Windows xp recovery utility. Restoring Windows XP

From time to time, in the course of a wide variety of actions, failures occur in the system: this may be viral infection the user's computer, and incorrect installation drivers and utilities. This may be a failure when updating drivers and programs, when the update is unfinished, or contains some kind of error. May happen software glitch when the computer is turned off incorrectly, when the plug is pulled out of the socket, or when the power goes out unexpectedly if the computer is not connected to a source uninterruptible power supply. Inept actions by the user themselves can lead to critical OS errors when trying to optimize or configure Windows XP. And there are a lot of other options in which the operating system either stops loading altogether, or loads but does not work correctly. In these cases, restoration is required Windows systems XP.

How to do a system restore on Windows XP

If the system boots, Windows XP has a special built-in recovery tool.

• Let's go to Start.

• Opening All programs.
• Next, in the drop-down list we look for Service.
• In the next drop-down list, select System Restore.

There are two items on the right side of the window: Select a point to restore to an earlier state And Create a restore point.

Here you can select one of the available points to restore your computer to an earlier working state. In this case, the state of the computer will be returned to the moment when the problem did not yet exist. All installed programs, as well as some files downloaded to your computer after this period will be deleted.

How to create an XP restore point

And here you can manually create your own recovery point by clicking on the second item. It's very easy to do.

• We mark the second point Create a restore point and click Further.
• Enter a description for our new point and click Create.

Everything is ready, now, when installing some suspicious software, we have a guaranteed rollback point if something goes wrong during installation.

We return to the window for selecting a task to restore and mark the first item. In the next window, select the day to which you want to roll back from the selected ones in bold. Not all days can be selected, but only those on which such points were created; this happens automatically when installing many programs, drivers and updates. Select a day and click Further.

The system recovery process is completely reversible and you can cancel the rollback at any time, returning to its original state.

If, for example, such manipulation did not bring the desired result.

Windows XP recovery via console

If the OS refuses to boot, in general, you can try to restore it through the console. To do this, you will need a system image recorded on a disk or USB flash drive. Only the image must be the same version and bit size as that installed on the computer.

• To execute Windows recovery XP from the installation disk, you need to boot the computer from the disk, and in the installation program window, press ( R) to load the console.
• Next, you will be asked to select the system that we will restore, if you have only one system, press the number 1 on the keyboard, if more, then 1 or 2, respectively, most often there is only one system installed on the computer, so select (1) and confirm your choice key Enter.
• If your account is protected by a password, enter it and confirm your action again with the key Enter. If there is no password, then immediately press Enter.
• A command line will appear in which you need to type the command - ( fixmbr) (in small Latin letters). And we confirm again - Enter.
• Next, a warning will appear, here you need to confirm your actions by pressing the key ( y).
• The boot record was successfully restored, now you need to write a new one boot sector.
• We are recruiting a team ( fixboot ) – confirm the action with the key ( y) and then - Enter.
• Now you need to exit the console by typing the command ( Exit ) and confirm Enter.

The computer should boot normally, provided, of course, that everything was done correctly.

Communication with 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 message is displayed. blue screen with a bunch of strange numbers and letters ( 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, the operating system can have many installed third party programs, which will then have to be reinstalled and configured again. It also happens that some important data is saved directly on Desktop or at system partition(what experienced users are not allowed) and will naturally be destroyed when reinstalled. 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 emergency options. Windows 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. Unlike the usual one, when loading it does not start all system services and does not load all drivers - it works at the “very minimum”. It starts and only the essentials necessary for the system to work are loaded. 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 operating system without fear of their loss.

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 disable 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 Windows installation is extremely undesirable for fear of losing important programs, or it’s just a shame to waste time, you’ll have to use the help of a bootloader Windows disk XP 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 boot priority 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 menu appears BIOS settings. 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.

Login to some settings BIOS versions is not carried out by 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 will be installed on the same partition as file system left unchanged). After you read license agreement and agree with it by clicking F8, the installer will check your HDD for the presence of installed Windows versions XP. Having found one, he will offer to restore it. Agree to this by pressing the key R .

The further procedure resembles the usual installation of the system - you also enter license key, 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 in parallel with XP on the same hard drive you have installed Windows Vista, most likely, this method will not work for you - Vista, as a rule, overwrites all boot records and files and replaces them with its own, registering one single operating system on the hard drive - its favorite one, and only then includes boot records in its files 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 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 quick way solving the problem.

To enter it, you need, as in the previous example, to insert 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 command line Consoles 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 reasons for this error to appear are power 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 restore Windows and save all data on the system partition.

All the options we have considered do not guarantee 100% recovery in the operating room. Windows systems, because 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 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!

Greetings, dear readers of the site. I want to tell you how to do it for windows xp professional system recovery using built-in tools rstrui.exe

And for Windows Vista and Windows 7

Step 1:
Restart your computer (if that doesn’t work, press and hold power button The system will turn off. Turn on the system), press the key F8 during boot until the selection menu appears (Step 2).

If you need to select an operating system, use the arrow keys to select the operating system you want for your computer and press ENTER.

Step 2:
Use the arrow keys to select safe mode with command line support

Step 3:

Login as administrator or other account with administrator rights.

Step 4:
At the command prompt, enter the command rstrui or c:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe and press ENTER.

Step 5:
To restore your computer, select Restoring your computer to an earlier state.

Step 6:

To restore the system, you must select test restore point . If the blocking occurred on February 21, 2012, then for a guaranteed recovery we select the previous recovery point 20, for example. When you click on it, information is displayed about what changes were made on that day. After selection presses Further

Step 7:

There is no need to do anything while the recovery is running; the operating system will reboot itself after the recovery.

Now your computer is in the same state as it was on the recovery checkpoint date.

Tested PERSONALLY on Windows XP Professional, The procedure is similar for operating systems W7 Windows 7 Windows Vista read

Recovery checkpoints ROCK!!! Never turn off Windows Recovery.This is such a lifesaver at the right time.

A little humor: How to search in search engines"Inexperienced users" Microsoft Windows - Windows,Windows,Windows orWindows

If your computer has been locked by a ransomware virus, the operating system does not boot, the session has ended critical error or there are other problems with Windows XP, you can solve them using System Restore. However, the built-in utility does not always help fix the problem, since sometimes it is even impossible to get into the system. Therefore, let's consider the system recovery process through installation disk.

Restoring the Windows XP operating system using the installation disc

The advantage of restoring an XP system via an installation disk is that all files, installed programs and specified settings remain intact and untouched after this operation. In addition, performing this operation is simple and consists of only a few steps:

• We insert the installation disk with Windows XP into the drive (you need to use a system of the same build and bit size that is installed on your PC).
• We boot into the BIOS and set the DVD drive as boot priority.
• We are waiting for the installation to start. When a black screen appears and the message “Press any key...” appears, press any key.
• The installer menu will appear. Press the “R” button to start system recovery.

• Be sure to accept the license agreement by pressing “F8”.

• In the next window a menu will appear with the choice of assembly to restore. Press “R” to start recovery. If you don’t have such a menu, it means you are using a non-original build of Windows XP.

• The system recovery process will begin. If the problem persists, try updating the system as follows.
• Insert the installation disk into the drive and go to “My Computer”. Right-click on the DVD drive icon and select “Autorun”.

• A new window will open. In the startup type, select “Update (recommended).”

• Next, accept the license agreement and enter the product key.

• Check the “Do not receive updates from Windows Update” checkbox.

• Copying of installation files will start, that is, damaged files will be replaced with new ones.

After completing all the steps and restarting the PC, Windows XP will boot in normal mode. If this method did not help solve the problem and restore the system, we recommend performing a clean installation.

When you need to roll back the operating system to the moment when there were no failures in its operation, the best solution Windows xp seems to be restored. It is possible to perform a similar procedure due to the created restore points. A recovery point allows you to record the state in which the OS was at a specific point in time. Typically they are created in automatic mode the OS itself, but the user can create his own at any time. The main advantage that Windows xp recovery has is the ability to a short time return the system to a working state without having to reinstall it. Restore points can be described as snapshots of the system that are recorded on the hard drive from time to time. The process of their creation itself is carried out according to the selected schedule or when certain events occur (say, when a new program was installed on the computer).

How to restore Windows XP without reinstalling: option 1

• If this is your first time encountering the problem of how to restore Windows XP, then the first thing you should do is use the classic method, which can return your OS to a working state in a short time. First, you need to boot your computer in safe mode. To do this, you need to turn it on. After waiting for the BIOS to load and the information about motherboard, press the F8 key.
• After this, a list of different download options will appear on the screen. We are interested in "safe mode". After selecting it, the following may happen: the system will boot successfully or nothing will happen. In the first case, be prepared for the fact that the desktop will have a slightly different appearance. Using this mode Only the main elements are loaded. The screen resolution will be set to 800x600. The desktop itself will look ugly, since in this case the drivers will be partially activated or completely disabled.
• You need to click on the "Start" menu, where we go along this path: "All Programs" - "Accessories" - "System Tools" - "System Restore".
• A window will open asking you to select a restore point. If you don't have one, you won't be able to decide this problem using this method. It is precisely in this regard that it is recommended to create data recovery points from time to time.

How to restore Windows XP without reinstalling: option 2

• When performing a Windows restore, it may happen that the OS will boot, but there will be no restore points. In this case, you should use the disk on which the Windows XP distribution is located, and one special built-in mini-utility.
• To run it, open the Run dialog box. Next, on your keyboard you need to press the key combination “Windows” + R. After this, you need to insert the OS disk into the drive and enter the following command “sfc /scannow”. After completing this action, all your damaged or missing files will be restored.

How to restore Windows XP without reinstalling: option 3

• If the system has not booted, then we can conclude that certain boot files are damaged. You should try to return them to working condition. The command line will help us solve this problem.
• You must boot from disk first. Once in the BIOS, you should select the drive as the first boot device, or you can simply press F2 at the system boot stage. In some cases it does not work, then press f12. Such differences are due to the BIOS version. There you can see the key and the Boot menu.
• When you log into the console, you should try to restore the damaged boot file. ini. The Bootcfg team will help us with this. If you have questions about its use, just type Bootcfg /?, after which you will be given help on this function.
• It happens that the NTLDR file, which ensures the correct loading of the OS, is damaged. In this case, you should enter the fixboot command.
• If errors are detected on the hard drive, then in this case you should use the chkdsk command.