how to troubleshoot system restore issues

1. First things first, if you see error message that is related to system restore, you need to record the error message, because most error messages that contains a description of the issue and suggestions for how to resolve the issue.
2. Make sure that you have enough disk space on all of the drives on which System Restore is enabled.
3. Make sure that System Restore is enabled on the drives
   
4. Make sure that the System Restore service is running.

you can check the system restore status using following methods.

Check in Control Panel

• Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click "Performance and Maintenance"
• Click Administrative Tools, click Computer Management, and then click Services and Applications
• Click Services, and then click System Restore Services

Check using command prompt

• Click Start, click Run, and then type "CMD" Press ENTER key
• then type''Net Start'' and press enter
  
• the you will see a bunch of list,
  
• in command prompt make sure that the System Restore service is up and running.

Check event viever to investigate System Restore service errors

• Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click "Performance and Maintenance"
• Click Administrative Tools, click Computer Management, double-click Event Viewer, and then click System
• Click the Source tab to sort by name, and then look for "sr" or "srservice
• Double-click each of these services, and then evaluate the event description for any indication of the cause of the problem.
  

how to get missing system restore tab in windows xp

to re-enable system restore through the Group Policy Editor, follow these steps.

• Click start, and click run
• In there type gpedit.msc to open group policy editor
• Go to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / System / System Restore
• Set Turn off System Restore and Turn off Configuration to Disable
• Right click on My Computer
• Select Manage
• Go to Services and Applications / Services
• Scroll down to System Restore Service
• Set it for Automatic
• Click on the Start button to start the service
• Close the window
• Go back to the Group Policy Editor and configure both to Not configured
• Then right click my computer, click properties
• You will see now there is a system restore tab and you can configure how much space to use for the process.
  

create registry key for system restore (if missing)

this describes how to create registry key for system restore in windows xp.

• go to the registry editor
• go to the key of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
• then go to the Edit menu, select New, DWORD
  value,
• rename it as '' DisableSR ''
• now set the value to 1 to disable System Restore or 0 to enable System Restore
  

how to enable or disable System Restore

enabling and disabling Windows XP's System Restore feature

step 1 - using registry editor.

• go to the registry editor (in run window - type '' regedit '' press enter)
• locate the key of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
• in the "DisableSR" set the value 1 to disable System Restore or 0 to enable System Restore

to prevent the System Restore service from starting

• Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sr
• double-click Start, and set the value to 4 to stop the service from starting or to 0 for normal startup

step 2 - using System Control Panel applet

• go to the control panel
• Start the System Control Panel applet (or right click on my computer, click properties)
• click system restore tab
• then uncheck the "Turn off System Restore on all drives" to enable System Restore, and check to disable System Restore.

delete older restore points while leave the system restore turned on

• go to the my computer
• right click the drive you want to clear, and click properties
• click disk cleanup button
• in the more option, select system restore and click cleanup.
  

start system restore using command prompt

Note - you must have a administrator privilege to perform this task.

To start System Restore using the Command prompt, follow these steps

• start your computer, and then press and hold F8 during the initial startup.
• in the menu, select safe mode with a Command prompt.
• If you prompted to select an operating system, use the arrow keys to select the appropriate operating system and press enter.
• log on as an administrator or with an account that has administrator privilege.
  
• at the command prompt, type %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe, and then press ENTER
• now follow the instruction in screen to restore your computer to a functional state.

important - If you have not previously set a restore point in System Restore, you cannot restore your computer to a previous state