Attached VHD shows no files

plove011 · 03 Jan 2014

My HD crashed on my laptop. I have a windowsimagebackup saved on my desktop. My Laptop is Windows 7 32 bit and desktop is Windows 7 64 bit. I installed new HD and loaded windows 7 32 bit back to laptop. I can't get the windowsimagebackup to take when going to disk management and attaching VHD. The virtual drive gets nothing saved to it. It creates the virtual HD but the drive is still 100% available. I have tried moving the ImageBackup to laptop HD and attaching from there as well as from an external and also through the network from the desktop where it was saved. It's about 180 GB.

I have also tried going through system recovery and locating it through there to restore the system image but it never is able to locate through any of the options even when doing advanced and typing in the network location. It keeps telling me network path not available or something like that even though it is correct.

Can someone please help. This is very frustrating. I have read I don't know how many blogs about VHD issues and nothing has solved my problem.

Kari · 04 Jan 2014

Hi Plove, welcome to the Seven forums.

To restore a system image, you do not attach it as a virtual HD. Please see this tutorial for instructions on how to recover your computer using a system image created with Windows Backup: System Image Recovery

Kari

whs · 04 Jan 2014

It is unbelievable what MS expects you to do for a simple recovery. In case you are not successful with the screwed up Windows way, use this approach:

System Image - Recover a Broken Windows 7 System Image

plove011 · 04 Jan 2014

Ok. Thank you for the responses. Hopefully it will work. I will update after trying.

plove011 · 04 Jan 2014

So I have the VHD on my external HDD, copied over from the desktop where it was created for the laptop. When I attach the VHD from the external it creates a drive F which ends up with nothing on it. The VHD folder on the external is 180 GB or so but it doesn't show up on the new laptop drive F at all. It just creates an empty folder. Anyone know why this is happening?

whs · 04 Jan 2014

Can you post a picture of disk management with the F drive attached.

Kari · 04 Jan 2014

It shouldn't be so difficult to follow written instructions!

I repeat what I said in my previous post: YOU DO NOT RESTORE A SYSTEM IMAGE BY ATTACHING THE VHD TO YOUR SYSTEM!!!

Please read the tutorial once again and follow it to the letter: System Image Recovery

Kari

plove011 · 04 Jan 2014

I am copying over the image form desktop to External again to make a fresh copy directly from the original folder on the desktop HDD. Almost done. Once I have a pic of disk management with F drive I will post it.

plove011 · 04 Jan 2014

Kari, I have tried that method countless times and NOT ONCE has the image been found so it is a waste of time! I can follow instructions BTW.

Kari · 04 Jan 2014

So you have followed the instructions to the letter as told in the tutorial I mentioned in post #2? Starting with renaming your system image file if needed as told in Step One of that tutorial?

If you did the above and it did not work, you have tried to repair the system image file as told in the tutorial Wolfgang mentioned in post #3, thereafter trying the above again?

Anyway, I say it now third time: you cannot recover a system image by attaching it as a vhd and copying files. That only allows you to get your personal documents from the backup, nothing else.