System restore not working

[valley]

I probably used up all of my "helps" with Mar's computer problems but I also have a question to ask about my own computer.

I have a Dell with WinXP

I had DSL Lite installed on April 24th...LOVE IT! Since then, i've downloaded the latest Acrobat reader 8, as well as updated my Firefox and a few other programs. I've noticed that its been starting to slow down a lot. My email screen takes awhile to pop up. I uninstalled Acrobat and Firefox and got the older versions back but its still slow.

I decided to restore to April 25th. But I get a message saying "unable to restore this point". Tried another date, got the same message.

I dont have Norton antivirus. I have AVG. Could something in that be preventing my restore? I also have my firewall on in my control panel. Should I temporarily shut that off to restore?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[blues_harp28]

Hi One of your restore points may be corrupted which can prevent other restore points from working.
You may have clear All restore points..and look elsewhere for your system slowing down.

Right click My Computer>properties.
Click on system restore tab.
Select Turn off System Restore>click Apply and restart Pc.
This will delete all restore points.
Once restarted..go back to System Restore tab and deselect Turn off System Restore.
Now click Start menu.
Programs>accessories>system tools>System Restore.
Choose the option Create a restore point.
Enter a description.
Click Create.

 

[valley]

Click Create.

I understood everything up to this point. Once I click create...then what? How will that do anything to speed up my computer?

 

[xico]

Hi Valley!

It won't, but it will get your System Restore operational, hopefully. I would run CCleaner, it's free, and it'll get rid of tons of crap. Next, I run a defrager. I use Diskeeper Lite. That should help speed it up. BTW when was the last time you defraged?

Do you have Registry Mechanic? I'd certainly run that; then Spybot, and then Adaware, and get rid of all the problems in both Spybot and Adaware. Before you run these programs, make sure you get the updates.

How full is your Hard Drive? And how big is it? Tiger Direct has a Hitache 250GB for 59 bucks; a Seagate 500 for 99 bucks.

Good luck, Valley! And let us know what happens. But even if it speeds up after CCleaner, I'd run these other programs anyway. Just makes for a healthier pc.

 

[valley]

Hi Valley!

It won't, but it will get your System Restore operational, hopefully. I would run CCleaner, it's free, and it'll get rid of tons of crap. Next, I run a defrager. I use Diskeeper Lite. That should help speed it up. BTW when was the last time you defraged?

Do you have Registry Mechanic? I'd certainly run that; then Spybot, and then Adaware, and get rid of all the problems in both Spybot and Adaware. Before you run these programs, make sure you get the updates.

How full is your Hard Drive? And how big is it? Tiger Direct has a Hitache 250GB for 59 bucks; a Seagate 500 for 99 bucks.

Good luck, Valley! And let us know what happens. But even if it speeds up after CCleaner, I'd run these other programs anyway. Just makes for a healthier pc.

xico!!! I didnt know you were a techie!

Sooo much great advice here, thanks. I have spybot and adaware. I run spybot often but didnt think I needed to run adaware since I use spybot.

Defragging....to be honest, i'd completely forgot that I needed to do that once in awhile. I think its been a good 6 months.

I will get CCleaner right away and use it. I will also look into Registry Mechanic. I do not mind paying for programs if they will help keep my computer clean.

My HD is 80 gigs. I know people have told me several times in the past where to look to see how much HD space I have left....there is a snapshot or a pie chart or something like that but I cant remember where.

But first...i'll follow blues direction and fix my restore function. Then i'll get to work on speeding things up. Thanks a million!

 

[valley]

Hi One of your restore points may be corrupted which can prevent other restore points from working.
You may have clear All restore points..and look elsewhere for your system slowing down.

Right click My Computer>properties.
Click on system restore tab.
Select Turn off System Restore>click Apply and restart Pc.
This will delete all restore points.
Once restarted..go back to System Restore tab and deselect Turn off System Restore.
Now click Start menu.
Programs>accessories>system tools>System Restore.
Choose the option Create a restore point.
Enter a description.
Click Create.

got this part done. Thank you!

 

[xico]

I'm just a little techie.

Left click on "my computer", then right click on your C Drive, and go to Properties. The little pie will tell you what you got left.

The Linux people insist that defragmenting is essential. If you go to the Freeware Thread in TSG, someone posted a free defragmenter that they liked. Diskkeeper Lite, which they discontinued, was free; it's fast and has never given me a problem. The full program can run in the background, and I think they'll let you have a trial version, if I remember correctly.

Registry Mechanic is vital. I used to run it every start up, but now I do it once every couple of weeks. The last time I had 254 problems Obviously that slows down the ol' pc.

Good luck, Valley!

 

[valley]

and on the defragger...it says I have 79% free and that I didnt need to run the defreg on that amount.

 

[valley]

I'm just a little techie.

Left click on "my computer", then right click on your C Drive, and go to Properties. The little pie will tell you what you got left.

The Linux people insist that defragmenting is essential. If you go to the Freeware Thread in TSG, someone posted a free defragmenter that they liked. Diskkeeper Lite, which they discontinued, was free; it's fast and has never given me a problem. The full program can run in the background, and I think they'll let you have a trial version, if I remember correctly.

Registry Mechanic is vital. I used to run it every start up, but now I do it once every couple of weeks. The last time I had 254 problems Obviously that slows down the ol' pc.

Good luck, Valley!

oh there you are!

k...I will look for the diskkeeper Lite later. I'll go do the pie thingie now.

 

[valley]

Left click on "my computer", then right click on your C Drive, and go to Properties. The little pie will tell you what you got left.

74.4 gb free. Thats a great amount out of 80 gigs!

Registry Mechanic is vital. I used to run it every start up, but now I do it once every couple of weeks. The last time I had 254 problems Obviously that slows down the ol' pc.

Good luck, Valley!

great thanks again xico. I was amazed at how much the Ccleaner got rid of

 

[valley]

and my screens are starting to pop up quickly now....sped it up a bunch already! I'm going to create another restore point now!

 

[xico]

and my screens are starting to pop up quickly now....sped it up a bunch already! I'm going to create another restore point now!

Cool!

 

[xico]

Registry Mechanic will speed it up all the more!