How to Start the System Restore Tool From a Command Prompt
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition

Summary
Windows Millennium Edition (Me) includes the System Restore tool, however, you cannot start the System Restore tool from a command prompt. Because of this, it may be useful to start the System Restore tool when you are unable to start your Windows Me-based computer normally or in Safe mode. This article describes how to start the System Restore tool when you are unable to start your Windows Me-based computer normally or in Safe mode.
More Information
To start the System Restore tool when you are unable to start your Windows Me-based computer normally or in Safe mode, you can temporarily change the Windows shell from Explorer.exe to Progman.exe:
Start your computer by using the Windows Me Startup disk.
At the Startup menu, choose Minimum Boot.
At the command prompt, type edit c:\windows\system.ini, and then press ENTER.
Edit the shell= line so that it looks like this:
shell=progman.exe
Press ALT+F, and then press S to save the changes to the System.ini file.
Press ALT+F, and then press X.
Remove your Windows Me Startup disk, and then restart your computer. When your computer restarts, Program Manager should start. If Program Manager does not start, repeat steps 1-7, being careful to follow these steps exactly, and then continue to the next step.
On the File menu, click Run, type msconfig in the Command Line box, and then press ENTER.
Click Launch System Restore to begin restoring your computer to a previous, functional state.
NOTE: After you configure your computer to start Program Manager, you can start the System Restore tool by typing c:\windows\system\restore\rstrui.exe at a command prompt, and then pressing ENTER.

For additional information about the System Restore tool, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q267951 Description of the System Restore Utility in Windows Me