The easy and quick way to restore file and activity History is the System Restore feature. Since much history is saved into the Windows Registry, restoring it to a previous state will restore file and program History.
Click the Start button in XP, then choose Help & Support. On the resulting blue screen find the option Undo changes to your computer with System Restore.
Choose a date you would like the computer reverted to (see warnings.)
Enjoy restored History.
But the story doesn't stop here! Perhaps System Restore was disabled by a user, or it is inappropriate to use it (see warnings). Well, let's try another tactic. There are lesser known log files that Windows keeps, which are independent of both the Registry and individual Program logs. They are called "index.dat" files. Use the Windows Search Tool to find all occurrences of "index.dat" on your C: drive.
On XP, click Start, and Search, then For Files & Folders, and All Files & Folders, now enter "index.dat" in the Filename field. Before searching:
Limit the search to C: drive using the Look In drop-down.
Check the following options using the More Advanced Options line:
Search System Files
Search Hidden Files & Folders
Search Subfolders
Click Search.
Be amazed at how many "index.dat" files there are.
Minimize the Search Results window.
You need a tool to read the index.dat files. They are NOT text files.
Super WinSpy is one such reader. Or search Google for "index.dat reader". (Right-click on the Google link and select Open in New Window).
Download the software, check it for viruses (as you do for all downloads) and install it. Start the program. You can enjoy different Histories, using the button provided.