Self-recovery of Windows using various methods. Correct recovery of the Windows XP system Restoring the windows xp system without a disk

Communication with a personal computer does not always consist of only joys and pleasures. Sometimes there are troubles, problems and problems. It happens, it happens that Windows cannot boot, and instead of the usual welcome screen, we see a more than dull situation: the computer freezes tightly and does not respond to anything, or goes into a constant reboot without even having time to open a single window. It happens that the computer startup is interrupted, and several white lines of English text appear on the monitor on a black background, or a completely incomprehensible blue screen with a bunch of incomprehensible numbers and letters is displayed ( BSOD, IT specialists have nicknamed this screen " blue screen of death"). No matter how it looks outwardly, only one thing is clear - the operating system is out of order.

There can be a lot of reasons for this situation - power surges in the electrical network while working with a computer, the harmful effects of viruses, conflicts between devices or programs, or simply the user’s “crooked” hands or something else. For a fairly experienced person, this situation will not cause surprise, except that it may cause annoyance if, for example, there is a lot of work to do and it is completely inappropriate to bother with restoration.

All these problems can be easily solved by completely reinstalling the operating system - in capable hands it takes less than an hour and does not present any difficulties. But in addition to Windows itself, many third-party programs can be installed in the operating system, which will then have to be reinstalled and configured again. It also happens that some important data is saved directly on Desktop or on the system partition (which experienced users do not allow) and, naturally, will be destroyed during reinstallation. Or simply in any situation, time is money. What to do in this case, you ask?

You can try to restore Windows XP using several built-in functions prepared in advance by Microsoft.

Loading Last Known Known Configuration

When starting the system, press and hold the key as soon as the information about the BIOS and found devices disappears from the monitor. F8 on the keyboard (on some computers you will have to not just press and hold, but press this key several times at a fast pace) and wait for the safe mode menu to load.

In this menu, white lines on a black background list options for Windows emergency boot. The very first thing we need to try is the " Loading the last known known good configuration (with working parameters) ". If the failure is not global, selecting this item quite often helps to start the system in normal mode. Didn’t help? Read on.

Safe mode

We go to the safe mode menu in the same way as described above, and select the top line - " Safe mode". This type of Windows boot is, perhaps, the most important when any problems arise in the system. It, unlike the usual one, does not start all system services and does not load all drivers when loading - it works at the “very minimum”. It starts and only the essentials necessary for the system to work are loaded. If you manage to access it. Desktop, don’t be alarmed by the fact that everything looks unusual - it’s just that video drivers are not loaded in this mode. You can try to find out the cause of the problem on your own and fix it (if you have enough knowledge and experience to do this). Or, as a last resort, “evacuate” important data (save toys, for example, or important program settings) from the system partition to a safe place so that you can safely reinstall the operating system without fear of losing it.

If you know for sure that some program caused the crash, you can try to remove it in safe mode (however, it is not always possible to launch the Windows installer in this mode), and then try to reboot.

You can try to run System Restore (unless, of course, you have disabled it, as many would-be optimizers advise) and roll back Windows to another checkpoint - very often this solves all problems. To launch it, let's go Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools and choose System Restore. Unfortunately, sometimes this service cannot be started in safe mode.

In general, if you are not a computer “super pro,” I do not recommend disabling this service - quite often it saves the system from reinstallation (although not always), and its operation is almost unnoticeable with the power of modern computers. It is only important to correct the default settings to more reasonable ones. This is done like this: Start -> right click on My Computer -> Properties and select a tab System Restore. Here, in a small window, select each section one by one and, by clicking Options, set separate settings for it. Personally, I set it like this: For the partition where the operating system is installed, I use the slider to set the size limit to about 1 GB, and on all other disks I completely disable recovery so as not to waste space on the hard drive. You will set it the way you think is optimal.

Restoring Windows from a boot disk

If the cause of the failure could not be eliminated, or at least Safe mode and it worked, but reinstalling Windows is extremely undesirable for fear of losing important programs, or it’s just a shame to waste time; you’ll have to use the Windows XP boot disk from which you installed the operating system.

Note: Some homemade Windows build discs sometimes lack the necessary tools.

Insert the disc into the drive and boot from it, setting the BIOS to boot from the drive first.

How to enable first boot from the floppy drive in the BIOS. At the very beginning of booting the computer, as soon as the BIOS information is displayed, press and hold (or frequently press) the key Delete(Del) until the BIOS setup menu appears. We look for a section in it where the order of boot devices is indicated (we move using the arrow keys, and select with the Enter, back - Esc). In Award BIOS this is the section Advanced, in AMI BIOS - section BOOT. In other options, you will have to find these options yourself - look for everything related to boot(loading). After the partition is found, you need to change the settings so that your drive becomes the very first boot device (or the top one in the list of boot devices). Changed? Save changes by clicking F10, and answer the next question by clicking " Y" ("yes"). The computer will reboot and the next time you start it will boot from the disk in the drive. Don't forget to return the settings back when you fix everything, because this boot order is not entirely convenient for everyday use of the computer.

By the way, some laptop models allow you to for one time change the boot order without going into the BIOS settings. To do this, upon startup, press several times F12 and in the small menu that appears, select your drive. There is no need to return anything later - the next time you boot, everything will be as usual.

Entering the settings of some BIOS versions is not carried out using a key Delete, and, for example, by F2 or other. You can accurately determine this from the BIOS information at the beginning of boot - look carefully at the very bottom of the screen, in the left corner there will be an indication of the desired key.

So, we reboot from the disk in the drive. As soon as the inscription appears Press any key...(or similar), you will only have 5 seconds to start booting from the disk by pressing ANY key on your keyboard. If you don’t have time, the computer will start booting from the hard drive, and you’ll have to reboot again.

Did you press everything on time? Wait for the first dialog box to appear:

Click Enter. The installation will begin (Windows is installed on the same partition, the file system is left unchanged). After you have read the license agreement and agree to it by clicking F8, the installer will check your hard drive for installed versions of Windows XP. Having found one, he will offer to restore it. Agree to this by pressing the key R .

The further procedure is reminiscent of a regular system installation - the license key is also entered, the region and time zone are selected, etc. At the end of the process, which lasts approximately the same as a normal Windows XP installation, all files necessary for operation will be restored and no data or programs will be affected - everything will remain in its place. You may just have to update the drivers, but this will not always be necessary. And all programs with all data and settings will remain intact.

NOTE. If you have Windows Vista installed on the same hard drive along with XP, most likely this method will not work for you - Vista, as a rule, erases all boot records and files and replaces them with its own, registering one single operating system on the hard drive - beloved self, and only then includes in its files entries for loading other operating systems. As a result, the Windows XP installer, naturally, simply does not find any system to restore. In such a situation, you can try to first rewrite the boot sector using the Recovery Console commands fixboot or fixmbr(read below), and then, having completely restored Windows XP, restore the Vista bootloader from under it. This process is described in sufficient detail.

Recovery Console

Sometimes such a global Windows restore is not required and you can try using the built-in utility called Recovery Console .

In situations where the boot record or boot files are corrupted, the Recovery Console is the easiest and fastest way to solve the problem.

To enter it, you need, as in the previous example, to insert the boot disk and wait for the first dialog box to appear (see second screenshot). Only now we shouldn't press Enter- we are interested precisely Recovery Console, so let's press R and wait until a list of operating systems installed on the computer appears on the screen.

If you only have one Windows (like most people), just click first 1 , and then Enter. If several operating systems are installed, select the one you need.

Next, you will be asked to enter the administrator's name and password. If you have not changed them, then leave these two fields as they are and click twice Enter. Now you will see the following text on the screen: " C:\Windows" – you have reached your destination.

In this article we will describe only a few commands that we will need. If you want to further use all the capabilities that the Recovery Console can provide, you will have to independently search the Internet for a list of all commands and tips on their use. You can also get some information from the built-in documentation by typing in the Console command line HELP or /? . To get a description of each of the commands, you can add the key /? (For example, chkdsk /? or HELP chkdsk ).

fixboot command

This command repairs the boot sector of the hard drive, i.e., provides the computer with the necessary information to boot the operating system. With its help, you can eliminate a fairly common malfunction, when instead of the expected “windows” we see the inscription on a black background “ NTLDR is missing".

The appearance of such a window clearly indicates damage to the boot record. Among the most likely causes of this error are power supply problems, improper shutdown of the computer, or “experiments” with installing different operating systems other than Windows on the same hard drive.

With the help of this command, the problem can be solved in an elementary way. We type in the command line that appears fixboot, agree that we really want to overwrite the boot sector by pressing Y .

fixmbr command

Performs the same actions as the previous one, with the only difference that in this case the entire boot sector is overwritten.

chkdsk command

Scans the hard drive for errors. If you run this command with the key r (chkdsk /r), all errors found will be automatically corrected. Quite often, this command helps to restore Windows and save all data on the system partition.

All the options we have considered do not guarantee 100% recovery of the Windows operating system, since everything directly depends on the cause of the malfunction. However, in most cases, these methods help to restore normal performance quickly and without loss.

Final advice. Take care not to store any important data on the system partition of the hard drive. Otherwise, in the event of an unexpected Windows crash and unplanned reinstallation, this data may be irretrievably lost. Think carefully about a file storage system that is convenient for you, creating various folders on other partitions of the hard drive. And in the future, save the data in these folders. It should also be remembered that Desktop- this is also a special folder on the system partition, just like My Documents, into which all pictures, music, etc. are saved by default. By the way, you can change the location My documents, moving them to another section. This is done like this: Start -> right mouse button on My Documents -> Properties. In the window that opens, select the tab Destination folder and by pressing Move..., indicate the location.

That's all for today. Good luck!

Windows XP is one of the most common operating systems. Over time, the system may become unstable due to advertising, files from the Internet, and incorrectly removed programs. Also, various unwanted programs have a significant impact on the operation of the operating system.

Reinstalling Windows may result in the loss of necessary information. It is possible to restore Windows XP without reinstallation using the system itself, as well as using special utilities or a distribution kit for the required version of the system.

Quick navigation through the article

Creating a restore point

System Restore creates restore points that save a copy of the system registry. Rolling back to a previous system state allows you to undo all changes made to your computer after you created a restore point. Enabling the function is as follows:

• Click “Start” and “Control Panel”;
• Click on the “System” button;
• In the System Properties window, uncheck the “Disable System Restore” checkbox (if it is checked).

System performance

After creating a restore point, you can try to return the system to a working state using one of the following methods:

• If Windows has loaded: Click “Start” -> “All Programs” -> “Accessories” -> “System Tools” -> “System Restore” -> select a restore point;
• Press the key combination “Windows” + “R” -> type “rstrui” -> “OK” -> select “Create a restore point” in the window that opens -> select a date -> “Next” -> “Next”;
• If Windows does not boot in normal mode: turn on the computer -> press F8 -> select “Safe Mode” -> proceed as after booting the system.

This method is useless if system restore points have not been created on the computer.

Built-in utility

An installation disk with Windows and the SFC utility can help restore the system if the computer boots in normal mode, but there is no restore point, you need to:

• Press the combination “Windows” + “R” on the keyboard;
• Type “sfc /scannow” and click “OK”;
• Insert the disk with the Windows installation files into the drive (damaged files will be restored).

Automatic recovery

If you cannot boot your computer due to serious failures in the operating system, you need to use Windows Emergency Recovery. To do this you need:

• Insert the disk with the Windows XP distribution into the drive;
• Boot the computer from disk;
• Press the letter “R” key. To select the disaster recovery operation, press “R” again;
• Select manual or fast recovery mode by pressing the “M” or “F” keys, respectively;
• Press "Enter".

If after a quick recovery the system does not boot, you should repeat all the steps before selecting the recovery mode -> select manual (by pressing “M”) -> press “L” to search for the required copies of Windows -> select one of the copies found by the installer -> press “Enter” "

Or an update, and whoever uses the phrase “Put on top”, as soon as they call you names, let’s figure out what kind of action this is, and we’ll also look at other options for restoring Windows XP.

Those who need a regular system recovery can go to the end of the article, or read more complete information. We also have an excellent article on what to do if it is impossible to boot Windows XP completely, you can read -

Our topic is called correctly System Restore through the Windows XP installation menu or Restoring a damaged copy of Windows XP, by the way, sometimes a virus helps: send an SMS when the startup of your operating system is blocked by a malicious program. And in cases when the operating system does not boot and nothing helps: neither the recovery console, nor loading the last known good configuration, nor the boot floppy, nor recovery points. It is not advisable to reinstall due to the many necessary and unnecessary programs, mail settings, Skype, Opera, and so on.

Windows XP System Restore

The advantage of the system through the installation menu is that all your operating system settings and installed programs are saved, and personal files located on the partition with the operating system will be untouched. We start everything the same way as during a normal Windows XP installation: we set the disk drive as the first boot device in the BIOS, insert the disk with the Windows XP installation program into it, the normal process of installing the operating system begins, and wait patiently.

• Note: If your system boots but is unstable, you can update directly from the operating system; this method is given at the end of the article.

Let's start installing Windows XP, press enter

License agreement

"To try to restore the selected copy of XP, press "R"

We are trying to restore and press (R) On the forum, a user was asked that he did not find such a menu, this happens if a non-original build of the Windows XP operating system was used. In general, I would recommend that you use clean builds of Windows.

Windows XP System Restore through the installation menu takes the same amount of time as installation.

If you don’t succeed, try reading other articles on our site, it will be entirely devoted to troubleshooting problems and malfunctions of operating systems of the Windows family.

How to carry out the same operation directly from a running operating system. Insert the installation disk with Windows XP into the drive, right-click and select Autorun

Installing Windows XP

Update (recommended), and then everything is as with a normal installation.

Well, for the newbies, let’s go over the standard system recovery.

System Restore works as a service to save important system settings.

Restore points are created every 24 hours, if you have this service turned on, many people have it turned off due to saving resources, I think on modern computers it can be turned on, during the active use of a personal computer it can help you a lot when changing any settings, a backup copy and a recovery checkpoint are created.

Inclusion System Restore
We enable system recovery and perform the following steps:

1. 
   Uncheck the box next to Disable System Restore (or Disable System Restore on all drives) and click OK.

Disabling System Restore
Disable System Restore and perform the following steps:

1. From the Start menu, right-click My Computer and select Properties.
2. Go to the System Restore tab.
   Check the box next to Disable System Restore (or Disable System Restore on all drives) and click OK.
   To confirm that you want to disable System Restore, click Yes.

Good day.

Despite the fact that many computer users have long switched to new versions of the operating system from Microsoft, there are still customers who prefer the old versions. Like any mechanism that has worked for a long time, the OS can also fail. There are several ways to return your device to its previous state. Today I will tell you how to perform a disk recovery in Windows XP. This will help to revive your computer as soon as possible.

If you are not using the latest versions of Microsoft operating systems, it is advisable to always have a backup option in case of any malfunctions. And in general, you should always have a tool that allows you to return everything to its place at any moment if problems arise.

And one of the most effective is the emergency recovery disk. It's actually just an installation image. It is desirable that this be the one from which the current operating system was installed. If it is impossible to find it, you need to look for the same version. The main thing is assembly and bit depth.

In the absence of a distribution kit, we download and record it on any convenient medium. Which one exactly depends on the motherboard. If it was released a long time ago, it is likely that it does not have the ability to run from a flash drive. In this case, you need to use a plastic disk. To create the desired image, you need to use special programs, which I wrote about earlier.

Recovery( )

This procedure must go through the BIOS, since system areas are affected. The procedure can be called practically the only one that will help with non-working recovery in an already loaded operating system.

So, to launch the tool from a boot disk, we perform several steps:

After the procedure starts, the main disk will be checked, system tools will be removed and new ones will be copied. The whole thing certainly looks like a new installation. But don’t be afraid - everything will remain in its place.

The Windows XP operating system is equipped with a convenient recovery tool that allows you to roll back changes that led to unstable operation. In most cases, this tool allows you to perform a complete system restore of Windows XP without reinstallation, preserving all user files.

Enable recovery

To be sure that you can roll back XP back to the key date, make sure that the restore feature is working. If it is deactivated, you must enable it:

You can configure recovery settings by specifying how much space should be allocated for Windows rollback points. The default is 12% of the total volume, but you can make this setting a little smaller to save space on your hard drive.

Rollback to key date

System Restore is enabled, let's see how it works:

If you are unable to return your system to a working state, you can restore your computer again by selecting a different day. You can also run a rollback if XP does not boot normally. What should be done:

The operating system recovery program will appear. Through it, you can rollback Windows back by selecting a day when XP was running smoothly. The disadvantage of this method is that you will not be able to use the recovery tool to roll back the system to factory settings, since the old points will be overwritten by the new control marks.

Last Known Good Configuration

The first thing to do if Windows won't boot is to run the Last Known Good Configuration.

You can perform such a rollback and return XP back to a working state due to the fact that the last successful startup of the system is constantly recorded in the registry. By using the function described above, you apply this saved configuration, fixing all Windows errors. The advantages of the described method are that you do not need any flash drives with system distributions, special recovery programs, or changes to the BIOS settings.

Reinstallation with saving files via BIOS

If rolling back XP does not fix the problem, you can update the system - return it to its original state by resetting it to factory settings. On XP, a factory reset works slightly differently than in later versions. On Windows 7/8.1/10, when installing the system, a partition is created on which the recovery image is located. A special program allows you to run a rollback to factory settings through the BIOS or in Windows. On XP there is no such program (there is no section either), but you can return the operating system to factory settings.

Restart your computer; go into the BIOS and set to boot from the flash drive. You can do this in the BIOS like this:

Note: you can not change the BIOS configuration, but use the menu that is called up by pressing the F11 key when starting the computer.

After launching the system installer, press Enter to begin installation. Accept the terms of the license agreement. The installer will inform you that a copy of Windows has been detected - press “R” to restore it.