How to restore Windows xp without a disk. Proper system recovery for Windows XP. Using standard programs

Restoring the Windows XP system is one of the best ways to eliminate problems associated with the inability to boot the system, or freezes caused by incorrect installation of drivers or the action of virus programs. Typically, system recovery is used in case of file corruption, when other actions to restore system functionality (rollback to the last save point, recovery console, or loading the last known good configuration) are useless.

The advantages of system recovery include the ability to save all installed applications and their settings, as well as the user’s personal files located on the system partition. The settings of the operating system itself remain unchanged.

Windows XP: System Restore

In Windows XP, system recovery begins in the same way as a normal system installation. It is necessary to set the disk drive as the first boot device in the BIOS, and then insert the disk with the operating system into the DVD Rom. After you restart your computer, the standard Windows XP installation process will begin.

In the standard menu that appears, you should select “Install Windows XP”.

Accept the license agreement by pressing F8.

The menu item we need will appear in the next window: “Try to restore the selected copy of XP.” Select it by pressing the R key.

In rare cases, you may encounter that this menu item is missing in the system. This is usually due to the fact that the copy of Windows XP you are using is not the original one. In this case, the only way out is to start restoring the system again, using the original Windows disk.

The duration of Windows XP recovery is almost the same as the time it takes to install the system from scratch. The system needs time to replace old system files with new ones.

Restoring Windows XP via the console

In some cases, you can avoid lengthy replacement of damaged system files with new ones by carrying out all the necessary operations through the recovery console. This is especially relevant if the hard disk boot record (MBR) is damaged, which can be restored with just two commands: fixmbr and fixboot.

To open the Recovery Console in Windows XP, you must select “Restore the system using the Recovery Console” from the menu that opens when you start system installation by pressing the R key.

The program will search for installed Windows systems and display a list of them. If you have several systems installed, to select the one you need, type its serial number and press Enter.

When prompted, enter your password. If it is missing, just press Enter.

In the recovery console window that appears, you can enter all the necessary commands to check and restore the system. The most used commands are Fixmbr - fix or replace the master boot record of an HDD or SSD and Fixboot - write a new boot sector. A damaged boot sector is usually indicated by a black screen that appears when the system starts.

We begin restoring a damaged partition table by running the fixmbr command, which will rewrite the master boot record.

A warning message will appear on the screen stating that running the fixmbr command may damage the existing partition table.

Type y and press Enter to continue the recovery.

To rewrite the boot sector, enter the fixboot command.

The question “Do you want to write the new boot sector to the appropriate partition?” will appear. To answer yes, type y and press Enter.

To exit the recovery console, enter the Exit command.

After this, the computer will restart, and a working Windows XP system will appear in front of you.

Restoring Windows XP from a running system

In some cases, despite errors in the system, Windows XP can boot and start working without problems, but its further use will be associated with slowdowns and other inconveniences. In this case, you can perform a system restore directly from a running OS.

To do this, insert a disc with Windows XP into the drive and select Startup by right-clicking on DVD Rom.

You will see a list of actions, from which you need to select “Install Windows XP”.

Hello dear readers, very often they look for information on my website. how to restore Windows to the very beginning, of course, you can restore it, but you don’t want to bother with this matter, especially if the computer has programs that are difficult to configure. It is possible and, or. But some program folders will not be deleted, and therefore in this article I will show what files and folders are installed at the very beginning. By comparing, you can understand what is needed and what is not.

All standard Windows XP settings

Today I will talk about restoring Windows XP to the very beginning. And then I’ll tell you about Windows 7.

Now attention: how to use this manual.

Open the folder and see which folders you have and which ones I have. What I don't have can be deleted. But be careful. Do not remove the programs and drivers you need.

Standard XP Files and Folders

Let's begin.

Go to drive C: or wherever you have .

We go back, we go into Local Settings:

We leave again and go into My documents:

Exit to drive C and go to Program Files:

Let's go out again and go to

Let's go to System32:

I couldn’t take a picture here, because... there are too many files. Download the list -

Standard XP Processes

Half of the journey to restore Windows to the very beginning is complete...

Standard XP Startup

Click start and we see...

Now right-click on my computer and select management. Services and Applications > Services. There we look at the list of services. By the way, you can disable unnecessary services.

Standard XP Services

All. I laid out the most important things, now you can safely restore Windows XP to the beginning. Even without

So, in this article I would like to explain how to do Windows XP correctly. You may already know how to restore your system in some way, but this does not mean that there is only one way. There are many options. Each is designed for different situations. It is also worth noting that each recovery method differs in time.

“ WindowsXP": system recovery.

Let's start with the fact that you need to determine what exactly is wrong with your OS, and what needs to be done to restore the data. First, try pressing the F8 key while loading the BIOS. From the suggested options, select the one that says boot with last known known configuration. If it doesn't help, then move on.

Select the boot option in If suddenly your system boots, it is because the monitor resolution is 800x600 or about this value. Because in this mode the drivers are not loaded.

You need to do the following:

1. Copy the most important information from your local C drive to another partition or flash drive. What files are important? For example, the desktop, my documents, various saves in games, program settings, etc.
2. Try to find the problem why Windows just won't boot. If you find it, try to solve it.

If it fails to boot, then we continue restoring the Windows XP system using other methods.

Using the same F8 key, we again go to the menu we are already familiar with and select the item that says about disabling automatic reboot.

Why is this necessary? This is necessary if you were unable to determine the problem that caused such a situation to occur. As a result of disabling the reboot, you will be shown a message that tells you the real reason for everything that is happening.

System RestoreWindowsXP using the installation disk.

Having a disk with a copy of the operating system on hand, you can easily restore your data. But, if you can't restore your operating system, then at least you can install a new Windows. Of course, if you install a new copy, you may lose all the data from drive C, but you can avoid this. How? It will be said later.

System RestoreWindowsXP via console.

First, try restoring data through a special one. To do this, you will need to boot from the installation disk and select the appropriate menu.

So, the console began loading. You will be asked which OS you need to log into. If you have only one “Windows”, then enter the number 1 and press the “Enter” key. There are many commands in the management console that you don't need to know all of. Just a few are enough. But if you are interested, you can enter Help. For a more specific look at help for a specific command, you need to enter the name and /?.

There is a special function Bootcfg, with which you can restore the system boot.ini file if it has been damaged or deleted. There is nothing complicated, just enter 1 everywhere and press Enter. A slightly crooked file will be created, without the correct OS name, but it will work and the system will boot.

If there was NTLDR, then you need to use the fixboot command. This problem occurs when the boot sector or the NTLDR file, which is responsible for booting, is damaged. It is located in the root folder of drive C (if it is bootable).

If your hard drive is almost dead, and it is slowly moving from retirement to grave, then you need to use the chkdsk function. Using it, you will have the sectors on your hard drive restored (to the extent possible), and then, perhaps, your Windows will boot.

Other recovery methods.

If all else fails, then you need to tear down your OS and install a new one. But first try restoring your system (not through the console). This option will be available at the moment. There will be three options: install, restore and cancel.

During installation, drive C will be erased. If you select the recovery option, system files and the entire “Windows” folder will be replaced.

But you can also just do the installation, but without formatting. In this case, all old data will be saved and a folder named “C” will be created in the root directory and your new OS will be there. Then you will have to clean up the garbage from the old copy.

System RestoreWindowsXp- this is an opportunity to return the operating system to a more efficient state. That is, if your computer began to work slower, slow down, some drivers do not work after updating them, and so on, then you can, so to speak, roll back the system to the time when it worked well, without glitches and the like.

By the way, in this article, we will look at how enable system restore. System Restore is not always enabled by default, and when you suddenly need to return the system to its previous state, the result will be disastrous. The restore function may not be available.

Some people, on the contrary, want to disable System Restore because they do not want to use this function. Now we will look at where the checkbox is, by checking or unchecking it, you can enable or disable system recovery.

Then select “System”.

In the window that appears, go to the “System Restore” tab and opposite “Disable System Restore”, uncheck the box if you want System Restore to be enabled. Then click “Apply” and “OK”.

If you check the box and save, then all recovery checkpoints to which you could return will be deleted. It’s better not to turn off System Restore; anything can happen when working on a computer.

You can reduce disk space to use checkpoints. You need to select the drive and click on the “Options” button. To reduce control points, move the slider to the left, after everything is configured, click “OK”. This will reduce the number of checkpoints, as well as the space occupied on the hard drive.

Windows XP is one of the most common operating systems. Over time, the system may become unstable due to advertising, files from the Internet, and incorrectly removed programs. Also, various unwanted programs have a significant impact on the operation of the operating system.

Reinstalling Windows may result in the loss of necessary information. It is possible to restore Windows XP without reinstallation using the system itself, as well as using special utilities or a distribution kit for the required version of the system.

Quick navigation through the article

Creating a restore point

System Restore creates restore points that save a copy of the system registry. Rolling back to a previous system state allows you to undo all changes made to your computer after you created a restore point. Enabling the function is as follows:

• Click “Start” and “Control Panel”;
• Click on the “System” button;
• In the System Properties window, uncheck the “Disable System Restore” checkbox (if selected).

System performance

After creating a restore point, you can try to return the system to a working state using one of the following methods:

• If Windows has loaded: Click “Start” -> “All Programs” -> “Accessories” -> “System Tools” -> “System Restore” -> select a restore point;
• Press the key combination “Windows” + “R” -> type “rstrui” -> “OK” -> select “Create a restore point” in the window that opens -> select a date -> “Next” -> “Next”;
• If Windows does not boot in normal mode: turn on the computer -> press F8 -> select “Safe Mode” -> proceed as after booting the system.

This method is useless if system restore points have not been created on the computer.

Built-in utility

An installation disk with Windows and the SFC utility can help restore the system if the computer boots in normal mode, but there is no restore point, you need to:

• Press the combination “Windows” + “R” on the keyboard;
• Type “sfc /scannow” and click “OK”;
• Insert the disk with the Windows installation files into the drive (damaged files will be restored).

Automatic recovery

If you cannot boot your computer due to serious failures in the operating system, you need to use Windows Emergency Recovery. To do this you need:

• Insert the disk with the Windows XP distribution into the drive;
• Boot the computer from disk;
• Press the letter "R" key. To select the disaster recovery operation, press “R” again;
• Select manual or fast recovery mode by pressing the “M” or “F” keys, respectively;
• Press "Enter".

If after a quick recovery the system does not boot, you should repeat all the steps before selecting the recovery mode -> select manual (by pressing “M”) -> press “L” to search for the required copies of Windows -> select one of the copies found by the installer -> press “Enter” "