How to Restore your Windows.old Folder into a New Installation
Information
This will restore the files and folders from the windows.old folder.
This means that any documents, settings, and programs will be restored to their previous positions and settings.
It will look similar to your previous installation, but not exactly the same! There will be some differences!
YES, this works in Vista, as well as Windows Seven. The instructions are EXACTLY the same!
Know how to install Windows from a DVD, over an existing installation.
Make sure that the free space on the drive you are restoring to has enough free space for the windows.old folder.
This does NOT work perfectly!!!
When I used this, I still encountered some errors, such as TWO Program Files folders, and missing icon pictures.
This is NOT a recommended way to do a restore! It will work, but you should back up your data and take the time to either create a restore image, or reinstall your files.
It WILL work just fine for files such as those in your Documents folder.
Setup:
1) Make sure that you want to do a new installation. If you are, then boot into the Install Disk and complete the installation.
2) Now you want to restore some of your old files? OK, read on!
Let's begin:
1) Insert your Installation disk into your DVD drive, and reboot. Make sure you can boot from the DVD.
2) Press any key to boot from CD when the option appears.
3) At this point, you have already done a clean install over your existing installation.
4) Select "Repair Your Computer" from the installation menu (see screen shot below).
5) Select your Windows installation you want to restore to.
6) Select Command Prompt. This will bring up the command prompt window.
Warning
This starts getting complicated, and if you do something incorrectly, it could cause problems. Make sure you have your windows.old folder backed up, as well as your current installation (if needed).
Type each command EXACTLY as it is written! If you misspell what is in the code box, you will misspell the folder, possibly causing problems or errors!
Note
When you type one or more of the commands at the command prompt in the following steps in this section, and you then press ENTER, you may receive the following message: The system cannot find the file specified.
If you receive this message, go to the next step in this section, and then type the command in that next step.
7) Type the following commands in, one at a time. Press ENTER at the end of each line. This will rename the windows.old folders, in preparation of being moved.
Code:
c:
Code:
ren Windows Windows.backup
Code:
ren "Program Files" "Program Files.old"
Code:
ren "Users" "Users.old"
Code:
rmdir "C:\Documents and Settings"
8) Now we will move the folders over the new ones, restoring your old settings and files. Again, type the commands in one at a time, pressing ENTER at the end of each. If you are using a drive other than c: for your windows installation, replace c: with that drive letter!
Code:
move /y c:\windows.old\windows c:\
Code:
move /y "c:\windows.old\program files" c:\
8a) When the previous Windows installation was Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows 2000:
Code:
move /y "c:\windows.old\documents and settings" c:\
8b) When the previous Windows installation was a different version of Windows Vista or Windows Seven:
Code:
move /y c:\windows.old\users c:\
9) Now we need to restore the boot sector of the previous installation.NOTE: D: represents the DVD drive in the following commands. If the DVD drive on the computer is represented by a different letter, such as E:, use that letter in the command. When the previous Windows installation was Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows 2000
Code:
D:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:
When the previous Windows installation was a different version of Windows Vista
Code:
D:\boot\bootsect /nt60 c:
10) Restore the Boot.ini file for the previous Windows Installation of Windows XP or Windows 2000 Note: Only follow these steps when the previous installation is Windows XP or Windows 2000.
Code:
c:
Code:
attrib boot.ini.saved -s -h -r
Code:
ren"boot.ini.saved""boot.ini"
Code:
attrib boot.ini +s +h +r
11) Exit Command Prompt by typing:
Code:
exit
Then restart your computer.
Your Windows installation will start as normal, with the newly restored files and settings.
Warning
This does NOT work perfectly!!!
When I used this, I still encountered some errors, such as TWO Program Files folders, and missing icon pictures.
This is NOT a recommended way to do a restore! It will work, but you should back up your data and take the time to either create a restore image, or reinstall your files.
It WILL work just fine for files such as those in your Documents folder.
For anyone that wishes to use it, I hope it works for you.
I hope this tutorial will help many a person, and provide a solution.
System Manufacturer/Model Number Hera OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Mint 9 CPU Intel i5-2500k Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro Memory 2x 4Gb Corsair VENGEANCE DDR3-1600 Graphics Card NVidia GeForce N260GTX Twin Frozr Sound Card Realtek HD OnBoard Audio Monitor(s) Displays ASUS 24" Monitor Screen Resolution 1920x1080
Keyboard Razer Tarantula Mouse Razer Lachesis PSU Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W Case Cooler Master Haf 932 Cooling Fans Hard Drives G.SKILL Phoenix Series 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3R 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA II Internet Speed not fast enough
System Manufacturer/Model Number Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN OS Windows® 8 Pro (64-bit) CPU Intel® Core™ i5 Processor 2467M (1.60GHz, 3MB L3 Cache) Motherboard Samsung Electronics Memory 6GB DDR3 System Memory at 1,333MHz (on BD 4GB + 2GB x 1) Graphics Card AMD Radeon™ HD7550M 1GB DDR3 (Ext. Graphic) Sound Card Realtek High Definition Audio Monitor(s) Displays 35.56cm (14.0) SuperBright 300nit HD LED Display Screen Resolution 1366x768
Hard Drives 1TB S-ATA II Hard Drive (5400RPM) with ExpressCache 16GB SSD Internet Speed sucks Antivirus Microsoft Security Essentials Browser Google Chrome (Sync enabled)
Glad you all like it! This is only my third tutorial. Seems to have the best response too. Seems no one cares about having shortcuts on your desktop for all our removable media (I find it indespensible!)
....
That might be because I never posted it here......
Well, here is the VF link. Removable Media Shortcuts - Place On Desktop - Vista Forums
I will be adding that to these forums shortly.
System Manufacturer/Model Number Hera OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Mint 9 CPU Intel i5-2500k Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro Memory 2x 4Gb Corsair VENGEANCE DDR3-1600 Graphics Card NVidia GeForce N260GTX Twin Frozr Sound Card Realtek HD OnBoard Audio Monitor(s) Displays ASUS 24" Monitor Screen Resolution 1920x1080
Keyboard Razer Tarantula Mouse Razer Lachesis PSU Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W Case Cooler Master Haf 932 Cooling Fans Hard Drives G.SKILL Phoenix Series 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3R 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA II Internet Speed not fast enough
System Manufacturer/Model Number The Monolith. 3.1 OS Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit CPU i7 2700K@4.5GHz Motherboard Gigabyte Z77-D3H Memory 2x4GB Corsair Vegeance DDR3 Graphics Card XFX GTX 260 Black Edition Sound Card none-through large stereo hi fi Monitor(s) Displays Croosover 27MDP LED IPS Dell 2408 WFP Screen Resolution 2560x1440 1920x1200
Keyboard Enermax Aurora Mouse Logitech Ballmouse PSU Corsair AX 850 Watt Case Cooler Master ACTS 840 Cooling Be Quiet! Dark Rock Pro Hard Drives 1x Samsung 840Pro 128GB SSD
1x Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB Internet Speed 20MBPS
wow this is pretty cool! i am bookmarking this! also, can you just reinstall all the programs from opening the folder and placing them where they need to be?
System Manufacturer/Model Number Compaq Presario CQ60-215DX OS Windows 7 Home Premium CPU 2 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 8200M G graphics
wow this is pretty cool! i am bookmarking this! also, can you just reinstall all the programs from opening the folder and placing them where they need to be?
Unfortunately, no. You can copy things over and it MIGHT work, depending on the program.
But you need to reinstall them to set the registry back up to what it should be, etc.
System Manufacturer/Model Number Hera OS Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Mint 9 CPU Intel i5-2500k Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro Memory 2x 4Gb Corsair VENGEANCE DDR3-1600 Graphics Card NVidia GeForce N260GTX Twin Frozr Sound Card Realtek HD OnBoard Audio Monitor(s) Displays ASUS 24" Monitor Screen Resolution 1920x1080
Keyboard Razer Tarantula Mouse Razer Lachesis PSU Cooler Master Real Power Pro 750W Case Cooler Master Haf 932 Cooling Fans Hard Drives G.SKILL Phoenix Series 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3R 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA II Internet Speed not fast enough
basically, i just want to put my current firefox configuration into windows 7 so i won't have to figure out how i put all these add-ons in to work. and a few other things... most of my apps should work though, simply because they're very common and not very out of the ordinary.
System Manufacturer/Model Number Compaq Presario CQ60-215DX OS Windows 7 Home Premium CPU 2 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce 8200M G graphics
Information
Warning
Note
Quote: Originally Posted by matt0978 
