Windows vista Repair and Restore

Vista Restore Steps: -
Please perform the following steps
Insert the Windows Vista DVD, and then restart the computer
When you receive the following message, press any key:

Press any key boot to from CD or DVD.

3. Set the following preferences, and then click Next:
• Language to install
• Time and currency format
• Keyboard or input method

4. Click Repair your computer, select the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.

5. Click System Restore, and then click Next.

6. Click the restore point that you want to use, and then click Next.

Note- Click a restore point that will return the computer to a state where the logon is successful. After you use the System Restore feature, reinstall any programs or updates that may be removed. You will not lose any personal documents. However, you may have to reinstall programs. You may also have to reset some personal settings.

7. Confirm the disks that you want to restore, and then click Next.

8. Click Finish, and then click Yes when you are prompted.

9. When the System Restore process is complete, click Restart to restart the computer.

10. After the computer restarts click Close to confirm that the System Restore process has finished successfully.

11.Use an appropriate method to log on. For example, log on by using an older password, or log on by using another computer account.


Recover windows vista via Recovery Manager (HP pavilion dv-6 laptop): -
Please perform following steps-

Use the following steps to recover the computer starting from the Windows Vista desktop:
1. Turn off the computer.
2. Disconnect all connected devices (such as the Personal Media Drive, USB drives, printer, and fax), remove media from drives, and remove any recently added internal hardware. Do not disconnect the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and power cord.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. From the Windows desktop click Start, and then All Programs.
5. Click PC Help & Tools.
6. Click Recovery Manager.
The Recovery Manager Welcome screen appears.
7. Click Next.
8. On the Software Program
Re-installation screen select No, and then click next.
9. On the Hardware Re-installation screen select No, and then click next.
10. On the screen that prompts for Microsoft System Restore select No, and then click next.
11. The Recovery Manager prompts if you want to restore the computer to its original factory shipped condition. Click Yes, and then click Next.
The computer restarts and opens the Recovery Manager program.
12. Click Next.
13. On the Microsoft System Restore screen select No, and then click Next.
14. Confirm that you want to run a System Recovery by selecting Yes, and then click Next.
15. The Recovery Manager gives you the option of backing up your data files. Backing up your files is recommended. To back up your files select yes, and then click Next. Follow the onscreen instructions.
If you do not want to backup your files, select No, and then click Next .
16. After the System Recovery is complete, the computer restarts and continues into Windows setup. Complete the setup screens and wait until the computer finishes the setup. Then, turn off the computer, reconnect all peripheral devices, and turn on the computer.
17. Before using the computer, update and protect your computer. Reinstall any virus and security software that was installed before the System Recovery.
Reinstall any software applications that were added after purchasing the computer, and any files that were backed up.

If you have the windows vista repair disk:

(This should be your backup copy of Vista if you made one)
PLEASE NOTE: This Vista install CD can be run from within Vista. Just insert the CD once Vista has loaded up and go to install, go > Install Now > Upgrade.

1. Boot up with the Vista install disc
2. You should see a screen that says, "Windows is loading files"
3. After a few minutes you will get a language option. Select your language and hit next.
4. On the install screen select "Repair your computer"
5. Windows will find your copy of Vista on the machine
6. Select your copy of Vista and click next
7. You will now see the following options.
· Startup repair - This automatically fixes problems that are preventing Windows from starting

* System Restore - This will Restore Windows to an earlier point in time

* Windows Complete PC Restore - This will completely restore your entire PC - programs, system settings and files - from a back up that you have previously created (Available in Windows Vista Business, Enterprise and Ultimate editions only)

* Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool - This checks your computer's memory hardware for errors

* Command Prompt

8. Assuming you are using this option because you were unable to boot to Windows Vista select the system Restore option and then select the date you would like to go back to. If your OS is fine you can always use the startup repair option.
Pre-Installed and OEM versions: (please check with your manufacturer fist. They may have replaced these tools with their own.

1. Turn your computer on and start pressing the F8 key. If you see the Windows Vista Logo you have gone too far and need to reboot and try again

2. You will get an advanced options screen. Select the "Repair your computer option" and hit enter.

3. Select your language and hit next.

4. Enter your user name and password and then next.

5. The recovery options should now appear.

6. In most cases just using the system restore to set your computer back will solve your issue. If this is not the case try the Startup repair option.
BACK

To create a restore point in Windows VISTA: -

1. Click on the Start Pearl, and type System Restore into the Search box. Then select System Restore from the Search Results.
2. Just look for Open System Protection.
3. Select the hard-drive(s) you wish to have System Restore enabled on. System Restore will automatically reserve up to 15% of free space on your hard drive and use it whenever necessary.

NOTE: -The next step would be to click on Create to create your first System Restore point. You will then be prompted to name your Restore Point. My suggestion would be to name the major change made to your system at that time. There’s no need to enter the date or time, since that will be recorded and displayed automatically. Then all you have to do is click on Create and you are set.

Restoring from a Restore Point: -

Open the Start Pearl
2) Type System Restore in the Search Bar and select it from the Search Results
3) Choose the Recommended or Different Restore Point
4) Click Finish
BACK

Start System Restore from command prompt

1. Restart your system and press F8 key during boot-process.
2. Now, select Safe Mode with command prompt option to start your system.
3. Now, type Start your computer in safe mode with command prompt. For more information, if you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. At the command prompt, type rstrui.exe, and then press ENTER.
Note
If you use System Restore when the computer is in safe mode, you cannot undo the restore operation. However, you can run System Restore again and choose a different restore point if one exists.


Contacts Open In Windows Explorer instead of Mail

Clicking "Contacts" in Windows Mail does open the Contacts folder using
Windows Explorer. The reason why you're unable to see the "New Contact",
"New Contact Group" buttons is due to incorrect template assigned for the
Contacts folder.

Please perform following steps to solve this problem.
1. Open the Contacts folder
2. Right-click an empty area in the folder, and choose Customize This
Folder...
3. In the folder type drop down box, select Contacts
4. Click OK.

VISTA .EXE PROBLEM: -

Please perform following steps to solve your problem-

1. Please click on Start/Run and type regedit.exe add click Ok to launch registry editor window.
2. Under registry editor window go to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ FileExts \ .exe \ UserChoice

3.There will be a value named Progid in the right pane. The Progid data will contain the application's name .exe.
4. Right click on .exe and select modify.
5.Change its value to 0000 and click Ok.
6.Restart your system.


Have you lost your .EXE file extension association in Windows Vista?

Solution (only compatible with Windows Vista)

Here are some registry files that should be able to fix this problem. Download one of them and save it locally. Double click on the file and when asked, "Windows needs your permission to continue" "Registry Editor" it is to give permission to start regedit.exe. Click on Continue. Then the Registry Editor will warn you again and click on Yes to add or merge the content of the reg file to the registry. You need to be an administrator to apply these fixes.

Windows Vista exe fix.reg

Here is the content of the above file. Copy the three rows below to Notepad and save to a file with the file extension reg.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithList]

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\UserChoice]

Windows Vista exe fix2.reg

Here is the content of the above file. Copy the five rows below to Notepad and save to a file with the file extension reg.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithProgids]
"exefile"=hex(0):

If the above ones does not help here is a more thorough one.

Windows Vista exe fix3.reg

And if nothing else works you can try this one.

Windows Vista exe fix4.reg

To see the change of the icons you might need to log out or restart the computer. But the file association should work directly.

If you want to reproduce the error save the below rows using Notepad to a .reg file.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe]

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithList]
"a"="AcroRd32.exe"
"MRUList"="a"

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\OpenWithProgids]
"exefile"=hex(0):

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\UserChoice]
"Progid"="Applications\\AcroRD32.exe"

If You Are Unable to Start a Program with an .exe File Extension in Windows XP take a look at this knowledge base article from Microsoft. In this case a virus is the cause of the problem.

When you attempt to start a program that has an .exe file extension, the program may not start, and you may receive one of the following error messages:

o Windows cannot find FILES32.VXD. This program is needed for opening files of type "Application".
o Path to program is not a valid Windows application

Your desktop may appear to be blank. Also, the problem occurs many times when you restart your computer. Even after an anti-virus program has indicated it has cleaned the virus, the registry entry described in the "Resolution" section of this article is still in the registry.

How do I... Change file extension associations in Windows Vista?

The Windows Vista tool you use to change file associations in located in the Control Panel under the Default Programs icon, as shown in Figure A.
Figure A

Control Panel
Oddly enough, searching the "association" in the Vista search tool off of the Start Menu returns no results -- at least for me.
Once on the Default Programs screen you have two choices for changing file associations:
1. Set your default programs
2. Associate a file type or protocol with a program
You can also change AutoPlay settings for CDs and DVDs for this screen, as well as set program access settings. (Figure B)
Figure B

Default Programs
The first selection on the Default Programs screen (Figure B) is Set Your Default Programs. On this screen of the tool, as shown in Figure C, you can select a program and either give it complete control as the default program for all file extensions it can handle or choose the file extensions you want individually. How the list of programs was formed for this tool is not explained, but a few programs are missing from the list. The one program that comes to mind almost immediately is Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Figure C

Set Default Programs
Clicking the Choose Defaults For This Program option on the Set Default Programs screen (Figure C) shows you a list of potential file extensions that can be associated with the chosen program (Figure D). From here, you can check additional file extensions you would like Windows Vista to associate with the program.
Figure D

Select extensions individually
The second selection on the Default Programs screen (Figure B) is Associate A File Type Or Protocol With A Program. On this screen of the tool, shown in Figure E, you get a very long list of file extensions, including a description and the name of their associated program if it is known. To modify the program associated with a particular extension, you select the extension and click the Change Program button.
Figure E

Set Associations
In the example shown in Figure F, I have chosen the .inf extension, which is currently associated with Notepad. From this screen, I can choose to change the association to another available program.
Figure F

Change an extension association
If another viable program is not listed on the screen in Figure F, you can browse your system for programs (Figure G). Note that it is generally not a good idea to associate a file extension with a program that is not capable of reading or otherwise acting on it.
Figure G

Browse programs
Once your file extensions are selected, you click Save and then OK to apply your changes to Windows Vista.
How do I... Change file extension associations in Windows Vista?

1. Click on Start, type control panel in the search menu.
2. Under control panel, double click on Default programs.
3. On the default programs screen you have two choices for changing file associations:

1.Set your default programs
2.Associate a file type or protocol with a program

1.Set your default programs

The first selection on the Default Programs screen is Set Your Default Programs.

This Program option on the Set Default Programs screen shows you a list of potential file extensions that can be associated with the chosen program.

From here, you can check additional file extensions you would like Windows Vista to associate with the program.

2.Associate a file type or protocol with a program

The second selection on the Default Programs screen (Figure B) is Associate A File Type Or Protocol With A Program.

On this screen you get a very long list of file extensions, including a description and the name of their associated program if it is known. To modify the program associated with a particular extension, you select the extension and click the Change Program button.

Once your file extensions are selected, you click Save and then OK to apply your changes to Windows Vista.