foxycat

In a topic I raised on the Update forum, it was suggested that I always set a System Restore Point, but this would be no use to me (if I could do it even) because I cannot run System Restore on my system. The application simply doesn't launch, though something seems to be happening in the background. I cannot use Safe Mode to do it either as pressing F8 repeatedly on boot has no effect.
I have Vista Home Premium SP1.
I am the only user on this computer and use the default account (I think - I've never set up any specific accounts and only my name and Public are listed).
Can anyone advise why System Restore doesn't work? I've read that the window should open immediately.