Windows XP Backup and Restore Failure

[GZFant]

My father runs two hard drives both with copies of XP. He wanted to format one HDD then transfer pictures, files etc. to the formatted HDD. He used the Windows XP SP3 Backup utility on the slave HDD to the master. He saw the backup file appear on his HDD, so he went ahead and formatted the drive. He told XP to restore the backup and it placed the restored folder on the newly formatted HDD, but when he went to access it, all of the files had vanished. He double-clicks on the folder and it is blank inside.

I told him to download and run Getdataback and various other HDD tools for deleted data. He says that getdataback finds all the files and of course can restore them if he buys. What he is confused about is the program will open some jpeg files but not all. He is wondering if the files that are not opening/view are gone forever? With these specific files it says, "No data to view."

He is also wondering why the backup did not work correctly.

I know there are some loaded questions, but would appreciate any help you can give.

Thanks

 

[RebateMonger]

XP's NTBackup is pretty reliable. Especially when performed locally (not across a network).

Were the files to be backed up specified manually? How big is the backup (.BKF) file compared to the total size of the files you thought you were backing up? If you open NTBackup and view the backup file, does it show the folders and files that you expected t be there?

 

[GZFant]

Thanks for the reply,

No the backup was not performed over a network. Just one hard drive to another. He did specify manually which files he wanted which was mainly C:/whatever pictures would be in. Mostly the My documents folder which consisted of 52GB of HDD space. The backup file does show all 52GB when you right-click/properties. The backup made another HDD when you go to My computer. C:/ F:/(which is the backup) and D:/(the other HDD that was formatted). Again, F: consists of 52GB of data which was the initial backup.

Forgot to mention, out of frustration he deleted the backup file after he restored it because he had no more room on the HDD. I know I know, probably not the best thing to do. So, there is no more backup file, just the F Drive which contains the files..

I was reading you could use Win 7 XP mode to restore an XP backup but alas, I am 3 states away.. Now, my brother is running Win 7 RC x64.. Could he put it in his computer and try it?

 

[RebateMonger]

Forgot to mention, out of frustration he deleted the backup file after he restored it because he had no more room on the HDD.

Ugh.

Are you sure this isn't a permissions problem on the restored folders(s)? Having 52 GB of restored data just disappear is more than a bit strange. How long did the restore take? Offhand, I'd guess it'd take an hour or two. Was this a ten-second restore, or did it take the expected hour(s)?

 

[GZFant]

Ugh.

haha, what I said to him when he told me, in other words of course.


It took approximately 2 hours to backup. What would I have him check with permissions? If the administrator is allowed as well as all users?

I honestly don't know if it is that because he can access the hard drive. The folders are empty when he goes into them, which is the mystery.

I have limited intel right now because unfortunately, I am not there. Trust me, if I was this whole debacle would not have happened in the first place

 

[MrPickins]

Maybe have him try a linux live cd to check if he can see the data that way?

 

[GZFant]

Ok, I read up on the live cd. Basically an OS on a disk. So he would burn it on a CD, then boot from it and try to access the HD that way?

 

[MrPickins]

Ok, I read up on the live cd. Basically an OS on a disk. So he would burn it on a CD, then boot from it and try to access the HD that way?

Exactly.

The OS runs from the cd, it doesn't boot from or write to the HDD.

This helps two ways:

• You can get around windows trying to hide the files for some reason (e.g. permission problems as RebateMonger suggested).
• If the files are actually deleted, you don't want to be writing any new information to the disk, as you can quite possibly be overwriting the old data. (And windows is continually writing data...)

Find a live cd with recovery tools built in give it a shot. It can't do any more harm except waste time...

Edit: Also, tell him to get an external hard drive. Try recovering the files to that, and use it as a backup in the future.

 

[GZFant]

Will do, thank you for the suggestion. Now, if he wants to spend the time doing this is another question..

I'll report back my findings and fixes.

Again, thank you.