How to Perform a System Restore in Windows XP through the Recovery Console

1. First, place the Windows XP installation CD into the CD/DVD drive of the PC and boot the PC. When the message appears on the screen that tells you to 'Press Any Key to Boot from the CD', press a key on the keyboard. If the computer is configured with the Recovery Console already installed then instead, boot the computer and just before the Windows XP logo appears press and hold down the F8 key and then select Recovery Console from the menu that appears and press Enter and then enter the Administrator password and skip to step 3.
2. Next, the software will load from the CD and perform a number of hardware checks and then pause on a screen that asks you what to do next. Select R for Repair and then at the command prompt select the Windows XP installation that you need to recover and then enter the Adminstrator password for the PC and press Enter in order to access the command line.
3. Now, on the command prompt type:cd\then press Enter.Next, type:cd system~1\_resto~1and then press Enter.
4. Now type:dirand press Enter and a list of restore points will be displayed (named rp1, rp2, rp3 and so forth). Repeatedly press the Enter key to get to the last restore point directory.
5. Now, type:cd rp(number.of.restore.point)replacing the number.of.restore.point above with the number of the restore point you wish to restore (I suggest using the restore point that is one prior to the last restore point - for example, cd rp5).
6. Next, type:cd snapshotand press Enter and you should now see c:\system~1\_resto~1\rp5\snapshot (assuming that drive C: is the system drive where Windows XP is installed.
7. Now type:copy _registry_machine_system c:\windows\system32\config\systemand then press Enter and then type:copy _registry_machine_software c:\windows\system32\config\softwareand press Enter and the type Exit.If an Access Denied error is displayed then type the following:cd\then press Enter.
8. Now type:cd windows\system32\configand then press Enter.Then type:ren system system.bakand press Enter and then Exit and when your computer reboots, access the Recovery Console again and then perform the above steps to run System Restore on your computer.