut (this one with an arrow). Then when you select "Properties" opens the shortcut properties window, which is not what we want. To solve this problem you need to go to the "Start" menu and right-click "My Computer", and then as indicated above. Or display a full-fledged icon on the desktop.

Updates of any program or operating system are designed to fix bugs in this software, to make the work more stable. But there are cases when the Windows update did not give a positive result, but on the contrary created errors in the system. Many users in such cases try to reinstall the system. But you can try to restore everything as it was before the update, if you know how to roll back Windows XP.

It is possible to rollback individual updates, but this process does not always work right. Another option is to restore saved old system states. There are separate programs for this, but the built-in Windows tools are also capable of this. Typically, a restore point is created in advance for such purposes. By default, Windows settings make such points at certain events in the system (before installing or removing programs, cleaning the registry, etc.).

In the system settings (My Computer) there is a recovery tab. Here you can set the amount given for storing system files and the time after which the copying is carried out for each hard disk. Every time before installing a new driver and program or updating them, a backup is created in the System Volume Information folder. The archive stores all system files that have undergone changes, system settings and Windows registry keys. Thanks to this, the problem with rolling back Windows XP is relatively simple.

To start the recovery click on Start\u003e Programs\u003e Accessories\u003e System Tools\u003e System Restore. Select the archive for the required number. There is a nuance here, all executable files saved on disk after this date will be lost. So, if you do not need to restore everything, then it is better to temporarily transfer everything to another disk or USB flash drive.

All of these Windows tools don't always work, so third-party programs are often preferred when deciding how to rollback Windows XP. Such programs are quite complex and are not recommended for inexperienced users. They support booting from disk (without booting windows), archive and restore windows settings and files without operating system. But the question is how to roll back Windows XP, it is solved quite smoothly with them.

Usually these are not just programs, but whole sets that contain their own drivers for working with disk and other hardware, as well as archiving algorithms, the development of which costs a lot of money. These kits can directly (without an OS) work with computer devices (the code of such a program is more complicated), so they cost a lot of money. Some of these solutions can be loaded into memory, and then restore data from an optical disc in the same drive. That is, you need to remove the program boot disk from the drive and insert a new one. In this case, the recovery program interface will remain in the operating memory and on the computer screen. Third-party programs of this kind include Norton Ghost, Acronis True Image, ShadowUser, etc.

Sometimes computer users have an unpleasant situation when the usual windows xp software shell starts to slow down, other applications fail, often the computer restarts itself or the "death screen" pops up.

Such errors can be caused by recently installed programs, viruses, unnecessary files on the disk, damaged system files. At the same time, if you suspect that a recently installed program is to blame, removing it does not always help to restore stable system operation. This is where the rollback of the system to the state when this program has not yet been installed will come to your aid.

Now we will tell you how to rollback windows xp system.

Using the built-in program in windows xp to restore the system

It is called System Restore Application and is installed automatically when installing windows xp. It also starts automatically at each boot of Windows and monitors changes in the file structure of the system.

The program uses the disk partitions supported by the operating shell.

When the program is running, it monitors the following processes:

How configuration files and system registry change.
How the modular system changes after installing system updates.
Other important changes that can be reverted to their original state.

When any change occurs in the above files, the recovery data, file sources and service information are saved in folders that are automatically created in "System Volume Information". This folder is provided at the root of any hard drive letter that the system is monitoring.

To make sure that the System Restore Application is running and performing its functions, right-click on the "My Computer" icon and select the "Properties" line, and in it there is "System Restore".

Before serious system events occur, a "return point" is created in which changes are recorded in order to make a successful rollback of windows xp.

Usually this point is created automatically before you install any new program.

However, you can do it yourself. To do this, go to "Start" -\u003e "Programs" -\u003e "Accessories" -\u003e "System Tools" -\u003e "System Restore". Then check the item "Create a restore point" and then click on. This window will open.

For convenience, name the rollback point so that later it would be easy to remember, then click "Create".

Rollback of windows xp system also begins by going to "Start" -\u003e "Programs" -\u003e "Accessories" -\u003e "System Tools" -\u003e "System Restore", but now just click on the "Next" button.

Now, on the calendar, select the date until which the system worked stably, click on it, and then click "Next".

The operating system will rollback to this point.

This process is quite long, so please be patient. After completion, the computer will reboot and this window will appear.

In this case, all programs installed after the selected date will disappear, but all your manually changed files (Word documents, Excel) will not change, even if you edited them after the restore point date. The same applies to downloaded files of any kind - they will remain in place.

If this method of "curing" the computer did not help, then similarly select an even earlier date on the calendar.

In rare cases, complications may arise after recovery, then select the third item in the recovery menu, which was not there before. There will be a sort of "rollback rollback" of windows.

How to recover using third-party Acronis software?

Download and install Acronis on your computer, then run it. The main application window will open.

First of all, create a system backup, which appears as an archive. It can be done using the background mode, so Windows will not interrupt currently running processes. As soon as the archive starts creating, wait until the process is finished.

Let's describe all the steps in more detail.

First, copy "My Computer".

Now select the desired section.

Specify the folder on the hard drive or removable media where the archive will be stored.

After saving the archive, you can be sure that you can roll back the system at any time. To do this, select "Restore" and specify the folder in which the archive is located.

In the event that you just want to see the contents of the archive, then you need to open the file in the program itself.

Now select the files that need to be restored. You can also set the recovery of the master boot record, from the invisible files of which the actual boot of the computer begins after turning on.

By the way, you can restore files to another folder on your hard drive or removable media.

An important detail. System rollback will not start as long as windows xp is running. Therefore, be prepared for the fact that when you click on the "Proceed" button, the computer will restart, so do not be alarmed.

After rebooting, the computer will reboot, and when the BIOS and other programs are loaded, the Acronis base will also be loaded into the operating system, which will then perform all the necessary operations. A system partition of five to ten gigabytes is restored in five to fifteen minutes, after which you restart the computer again.