Railfan Technology > Revised: How to Do "Reset" on Windows XP?!?

A relatively simple task I know. Bottom line: a friend changed some things as of yesterday morning on my PC with Windows XP (I know I need to upgrade and/or get a new PC). But, it WAS working FINE for the most part until changes were made as of yesterday. How do I find and PERFORM a "RESET?" ***NOT*** a Full "System Restore" (per orignal title of this thread) to how the computer looked like as of before yesterday morning?!?

Also, where is this? In the task manager or control panel, or where?

Man, I haven't used XP in forever. A quick Google search produced this Microsoft article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084

Hope it helps.

Did you try simply searching for this online?

If you did, you would find the following link at the top of the list, at least using Google:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084

If it is running OK but "Looks" different, what ever that means, I would leave it alone.
Whatever you do, be sure you have everything you value on a removable drive and disconnect that when you do your restore.

A) get used to whatever is different, if you ever get to Windows 8, believe me..,,,,,

or

B) Set up a new user account. See if that runs well, give it admin authority or whatever and delete old account

C) Find out what your friend added, google uninstall and find out how to remove those things.

D) Google the new software to see if you can make it work for you

E) Never let friends, relatives touch your computer. wife and I have our own.

I did a reinsall, not a restore and it gets tricky.

Bob

addon - in general I beleive in leaving old systems alone, there is not geritol for old computers



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/14 14:46 by robj.

Informed that the correct term was to do a RESET, simply!!! Not a System Restore which would restore factory settings, so on and so forth. But just simply to make the PC looks exactly like it was a few days or a week earlier?!? Sorry for the misinformation...

Red Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Informed that the correct term was to do a RESET,
> simply!!! Not a System Restore which would restore
> factory settings, so on and so forth. But just
> simply to make the PC looks exactly like it was a
> few days or a week earlier?!? Sorry for the
> misinformation...

A system restore does not restore factory settings, but restores the computer to a restore point. These points can be created manually, but I think they are usually created when new programs are installed. It's not clear, however, what you mean by making the PC look like it did before. Do you mean that the desktop does not look the same? One would have to know what is different to offer suggestions.

Meanwhile, I suggest that you try searching online for an answer to your problem. You'd be surprised how helpful that can be. You also should be aware that there is some risk in continuing to use XP if you are connecting to the Internet, since XP is no longer supported by Microsoft and hence no longer is updated to guard against threats.

Save yourself a lot of trouble, spend a few more $$$ and get a Mac. On this platform I never have to deal w/ resets, multiple viruses. The Mac has a consistent intuitive interface and I can focus on the task(s) at hand.

Or if you have some spare time, put a linux distribution on that old XP machine. I went linux back around 1999, and haven't looked back. Got tired of the costly microsoft 'upgrades' that also required a new machine to run properly.

John.

jnorton Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Save yourself a lot of trouble, spend a few more
> $$$ and get a Mac. On this platform I never have
> to deal w/ resets, multiple viruses. The Mac has
> a consistent intuitive interface and I can focus
> on the task(s) at hand.


Mac's are whack.

Follow instructions found here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457025.aspx

Have a good one.

TOM

Best way to reset Windoze is to get a MAC.

Bill Miller
Galt, ON

Hmmm...perhaps TO should start a forum to debate the merits of operating systems.

Red Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A relatively simple task I know. Bottom line: a
> friend changed some things as of yesterday morning
> on my PC with Windows XP (I know I need to upgrade
> and/or get a new PC). But, it WAS working FINE for
> the most part until changes were made as of
> yesterday. How do I find and PERFORM a "RESET?"
> ***NOT*** a Full "System Restore" (per orignal
> title of this thread) to how the computer looked
> like as of before yesterday morning?!?

==========================================

A System Restore does not set everything back to factory default. It reverses changes made after whichever system restore point you choose.

Run System Restore. Select a system restore point from before your "friend" changed some things. That should take you back to where you were.

Then get a new "friend".....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/14 07:33 by GenePoon.

What Gene above wrote!

Never heard of a reset.....
cf7

I'm not certain that it was possible to perform an actual factory reset on a Windows device prior to Windows 8 without having to actually re-install it. The tips provided to do a system restore are sufficient for the OP's issue.

And I still don't understand why people suggest changing platforms as a solution to the OP's question. That's just as silly as suggesting someone trade their car in because they have a flat tire.

Vanakatherock Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> And I still don't understand why people suggest
> changing platforms as a solution to the OP's
> question. That's just as silly as suggesting
> someone trade their car in because they have a
> flat tire.

Agreed. TO is no place for the boring Windows vs Mac flame wars.

At the same time, I do think that the original poster should consider abandoning XP because of security issues. Upgrading to a Windows product might not be cost effective (and I'm not sure if you can upgrade to 7 or 8 from XP anyway). If one is willing to do a little learning, there are some varieties of Linux that might work well from what I hear. You can find a free version of Linux and install it in a dual-boot configuration.

While I have Linux (Ubuntu) installed on a rarely used notebook, I have not used it much.

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A System Restore does not set everything back to
> factory default. It reverses changes made after
> whichever system restore point you choose.
>
> Run System Restore. Select a system restore point
> from before your "friend" changed some things.
> That should take you back to where you were.
>
> Then get a new "friend".....

Second that on the purpose of System Restore.

A "reset" in the classic sense is either [Ctrl][Alt][Del] or for PCs that doesn't respond to it, holding the power on/off button continuously until the PC restarts itself.

If an installation changed the look of your desktop, then you need to find "Display Properties" in the Control Panel and attempt to find the desktop that resembled what you had before. I suggest exploring the functions on your PC, because there's always the [Cancel] button if you are not confident of what you are doing. Most of us learned how to configure our PCs (and also Macs) this way.

If you want to get rid of the software you just installed, go through the formal "Uninstall" process. Find "Add or Remove programs" within the Control Panel. This method works almost all the time. In a rare case that the program corrupted the registry somehow, then you can resort to "System Restore" which is a brute force way to fix things.

Mac owners who think they are safe from security flaws are in severe denial. Get off the high horse and be vigilant of the platform's vulnerabilities yet to be exploited.

> Mac owners who think they are safe from security
> flaws are in severe denial. Get off the high horse
> and be vigilant of the platform's vulnerabilities
> yet to be exploited.


Hey I'm not the one who hijacked the thread nor on a high horse but could it be possible that when a person reads something about problems a person is having with an outdated OS is it not normal to ask if they've considered a "better" way? I read posts from people who want to keep outdated, unsupported platforms running but the fact is that newer apps will sap the performance of the old OS. Just the way it goes. Add in the constant invasion of unwanted add ons that further drain your Os resources and you get a picture of the 2014 person trying to make their 2004 computer running like it did. So, when the suggestion to the solution of the problem is try another OS how is that a bash? You can lead a horse to water, right..?

I made the switch after OS purchases like Win 95, Win 98, Win XP, all seemed over time to bog down and thus keeping my productivity down. I'm no Mac disciple but after getting my first IO7 machine (iPad and now iPhone) i assure you I'll never go back.. Both platforms have operated smoothly, any hiccups quickly remedied, running side by side my Windows machine take about ten minutes (it seems) to get thru the boot up because of the crap added on and a OS that is seriously lagging in regard to running the programs of today. Oh, I forgot to add,.the add ons you have to buy to wart off those Windows attacks...you don't need to buy them with IOS.

And, yes I know the world went w Windoze but trust me, once you cross over to IOS you wonder why it took you so long. So, maybe it's not bashing but really just a question of "have you considered?" Isn't that what a "discussion" forum? is about? I'm not bored by windows bashing because it does suck. Save up your dollars and save your self headaches. IOS

Chico



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 05/28/14 06:00 by chico.

I would try clicking START, then HELP AND SUPPORT, then enter RESTORE WIZARD in the search box and hit the arrow. You should see an option to open the restore wizard. When the wizard opens, you should choose the option to do a restore and if you have restore points set, you will get a calendar from which you can select the date from which you would like to restore. Restoring backs out changes made since whatever restore point you choose. You may have to reboot in order for the restore to take affect.

chico Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> Hey I'm not the one who hijacked the thread but
> could it be possible that when a person reads
> something about problems a person is having with
> an outdated OS is it not normal to ask if they've
> considered a "better" way?

Exactly. I found that many newer programs simply wouldn't work on an older PC that I had. When that started happening, the best way I found to "reset" XP was simple ... it was called a Windows 7 upgrade disk.