System Restore Password Problem

[benavidez]

I've got issues 

Specs: HP Pavillion, Windows XP, Media Center Edition, Version 2002, Svc Pack II, P4, 3 Ghz, 1GB Ram.

O.K. I've got some Maleware, Trojan issues at hand. I want to restore my pc to it's original settings. I'm told that my model has a "system restore" feature that acts kind of like the "fdisk" funtion.

So...I shut down pc, hit F10 key, selected the option to restore system, then was asked to enter my admin password. I don't recall setting one up. I don't know how to reset or bypass this option. I'm guessing that this password is stored in my bios settings somewhere, but again I have no idea how to deal with this situation.

Please help!!!

[SuperDave]

Click your Start button, Help and support and you'll find system restore under "Tasks". However, this may not get you back to a clean computer. You should go to this link to run an on-line scan. http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
Here is another great site to learn how you were infected and what you can do to protect your computer.
http://www.castlecops.com/postlite7736-.html

[patio]

SD if i read this correctly he's not trying to do a System Restore from Windows rather he wants to restore the machine back to Day One status...
benavidez make sure you understand this will erase all your data and any programs installed after the machine was new...
If you are sure you want to proceed and you are certain there is no Admin password set then simply hit Enter when prompted for the password and the setup should proceed provided you did not set an Admin password...

[cdo]

Similiar (?) question about system restore . I ran a registery cleaner utility & trusted IT to do know what was not needed . Now when i try & retore XP 2 will only restore to the current months dates . In short i am totaly confused about registery utilities . So many people expound them yet i find othes that denounce them ( including my friend that was an MS IT for years ) . What is a " dummy " to believe .. ? 

[patio]

CDO,
First off Welcome Aboard ! !
It's probably best to start a new Topic ...even though the problem is similar this way it will recieve the proper attention

[benavidez]

Thanks gang for your responses.

Patio, you were right. What I was looking for by definition was complete "System Recovery" vs. a "System restore". I just didn't know what exactly to call it at the time.

A built in program called HP System Recovery helped me fix things. I guess if I learned to do just a little exploring before running to the forum I could have easily figured things out. Here's where I found the program.
 
Start, Programs, PC Help & Tools, HP System Recovery. I was then given a couple of options on how I wanted to recover my pc. I was given 2 choices of how I wanted to recover my system.

The "destructive recovery" option removes everything on your system & restores it to it's original state. You know like the day you purchased it. All of your personally added software, files, address's etc.. are removed.

The other option is a regular "system recovery", where which tries to leave all of your files and programs in tact. This is the option I chose. I left most everything in tact. You're going to want to back up your stuff anyway. I lost address books in outlook & messages. I also lost my internet security program PC-Cillin. I'll have to reload that later. For now I have the originally installed Norton which was actively working upon recover.

Thanks again gang!!!

[patio]

Glad to hear you are fixed up and running again...

Now is a good time to seriously start considering a solid backup strategy.
I highly recommend Acronis True Image.

Stop by anytime !