system restore does not function

This is related to my previous post. IE7 is exhibiting strange behavior. Please see my previous post under the WINDOWS GENERAL DISCUSSION thead. User is RTRG. I managed to remove IE7 and the system reverted back to IE6. The strange behavior persists. I though the issue was limited to 7, apparently not. My other 2 browsers are unaffected. On startup there are 3 dll files that are "NOT FOUND". As for RESTORE, it does NOT appear on the all programs list under ACCESORIES/SYSTEM TOOLS. I can type in a command in the RUN box which brings it up. The process is the same as usual. At the end, "RESTORE INCOMPLETE". Is there any way I can get it to work short of reinstalling the OS? $s I cannot afford. This is not a critical issue. The other 2 browsers function perfectly. Would removing 6/sp2 and replceing it with 6/sp1 from MS help? If I have to I will live with this. Any solutions will be welcome. XP PRO OS.