i really do not understand why i can't just system restore, i have done so in the past...
System Restore is far from infallible, I don't use it because it might not work as you hope it would when you come to 'need' it. You do however, need to have something to replace it before you consider disabling it and there is software that does that like GoBack.
I use Disk Imaging software that take an exact image of your partition of hard disk and that can restore your partition/s to what they were at the point in time when the image was taken. I do a regular weekly image of my partitions as a part of my system maintenance and if I experience a problem I restore the last back-up image and I'm up and running in about 20 minutes.
System Restore - Info - Troubleshooting
System Restore MVP site -
http://bertk.mvps.org/There are many, many reasons why a System Restore may fail. For example, see "Why are previous restore points not working?" in the "Troubleshooting" section of this official Microsoft page:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/plan/faqsrwxp.mspxThere's lots more on that page that's worth reading too. Note especially the sections on "Does System Restore protect personal data files?" (the short answer: no); "What should I do if System Restore does not work?"; "Why are my restore points missing or deleted?"; "Why does the System Restore Wizard lockup?"; and so on. Just a few minutes on that page ought to convince just about anyone that System Restore is not intended for heavy-duty system protection!