What 1101doc has learned about XP the hard way

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I recieved my computer (Dell Latitude C600 laptop) in Feb. of 2006 as a gift. It is my first computer. I had never really done anything with computers before - didn't even know about the difference between left and right click. It was several weeks before I got "online", and so had time to explore my system, and get myself in and out of trouble. I wish that I had had reference to:

http://www.informit.com/library/library.aspx?b=STY_Windows_XP_24hours 

I'm sure I could have saved a lot of time and bother. It still makes good reading !

The first thing I think every XP user should know is called "Last known good configuration." This is a "snapshot" of the system as it is working properly. If at anytime you have a goofy situation occur for any reason, and especially if the only way out is to shut down your machine, use "Last known good.." for the very next boot! Do not just start up normally and pray - God may be busy. Right after pushing the button to start your machine, start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard over and over and don't stop until a black screen with white printing appears. When it does, use the arrow keys to navigate to "Last known good configuration." Press the "Enter" key. A trouble-free start is (almost always) guaranteed. (Also available on this screen is "Safe Mode")
For more information on this see Microsoft:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307852/en-us

"Last known good..." is dynamic (changes) and rebooting into a goofy configuration may lose it. Don't risk it! Just make it standard practice to use "Last known good.." anytime a restart is required after goofyness.

Next, you should know that "System Restore" often doesn't. Yes, some users have always relied on it and it works fine for them every time. Many others have tons of problems.
For a sampling browse the System Restore Forum:
http://aumha.net/viewforum.php?f=54&sid=1d229eff37ea626596fb99247ad2a9ef

My investigations reveal that System Restore is not a complete restoration anyway. Only selected portions of the Registry are recreated. Here is a link to search results for System Restore in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

http://support.microsoft.com/search/default.aspx?catalog=LCID%3D1033&spid=1173&query=System+Restore&adv=&mode=s&cat=False

Fortunately, there is a free solution - ERUNT:

http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

ERUNT backs up the entire Registry, and the backup file contains an executable that will restore the Registry without reference to the original program. Make an ERUNT backup of your system when everything is working well, and using that backup will "restore" your system to the condition (and configuration) that it had when you made the backup. True "System Restore!"  The best plan is to allow ERUNT to make an 'autobackup' at firtst boot each day.  
It saves only the last 30.

Here is a link to an ERUNT tutorial:
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt

Get ERUNT now! Install it and make a backup! By default ERUNT places the auto backup in the "Windows" directory.  When making a manual backup,  I suggest placing it directly on C:\ That way if you need to get at the file from a bootable disc or the recovery console it's in plain view on C:\ Usually the trouble is not that bad, but it's nice to know that Windows restoration is directly available if you can at least access the hard drive.