Computer Crash

I have a Compaq Presario 5827 running Windows 98SE. It has a feature
called Quick Restore on a CD-Rom disk which formats, partitions and
installs Windows to the hard drive. Included in the installation is a feature
called System Save and System Restore. The System Save makes an image
or backup of the whole hard drive and places it on a partition named system_
save D. The system Restore feature will restore the computer to the exact state
it was when the system save was performed.
A couple of days ago I had a bad Windows crash that I could not recover
from. I had to use the Quick Restore disk to format the hard drive and
do a clean install of Windows. This brought it to the state that it was when I bought
it. It works good now but I lost all my programs and data that I had installed
myself. About a month prior to the crash I performed system save to the D drive partition
on the computer and also as an added precaution put a copy of the system save D: on CD-RW disks. I had to use 5 disks to copy all the folders and files.
At that time my computer was working perfectly. Is there a way that I can use the CD’s
To restore my system to the way it was before the crash with all my programs intact
and if yes how would I go about doing it without disrupting the new Windows installation. Can I just copy all the files from the CD’s to the system save D: and then run the Restore feature or is there some other way? I would sure like to restore the programs and data that I lost. Apparently, this system save and restore feature comes only with Compaq computers and the local computer stores do not know how it works. Is there anyone there that owns a Compaq and has used the restore feature using a backup on CD disks?

 

Format the System_ directory so its clean then Copy the data on the CDRWs to the System_ and then use the Restore CD to access it. It's worth a try. How else did you think the CDRW data would help you in this kind if event?

In the future make reliable backups:

Backup all your sensitive data (Internet Explorer Favorites, Netscape Bookmarks and Address Book, Outlook Express Address Books and Folders, letters, pictures, databases, spreadsheets, music, etc.) to removable media for restoring later.

This would be especially easy with a CD Burner, I wish I had one, using the Sharable option like some burners have. Some burners will just create a Sharable CD without giving you options to share with other computers and not just the one you're using.

 

You can download a free copy of Power Desk 4 and this will convert your files to a zip. Then you can used your CD copy.

Then its a matter of copying the file to the directory of your choice. Power Desk 4 converts it to a self extracting file.

I'm puzzled why your "scanreg / restore" function didn't work, if you had your registry backed up. In the futre, you can reinstall Windows over the existing copy by placing it in a diferent directory during installation. Windows ask you this when you installing the program.
In this way, you won't loose all of your programs if the original (.exe or zip file) are stored in the default C:\Windows\download directory. Go Here: Three choices for Power Desk 4

http://www.completelyfreesoftware.com/desktop_utilities2_w95.html
http://ontrack.com/
http://www.mywebattack.com/enter.php?ref=lgnome

Been there Done That! and can feel your pain!