My "System Restore" isn't working. I'm running Windows XP Home Edition w/SP 2..Anybody got any suggestions?

Have you been into System Properties/System Restore and cleared the box that says " Turn off System Restore "

No I haven't. Why would I turn it off if I wanted it to work? Please explain. pakkap2

I'm sorry. I do have it cleared. What's next? pakkap2

I didn't say that you did, I asked if you had been in there to check whether it was turned off or not.

It also helps if you can give a bit more detail about things like was it working before or has it only recently stopped.

Go to Start/Run, type in Services.msc, OK, when that opens scroll down the list to System Restore Service and make sure it it set to Automatic.

If still no joy have a look at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/faqsrwxp.mspx maybe you will find some help in the trouble shooting section of that page.

Thanks Jogor. My System Restore is set to  "Automatic." Thanks for your help. pakkap2

Please post back if you find the solution on the page I suggested.

You could also try http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm line 278 left hand side.

I have one further comment on that particular issue ; maybe its'inappropriate , (who knows?) ; in fact , there might be a lot of reqsons why system restore won't work ; jogor pointed immediately one of them , of course if the service is cleared , it won't work ... But even if it is set on automatic , there are many other situations where system restore does not work , in particular some antiviruses may affect the way system restore works ; rememeber that if you scan your system for viruses and find one or several , throwing them away through RECYCLER just will let them be IMMEDIATELY stored in one RP !!!! that's a silly functionnality of Windows, and maybe there is no way to turn around this but one has to know : system restore will first restore destroyed viruses, as long as you decide to move the infected files to the Recycle bin  ; therefore some antiviruses , knowing the situation block system restore during the scan until complete eradication . .Of course there might also be situations where the PC is deeply infected and in that case also , no restore points will be created and simply it won't work ! Usually if you are not in the first case nor the one described by Jogor , it's a sign that you have got a major problem in your OS . at least you shoud try to see what happens with the registry ;a coorupted registry may be cause of Syatem restore unavailable. OLIVIER GEBUHRER    

Tchapaiev is perfectly correct - System Restore (SR) is often disabled by anti-virus software. This is a GOOD thing as otherwise SR will only do its job and restore the virus back onto your system! In any event, before running an anti-virus clean on your system, you must first DISABLE SR (through System in the Control Panel), clean the system and - once you are sure that the system is clean - ENABLE SR again. In addition, some third party system restorers - e.g. Norton's 'GoBack' - will override SR so you must decide which is the best restore tool to use. If you are not a 'power user', I suggest that you stick with XP SR - basic but easier to use! Finally, I also agree with Tchapaiev that it seems likely that you have a corrupt registry. There are a number of very good registry cleaners around - both Freeware and Shareware. Run your system through one of these and you will be pleasantly surprised how much faster and more stable your system is!

Ray's product REGVAC is as good as you will get in a Registry Cleaner. I've used it for years.

here is some excellent troubleshooting procedures for system restore.
http://forum.worldstart.com/showthread.php?t=78891&referrerid=18020

That page looks very much like it has been copied from http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp.htm the site that I suggested a week ago. Excellent site actually