[Netskimmer]

Greetings,

I have an HP G60 Notebook PC running Windows Vista (first mistake) 32-bit w/sp 1.

I recently had to restore the PC to factory defaults but made a backup to a usb ext HDD when I was prompted to by the program, this took several hours. After completing the backup and restoring the PC I wanted to use the backup to restore all my programs, setting, updates ect. When I clicked on the backup file it opened a wizard and copied all the files back but it just stuck them in a sub-folder labeled 'C' it did not reinstate the programs or settings. I tried using the total PC recovery tool but it said it could not find any backups to restore. Is there a way to use this backup to revert my computer back to it's previous state?

[fairnooks]

Is this just using Vista's built in backup tools? If so that doesn't have the ability to reinstate programs and settings. All of your data should be in the backup though along with various and assorted other files that may or may not be important.

Either that or if you did make an image you wouldn't be able to reinstate the programs and settings to the factory default anyway without bringing back everything else--you didn't specify why you had to recover...

When you get the system all just as you like it, then make an image of the drive with Acronis and save that on the ext HDD and if there's ever a problem again, use the image in lieu of the factory defaults and you get all the programs and settings back from the time of image creation.

[Netskimmer]

This was just using Vista/HP Utilities so I guess I'll just have to reinstall all the programs. Is it possible to reinstall the windows updates that where backed-up so I don't have to spend the next two weeks re-downloading them with my dial-up?

As for why I did the restore, I not sure to tell you the truth and it is a pretty long story. My PC was fine one day and the next it was taking 10 minutes to boot. I tried HHD diagnoatics and several people suggested that it might have bee a windows update gone wrong or some other software problem so I worked from that angle for a while, tried a few restore points but none of that worked so I just decided to flush all of it and start from scratch.

Unfortunately that didn't work either so I focused on hardware. As I said earlier the HDD diagnostic showed no problems and I seemed to have full and ready access to it once the PC booted it was just the initial boot that was problematic so I focused on my RAM.I tried re-seating the modules and then ran Memtest86+ v4 and got through 1 pass without any troubles so I exited that and the PC booted just fine, took just under a minute to get me to the desktop and I haven't had any trouble since.

I don't like not knowing what the problem was but since it is no longer occurring it would be difficult to find out. I thought if I could restore my PC to the way it was when I was having the problem and it came back it would at least know it was a software problem at least in part anyway. If it didn't come back I could just continue on and if it did ever return I could continue to work the problem.

[Noyb]

After you get your computer freshly restored, updated, programs loaded and configured the way you like it ..
You need to look into Imaging software to go with your external HDD.
This will backup the entire Operating System to a Data file that you can store in your external.

Here's some recommended FreeWare ... But I use Acronis

[Netskimmer]

Thanks, I'll definitely get a hold of one. What makes Acronis better than the freeware progs?

[Noyb]

I has a few more features ... That you have to pay extra for in the freebies.
The end result is that the price is about the same.

The down side is .. It's a little more complicated as indicated by its huge users manual
and I think it's getting a little too much .... Here's a Better Price

One of these extra features .. Is the ability to Image a System that is not functional.
Then the Image can be mounted as a Virtual Hard Drive in a good computer ...
and the data it contains can be read and copied.

The free Macrium is highly recommend here at TSG .. so I've read.

[Netskimmer]

There seem to be several versions on newegg (Amaray case, Large Box, and Mini Box) but neither they nor the acronis site seem to show what the difference is.

Wow, how can it image a system that isn't functional? Connect the HDD to another PC or something?

On that note, could it remove data from a non-functional system? My girl made me a vid that hadn't made it's way from my internal HDD to the external one when this all started and if I had needed to send the thing back to HP, well I would hate see her on YouTube hehe.

[fairnooks]

Wow, how can it image a system that isn't functional? Connect the HDD to another PC or something?

Exactly, though it can't be the HDD that is the non-functional component of course...but even then, if there is some function (enough to read some data off), some versions will do a sector by sector copy, ignoring bad sectors, which can recover virtually all the data since the bad sector(s) is probably not in a data area. Also, besides the virtual drive mountability from a backup image file, VMware Player can take it one step further, turning a system partition image into a functioning virtual OS.

[Noyb]

Originally Posted by Netskimmer

Wow, how can it image a system that isn't functional? Connect the HDD to another PC or something?

When you install Acronis .. the first thing you should do ... is have it make a Boot CD.

Then you can run from the boot CD even if the computer will not boot .. for example ..
1) You've installed a new Hard Drive.
2) Your computer will not boot for any other reason.

Just put in the Acronis Boot CD .. And turn the computer on ...
It will load Acronis into RAM and run it from there.

Then you can image the system in the Hard Drive .. or Recover the Hard Drive ..
Some features of Acronis require a functional system .. such as mounting an image as a virtual HD...
(and a new Feature) ... it will even boot from a backup Image in an external HDD

I think all the different Newegg versions are just the box it comes in.
You can download the free trial from Acronis and it's fully functional for 15days.
Then all you have to do is give it a purchased serial number and its good forever.

[Netskimmer]

Cool, I'll probably just buy it outright because I have dial-up and it would probably take a very long time to download it. Would this program allow me to access and destroy data on a HDD if the computer became non-functional, Assuming the HDD isn't the actual problem?

[Noyb]

Depends on how deeply you want to destroy the image.
I'd just delete it ... Anyone finding it probably wouldn't know what was in it.
Change the tib extension before you delete it .. And that would really confuse the issue

[Netskimmer]

I don't mean the backup image, I mean files or data on the HDD at the time it becomes a paperweight. If the problem I had that started all this had been something I couldn't resolve and I had to send the PC to HP to be fixed. Assuming the HDD itself was intact could I access and destroy the data? I assume if any of the other critical hardware was damaged (CPU, PSU, RAM, ect) it wouldn't be possible unless I could yank the drive and plug it into my tower PC and then use the program to access it, then put the drive back in to ship it to HP. Would something like that be possible with this software or would I need another program for that. I suppose if it was that important whatever data not be recovered I could find someplace that degausses drives and ship it to them but it would be nice to have a cheaper, more convenient method of accessing/destroying the data.

[Noyb]

I mean files or data on the HDD at the time it becomes a paperweight.

I hear a Really Big hammer works wonders
Otherwise .. Maybe an Eraser

[Netskimmer]

I don't think HP would be to happy with me if I sent the PC to them after taking a hemmer to their HDD. As far as erasers go, with the exception of DBAN most look like you would need a functioning system to use them. Could I plug my notebook HDD into my tower and gain enough access to wipe the data?

[Noyb]

Maybe Not .. It might not plug in ???
I have one of These for those special needs.