backup and restore problems

[terz]

Hi,
This is my first post, so be gentle with me. My operating system is windows 7 64bit. My problem is that the "Backup and restore" button in the control panel does not work. When I click on it in order to create a backup or to restore...... nothing !!
Can anyone help ??

Terz

 

[richnrockville]

Terz, welcome to the windows 7 forums

What device are you trying to backup to?

Backup needs a device to place the backup on. Like an external usb hard disk or a second hard disk in your computer.

Rich

 

[whs]

If you want my advice, do not use the Windows7 Backup/Restore. It always plays an act on you and is highly unreliable. I suggest you use free Macrium. Here is how: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

 

[terz]

backup and restore

Hi Rich,

I have 2 hard drives internal in my machine. Both 1000Gb
The second "D" is used only for backups

terz

 

[richc46]

Welcome
I agree 100% with WHS. Due to MS updates, I lost everything. I was forced to use Macrium. It was simple and got me up in running in about 15 minutes. One caveat, be sure to keep the Macrium images current.

 

[terz]

backup problems

Hi Everyone,

many thanks for your help. I have downloaded macrium. made a backup and all is well.
many thaanks once again.
I'm sure I;ll be back with other problems in due course.

terz

 

[whs]

Make sure you burn the WinPE recovery disc. Use the .iso I have uploaded - at saves you 2 hours of WAIK download. Download from here: http://www.fileswap.com/dl/4sZiQJtJmx/Macrium_5.0_WinPE.zip.html

 

[terz]

what is the iso for ??

 

[Jan1]

hi guys i'm also new member looking around and saw this post. I totally agree with richnrockville.
My WD7 also crashed last week and although i have been doing backups everyday, with systemimages from WD, i could not restore anything. After it told me everything was done successfully, i only saw a black screen. I have decided to do a fresh reinstall on ssd, with 2 internal 1000gb hdd to keep all my data separate from the os.

Now i also do not trust WD 7 backup and restore anymore. Should i go with your advise richnrockville or try any other programs?

 

[whs]

what is the iso for ??

You have to burn the .iso to CD. You will need that if you ever want to recover from a Macrium image. Without it, your images are useless.

Btw: With tha WinPE CD, you can also make images - e.g. on systems where you do not want to install Macrium (for whatever reason).

 

[ignatzatsonic]

.Should i go with your advise richnrockville or try any other programs?

I'd use Macrium to back up the C partition (Windows) and a "file by file" backup program to separately backup my data, regardless of whether that data is on C or some other partition.

Macrium works quite well, but you should still have a plan B and know exactly what you will do if it fails.

There are several file by file backup programs available at no charge. Synctoy and Karen's replicator are among the most common recommendations.

 

[terz]

Sorry if I appear to be stupid, am not sure what I am doing, still don't understand.
Do I just burn the contents of the zip Win PE to a CD, and why ??

Terz

 

[whs]

Sorry if I appear to be stupid, am not sure what I am doing, still don't understand.
Do I just burn the contents of the zip Win PE to a CD, and why ??

Terz

You burn the .iso to CD (after unzipping it). Where you need the CD is for the recovery. Here is a little tutorial by Keith (Kado) that explains the recovery steps: Macrium Reflect - Restore With WinRE - YouTube

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Terz:

In order to restore your Macrium image, you need to be able to boot your PC from a "recovery" disc of some type--otherwise the Macrium image file is useless.

That recovery disk can be either a Linux-based disc made within Macrium, or a WinPE disc.

The WinPE disc is a bit more flexible and less likely to be unbootable, so many people prefer it.

Regardless of which method you use, you need to CONFIRM that the recovery disk actually will boot your PC and that you can locate your image file and all partitions from within that environment. If you cannot, you cannot restore your previously saved image file.

The WinPE method normally requires you to download a large file from Microsoft. WHS's download apparently allows you to avoid that.

 

[terz]

Hi, Well I've built a recovery disc and tested that my machine will boot up with it. And completed a (image) copy of the "C" drive onto the "D" drive and all worked fine. I did not compress as there is plenty of space.
Thank you all for your help.
Theer is one other item.... on my "C" drive there are about 60 files that I can only open in notepad, this is a sample..... the file is named 0A2AD89-72C6-436F-AE4A-9351B03C.
What are they and can I delete thiem?? They have of course been copied the the "D" drive.

Terz

 

[whs]

Generally, if you don't know what the files are, you should leave them alone. But you could make a test.

Make an image of the current system with the files. Then delete the files and see whether there is any negative effect. If yes, pull the image back in.

Just be aware that the negative effects (if any) may not manifest themselves immediately. So you have to observe it for a while.

Those files could be installation files, they could be log files or who knows. They could be benign or they could be vital. It may help use decypher the mystery if you tell us under which folder they are installed.

 

[terz]

Backup and restore problems

The files aren't in a folder or program. In the "C" drive the are folders.... book, intel, program files, windows, xampp ...etc etc then at the bootom of the list these 60 files. I have carried out an image backup. So will have to consider deleling and see's what happens. but it would be good to know what they are.