Windows

Start The System Restore From The Command Prompt (XP Pro/Home)

Posted by on Feb 17, 2005 | 6 Comments

If you run into problems with XP, you can easily restore your system to a previous state. For example, if you install a device driver or other software that does not agree with the rest of your system, you can return your computer to the state it was in before you installed it. This is made possible using the System Restore tool.

If necessary, you can start the System Restore tool from the command prompt. This is useful if you cannot start your computer normally or in Safe Mode. To start the utility using this method, restart your computer and press F8 during startup. From the boot options, select Safe Mode with a command prompt. You can then log on to your computer using an account with administrative privileges.

The last step is to launch the System Restore tool. You can do this by typing the following command at the command prompt.

%systemroot%\System32\restore\rstrui.exe

You can then follow the instructions to restore your computer to a previous state.

  • ed

    thanks! it really helped me, huh! i almost killed myself! tnx a lot, coz what i did is changing it’s theme, the uxptheme.ddl in sys32 and it doesnt work lol, tnx

  • http://www.jillsmithart.com Jill Smith

    System restore does not work in all vista’s as l have found out, it just works in businness and ultimate l have premium and if l had known l would never have bought it so why does microsoft tell us now instead of before,
    Jill

  • Eddy Jones

    I could almost have a spac attack with excitement! i have had this virus which has been destroying my computer, it was all my fault. Being a programmer i tried brute force and destroyed the virus by command prompt since it wouldn’t let me use my anti-virus. Then everything wen wrong and it destroyed my computer… i couldn’t use anything except explorer, task manager and command prompt. But going into safe mode fixed it! Thanks alot, if i got the blame for allowing it past the protection (which i accidently did when i was running some software) i would havegot sacked.

  • Andrew Pham

    this does not work for sum reason.it says it is not recognized as an internal or external command -_-
    plz help

  • Piyush Dimri

    It worked well so I could resolve my problem..
    Thanks a lot..

  • Mitch Bartlett

    Tried to buy from Etsy once. Got burned when the seller claimed to not get payment and didn’t deliver the item even though I had proof of payment. Etsy support (if you can call it that) is no help in these matters.