How do I restore desktop?

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  1. Posts : 17
    windows 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #11

    On opening Computer/Hard Disk Drives(3) ********G/Users, there are 4.
    Administrator
    Bill - (c'est moi)
    David
    Public.

    On opening Bill,
    My
    Documents is OK
    Desktop is empty as is Downloads

    Administrator has 'em all. Is there a way now to restore the desktop?
      My Computer


  2. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #12

    There is nothing to restore from. I would delete the Bill account and make a new one. Then get the docs and whatever else from the VHD.

    PS: Just be aware that the VHD in Computer will disappear with the next reboot. But you can of course reattach it.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 17
    windows 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #13

    'Fraid I've got my computer in a hellluva mess and would like to delete the hard drive G - how do I do this?
      My Computer


  4. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #14

    Deleting a partition is easy. Just right click on it in Disk Management. But before you do that and maybe create more problems, tell us what is on that partition. Must be nothing really worth keeping if you want to delete it.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 17
    windows 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #15

    OK. I've done a system restore which has taken me back to just before I tried to restore through Windows Backup and Restore.
    These screenshots are what I now have
    How do I restore desktop?-capture1.png

    How do I restore desktop?-capture2.png

    How do I restore desktop?-capture3.png:

    How sould I go about trying to restore from the external hard drive. In the long run, I'm most concerned about my bookmarks in Firefox. :)
      My Computer


  6. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #16

    So I assume you have a running system now - less your files. Is that right?

    What you have on your Passport looks like it comes from a file backup with Windows. It does not look like an image and that is too bad.

    Have you tried to restore from that backup since you restored the system - because this is the only way you can do anything with those backup files. They are Windows proprietary and quasi inaccessible otherwise.

    If it were an image, that would be easy. But is isn't.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1,167
    Windows 7 Pro with SP1 32bit
       #17

    As you think that your computer is badly messed up, I think you should begin all over again. And this is what I would have done.

    You must first create two boot disks, one for partitioning and the other for imaging using good and dependent partitioning and imaging programs. Acronis provides a combined imaging and partitioning boot disk that is very reliable and there may be other developers who may be doing the same.

    Once you opt for imaging then the next thing you should do is to turn off Windows System Restore. It is a very rudimentary program that in my opinion only hogs disk space and does nothing else besides.

    After that on your 250 gig hard disk create another partition (say E) of about 10 or 15 gigs or more towards the end of the HDD and copy all the data like documents, graphics and applications etc. that you want to install later to this newly created partition.

    After that resize the C and F partitions (better to rename optical drive as F, F as D and the newly created partition as E) so that C is about 80 to 85 gigs and F becomes about 150 gigs. Then reformat them using the partitioning boot disk.

    Now install your Windows 7 on C drive that is about 80 gigs in size. After making the Internet connection and updating Windows take an image immediately and store it on a separate folder either in F or preferably on an external drive. This may be named Basic Image if you have used an OEM DVD or Factory Setup as suggested by Langa if you have used a Recovery DVD.

    Then follow the imaging procedure outlined by Langa in his letter at Langa Letter: System Setup Secrets For Windows XP - - - Informationweek for Windows XP which applies in toto to Windows 7.

    tathraman said:
    'Fraid I've got my computer in a hellluva mess and would like to delete the hard drive G - how do I do this?
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 17
    windows 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #18

    Restored


    I have done a restore from the backup and it looks like all the files are there. I thoough the dektop didplay would reflect this, but no, although everything is listed in the desktop file. Can I get the desktop display back?
      My Computer


  9. whs
    Posts : 26,210
    Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
       #19

    Have a look at this. Maybe that will do it. Favorites - Restore Default Favorite Links in Navigation Pane
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 17
    windows 7 home premium 64 bit
    Thread Starter
       #20

    Thanks -


    Thing is, I want to restore my Firefox bookmarks, not IE favourites.
    I can locate my bookmarks in Firefox profiles, but they are in .json and I can't open them. Grrr
      My Computer


 
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