Help needed reconfiguring after reinstallation of Windows

A repair shop reinstalled Windows after my PC had some hardware problems. I'm now having some software registration problems (I assume) because they changed the name of my PC (Computer name and Full computer name). I see how to change these names, but I don't know what the old names were. I have backups - both Window and Acronis - taken before the reinstallation. Is there some way I can find these names in the backups? I assume the info is in the registry but I don't know how to read it in a backup.

I suspect this is just the first of many questions like this I'm going to have to ask.

pokeefe0001 said:

A repair shop reinstalled Windows after my PC had some hardware problems. I'm now having some software registration problems (I assume) because they changed the name of my PC (Computer name and Full computer name). I see how to change these names, but I don't know what the old names were. I have backups - both Window and Acronis - taken before the reinstallation. Is there some way I can find these names in the backups? I assume the info is in the registry but I don't know how to read it in a backup.

I suspect this is just the first of many questions like this I'm going to have to ask.

If it was solely hardware and you have a complete backup why not just restore it. The names are probably included in it

This sounds bogus to me, but the people at the shop claimed that Windows had become corrupted - that restoring would restore some of the intermittent problems I was having. The problem was intermittently failing ram causing many freezes and automatic reboots. I don't see how this could corrupt anything in Windows except maybe the registry but I could certainly be wrong.

pokeefe0001 said:

This sounds bogus to me, but the people at the shop claimed that Windows had become corrupted - that restoring would restore some of the intermittent problems I was having. The problem was intermittently failing ram causing many freezes and automatic reboots. I don't see how this could corrupt anything in Windows except maybe the registry but I could certainly be wrong.

The most efficient way might be to re-install win 7 cleanly. Intermittent issues usually are pointed towards ram, but can be either the ram itself, or a driver writing bad data to it.

A re-install would not fix the ram but would the driver.

zigzag3143 said:

The most efficient way might be to re-install win 7 cleanly. Intermittent issues usually are pointed towards ram, but can be either the ram itself, or a driver writing bad data to it.

A re-install would not fix the ram but would the driver.

Well, efficient or not, that is what was done. A new set of ram fixed the ram problem. A clean reinstallation of Windows fixed the (possibly nonexistent) Windows problem. Now I'm stuck with trying to reconfigure Windows as it was before it was reinstalled.

So back to my original question: How do I retrieve things like "Computer name" from a backup - either a Windows or Acronis backup?

jeepmann4x4 said:

What all Hardware was Replaced?

12GB of OCZ ram (6 OCZ3G1333LV6GK ram modules) were replaced by 6GB of Crucial 2GB PC3-10600 ram modules. While that's half of what I had before, Windows was using only 4GB of the OCZ ram ... even though BIOS saw it all. Windows now sees and is using all 6GB of the newly installed ram.

jeepmann4x4 said:

What Software are you having issues with? The OS itself or 3rd party?

Random freezes of Windows or automatic reboots (even though I had automatic reboot supposedly disabled). Very rarely a BSOD - only 4 over the past year vs. hundreds of freezes or reboots.

jeepmann4x4 said:

In ether of your backups can you pick and choose what you reinstall instead of full restore??

I don't know squat about the Windows backups but I can access directories and files in the Acronis backups just as though they were the real live files.

jeepmann4x4 said:

EDIT: IS your other thread here about the same Issue??

Reasonable explanation for crashes?
https://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-d...ml#post1622823

Just about every question I've posted since Aug 2010 has been related to this issue. Hopefully I'll soon be able to crawl back under my rock and disappear now that the problem has (hopefully) been fixed. But first I have to recover from the recovery - get this PC configured like it was before.

Did you allow them to reinstall or did they just do it ?

I know I`d be pissed, but then again, no one touches my PCs but me.