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General discussion

WinXP Prof "Restore"

Jan 12, 2005 9:44AM PST

I have been trying to "restore" to a point in Dec 2004 but my options are only Jan 2005. How can I get back to 2004? Thanks, VA Gail

Discussion is locked

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not if there isn't a restore point
Jan 12, 2005 6:56PM PST

System restore doesn't make an unlimited number of restore points. There is a good chance you don't have one that goes back to the month of December. Look at the calendar and see if any of the dates are bolded. If so, click and see if there is a valid restore point. But don't be surprised if they have been purged to make room for new ones.

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Reasons may be explained . . .
Jan 12, 2005 9:27PM PST
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Gail, But Did You Check???
Jan 13, 2005 4:04AM PST

....for the earlier month like this:

Click on Start-All Programs-Accessories-System Tools-System Restore. When the System Restore window loads, make sure the "Restore my computer to an earlier time" is CHECKED, then click on "Next". When the Calender window loads, if "January 2005" is displayed, then click on the "back arrow" just to the left and next to the month displayed. It should go back to "December 2004" and give you restore points for that month.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Restore
Jan 13, 2005 8:17AM PST

Grif, that is what I tried but still can't go back. Boo Hoo!
I tried to download Svc pk 2 which was successful but the installation was not. Could this be a problem? Other little things are wacky too.(When I open a word document, I get the msg: "WINWORD.EXE-Bad Image The application or DLL C"\WINDOWS\AppPatch\AcGeneral.DLL is not a valid Windown image. Please check this against your installation diskette." I click ok and then the Word Document opens and functions.
I have depended on Restore to pull myself out of dilemas and I probably could this time if I could go back to Dec 2004. Is there any way to dig this info up? Thanks for anything,
Gail

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Gail, For Word...
Jan 13, 2005 9:13AM PST

...Do a search on the computer for a file named: normal.dot...Yes, that's normal dot dot. When all of the "normal.dot" files are displayed in the search window, DELETE them all, then restart the computer and open Word. See if that fixes that particular problem.

In regards to the other issue about SP2 not installing well...that's not a good thing...If you aren't already, make sure to check for various types of "malware" that cause corruption issues. Please use the free spyware removal tools from the links below. Download them, install them, then update them,then run them. Delete all spyware found:

Ad-Aware">http://www.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/]Ad-Aware

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Gail, for Word
Jan 14, 2005 9:45AM PST

Grif, tried that and had 1 located in My Documents.
Deleted it and restarted but didn't make a difference. Option 2?
Thanks, Gail

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It only goes back a short way. (maybe two months)
Jan 13, 2005 7:59PM PST

The data would choke off the OS if it went forever. If it took you over a year to decide you needed to restore, you are sol.

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Sorry
Jan 13, 2005 8:02PM PST

It should go back two months. I don't know why I was thinking a year.

mybad this early.

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It goes back a short way
Jan 14, 2005 10:12AM PST

Didn't take me a year. I've used it 4 or 5 times and I've always been able to go back several months. Just now it won't go back. The only month available is Jan 2005
Gail

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WinXP Prof restore
Jan 13, 2005 7:42PM PST

the problem here is that when you set the settings for system restore it asks in the settings how much hard drive space you want to use, now everytime you install somthing or uninstall or even reach a check point the pc will use the reserved memory on your hard drive. the problem here is you have run out of required space so it overwrites previous restore points. this is why you cannot restore to the time you want.
if you change the settings in your system restore to whatever you can spare, next time you want to restore you may have more luck.

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WIN XP Prof restore
Jan 14, 2005 10:18AM PST

Hi and thanks, My settings is: 12% (1319MB) MAX

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restore points
Jan 14, 2005 7:23PM PST

Even when you have it set for the maximum hard drive space allowed, there is still a limit to the number of restore points created. Your computer makes new restore points on a regular basis and the older ones are purged. The size of your hard drive, the number of new restore points created and the restore settings all contribute to how many you have and how many months back it goes. It is ever changing. You may have several months worth of restore points for a while and then only a few days. It depends on your computer use. It is best not to rely on system restore as a backup or a cure all. It is a great feature but, it isn't perfect.

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Wisdom is gained
Jan 14, 2005 9:07PM PST

by learning what happens referencing my "#3" several day ago, and RE: your stataement I tried to download Svc pk 2 which was successful but the installation was not -- when prior restorations are gone, they're gone.