Restore from Back-Up discs

Hey guys...I need ur help...I recently had to do a complete system restore from Vista to Win7 and HP prompted me to create back-up discs of my photos, docs, etc...I did this, but when I put the discs in to restore the data; a folder was created on my desktop with the data, but was in an unrecognizable format...I went to HP and they gave me a link to Microsofts restore and this is the one I used, but still no data recognized...Is there a program or process where I can open or convert these discs to a recognized format and put them back to their default location? If not: I would be willing to just open them myself and manually put them back where they belong...Any help would be greatly appreciated.....Thanks in advance...LeRoy

What was the application that HP said to use to restore the files? Windows Easy Transfer?

Why were you restoring your computer from Win7 to Vista? Do you mean an Upgrade, using a clean install instead of in-place upgrade which keeps your files and settings in place? Was this an HP Upgrade - what does the DVD say on it?

If so, do you have a windows.old folder in C?

I was using the Windows back-up and restore wizard...This is the link provided by HP...It was a clean install...C drive formatted...I had to install Vista from the original DVD's then use the Win7 Home premium upgrade DVD...As to the windows.old folder; I'm not sure...Please continue to follow-up...You're help is appreciated...Thanks

I do not use Easy Transfer as it has problems as you see and it is easier for me to just drag and drop the files to external, then drag and drop them back into fresh install.

Look in the C: drive root to see if windows.old is there as your files will be in there.

You do not need to install Vista first to use Win7 Upgrade version: Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version