problems recovering files from backup drive....

maya90 · 12 Apr 2018

hi,

I backed up my sister's Windows7 machine a few months ago, on a regular WD external drive... but now when I want to recover individual files (I need to recover some photos), I find that I can't browse the backup drive up files as if it were a folder (I can do this np with my mac..;~)

why is this... how can I go in and copy only certain files back to the computer, please... (I can "restore files from this backup", but I don't want to do that (it might overwrite some files on the computer..) )

thank you..

maya90 · 12 Apr 2018

I actually posted this question right here a few years ago, and someone pointed me to this tutorial:
Backup - Manually Extract Files from in Vista Windows 7 - Windows 7 Help Forums

but I don't know if my backup consists of a "system image backup" or not...

also, I don't see file structure at all, that is mentioned here,
drive letter:\computer name\Backup Set YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS

what I see at the root of the backup drive (computer\<nameOfBackuDrive>\):

a thing (file? folder? I don't know, it has an unfamiliar icon, <name>-HP\), that when I click on it it offers three options:
1) restore my files from this backup
2) restore files for all users of this computer
3) Manage space used by this backup

then a folder called "WindowsImageBackup" (oopppps...;~)

and a file (again, with a weird icon) called "MediaID.bin

ok, so it's an image backup... so I can't browse the drive and just copy some files?

oh brother.. what a lousy system.. with my mac I can go into the bakup drive and browse and copy files and folders just as if it were any other drive (or a folder on the computer..)

thank you...

maya90 · 12 Apr 2018

PS: so how do you do a backup so it's not a "system image backup", so you can afterwards recover the files manually (i.e., go in and browse the backup drive and copy files/folders)?

SIW2 · 12 Apr 2018

A system image will be a .vhd file. You can mount ( sometimes calledd "attach" ) a .vhd file in disk management and copy out any files you want.

You need file extensions showing to see the .vhd

System Image - Extract Files Using Disk Management - Windows 7 Help Forums

maya90 · 12 Apr 2018

thank you for your response.. what do you mean by "mount" or "attach" a .vhd file "in disk management" please...

I searched in the drive, I found three files with ext .vhd... but it shows they're inside

rootOfDrive\<name>-HP\

but this is not a folder... when I click on it, that window (like an alert window) pops up with three choices I mentioned previously...

thank you....