My C drive has a total of 11 GB with 51 used.
Thanks for the suggestion.

I have received one good tip to fix it but it involves
deleting a key in the registry. I am a bit nervous
about changing the registry because if I screw it up I may not be able to restart the system.

which key is it

Just as well i didn't put money on it.. . This the key?:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
"DisableSR" = 0
That one? You could check if it is set to zero as I have shown - if is one then set it back to zero [default].

what is its current value, is it zero?

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I believe some hacker or virus got into my computer and screwed up a number of things including disabling
System Restore.

I am using MS XP professional.

I FINALLY was able to fix the problem.

I will go through a number of suggestions and the results.

********************************
SUGGESTION 1

Start>Run>regedit>OK

Now navigate to the following location:-

HKLM\Software\Policies\Microso­ft\Windows NT\SystemRestore

Click on 'SystemRestore' and in the right pane find entry "DisableSR", right click on it and delete it.

Close the registry editor and restart the system.

RESULT: IT DIDN'T BRING BACK SYSTEM RESTORE.

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***************************************************
SUGGESTION 2

To enable or disable System Restore, perform the following steps:

1. Start the System Control Panel applet (go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, System).
2. Select the System Restore tab.
THERE IS NO SYSTEM RESTORE TAB UNDER SERVICE

******************************************************************
SUGGESTION 3

I went to a command prompt under safe mode and
I was still rejected with the message:
"System Restore turned off by Group policy."




*****************************************************************
SUGGESTION 4

An alternative to the usual method of enabling and disabling Windows XP's System Restore feature is to use the registry. To use this alternative, perform the following steps:

1. Start the registry editor (regedit.exe).
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore.
3. If a DisableSR value doesn't exist, go to the Edit menu, select New, DWORD value, and create the value.
4. Set the value to 1 to disable System Restore or 0 to enable System Restore.
5. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sr to prevent the System Restore service from starting.
6. Double-click Start, and set the value to 4 to stop the service from starting or to 0 for normal startup.
( I set it to 0 for normal start)
7. Close the registry editor.

RESULT:

THIS WAS NEEDED BUT DIDN'T ENABLE SYSTEM RESTORE
*********************************************

SUGGESTION 5

Start the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)


Navigate to Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/System Restore
Set Turn off System Restore and Turn off Configuration to Disable
Right click on My Computer and Select Manage
Navigate to Services and Applications/Services
Navigate to System Restore Service and double click
(finally, System Restore Service appears under Services)
On the General tab set [Startup Type] to Automatic using the drop down list
Click the Start button to start the service
Close the Computer Management console
Return to System Restore in Group Policy Editor and configure both to Not Configured
Close Group Policy Editor and reboot the system.

After the reboot is complete, right click My Computer, select Properties and the tab for System Restore will have been restored. Configure it to your individual needs and satisfaction.

RESULT:

SYSTEM RESTORE IS ENABLED AGAIN
*******************************************************

Thanks for all your suggestions.

John

Nice of you to come back with that, John. thanks.