On 7/28/2013 11:13 AM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
"Oren" wrote in message
...
Have you looked into restore points. Even if you haven't created any
yourself, if you have an anti-virus program, it very likely creates
them whenever it's going to mess with the setup.

I don't recall XP ever having a feature to create restore points. That
feature started with Vista.

Right off the help file of win xp:

Featu System Restore
When to use it: When you suspect that any of the following changes have been
made:
a.. System or application settings have been changed. This includes
changes made through property sheets and changes made to the registry.
b.. Applications have been installed, updated, or removed.
c.. Files other than data files have been added or deleted.
If you suspect the problem is due to installing an application, first try
removing that application. If the problem persists, use System Restore. You
must be logged on as an administrator to use System Restore.
What it does: Restores all system and application settings back to those
that were in effect at a point in time you specify. Restores key
application, driver, and operating system files changed since that time.
Does not affect data files.
Available on: Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional.




System restore stare on Windows ME, and has been on every Microsoft OS
since.

Restore points are created automatically
From Wikipedia:
"Restore points are created:

When software is installed using the Windows Installer, Package
Installer or other installers which are aware of System Restore.
When Windows Update installs new updates to Windows.
When the user installs a driver that is not digitally signed by
Windows Hardware Quality Labs.
On Windows XP or Windows Vista, every 24 hours of computer use or
when the operating system starts after being off for more than 24 hours
(10 hours in Windows Me), or every 24 hours of calendar time, whichever
happens first. This setting is configurable through the registry or
using the deployment tools on Windows XP. Such a restore point is known
as a system checkpoint. System Restore requires Task Scheduler to create
system checkpoints. Moreover, system checkpoints are only created if the
system is idle for a certain amount of time.In Windows 7, automatic
Restore Points are created only once every seven days, however a script
can be used to silently create Restore Points more frequently.
When the user manually creates a Restore Point.

In Windows XP, restore point files are stored in a hidden folder named
'System Volume Information' on the root of every drive, partition or
volume, including most external drives, and some USB flash drives. On
drives or partitions that are not monitored by System Restore, this
folder will be very small in size or completely empty, unless Encrypting
File System is in use or the Indexing Service is turned on. If the
System Volume Information folder is deleted, it will be recreated
automatically.

Older restore points are deleted as per the configured space constraint
on a First In, First Out basis."