Answer Line: Protect Yourself Against Application Sneak Attacks
Bring back lost private folders; get a fresh start for System Restore; save data from a corrupted file.
Lincoln Spector
Restore Private Folders
I had to reinstall Windows XP on a system containing private folders. Now I can't get back into these folders, even though I've created the same user names as before. What can I do?
Robert Bell, Mohnton, Pennsylvania
Reboot your PC, and before Windows starts loading, press F8 to view the boot menu. Select Safe Mode and log on with an Administrator-level account.
Once XP is running in Safe Mode, open Windows Explorer, right-click a private folder, and select Properties. Click Security, Advanced, Owner. Select the appropriate owner in the 'Change owner to' box, select Replace owner on subcontainers and objects, and click OK. At the warning, click Yes. Reboot to return to normal Windows.
When System Restore Doesn't
Why can't System Restore restore my Registry? Whenever I try to use it, I get smacked with a "restore incomplete" error message.
Vincent Wong, New York
You have a corrupted restore point. It happens sometimes, and the way System Restore works makes the problem worse. To save disk space, System Restore saves only changes made since the previous restore point was created. If Windows creates a new restore point every day, and you tell it on Friday to restore back to Monday, it must successfully restore the points from Thursday, Wednesday, and Tuesday before it can reach Monday's. If Thursday's restore point is corrupt, you can't get to Wednesday's.
There's no fix for this problem, but there are ways to avoid it in the future. One is to download and install XP's Service Pack 1, which fixes at least one restore-point-corrupting bug.
Also, don't rely on Windows' automatic backups. A newer backup will be more reliable than an older one, so create a restore point manually before you install software or do anything else that might alter your system.
Whenever you encounter a corrupted restore point, it's a good idea to start fresh by cleaning out all previous restore points. In Windows XP, click Start, right-click My Computer, and select Properties, System Restore. Next, check Turn off System Restore on all drives, click OK, and then click Yes. Reboot your computer and follow the same steps, but this time uncheck the Turn off System Restore on all drives option.
In Windows Me, right-click My Computer and select Properties, Performance, File System, Troubleshooting. Check Disable System Restore and click OK, Close, and Yes. After Windows has rebooted, repeat the same procedure, but this time be sure to uncheck the Disable System Restore option.
In Windows Me you can back up the Registry without System Restore: Select Start, Run, type scanreg, and press Enter. When the prompt tells you that there are no errors, click Yes, and then OK. To restore the Registry, go back to the Run box and type scanreg /restore (don't forget the space before the slash).
Windows XP doesn't possess this capability, but you can use Lars Hederer's free Emergency Recovery Utility NT (ERUNT) to back up and restore the XP Registry. Go to the link to download a copy of Hederer's program.
