Solved Image Restore

[Alnitak]

Hello!
First Day on this Forum.
First of all, I want to be clear that i have no technical language or knowledge. I use programs from Microsoft Office to Adobe Acrobat etc. I do not know what BSOD stands for. What does BSOD mean?

When you perform a recovery from an ‘Image Restore’, Do you loose files (Word, Excel etc) saved to your C Drive?
Thank You for your answer.

 

[Chuck38]

Hi Alnitak and welcome to Seven Forums!

BSOD stands for Blue Screen of Death or Doom. Blue Screen of Death - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yes, you may loose those files. It's best to backup files which may be important to you before using an Image Restore.

-Chuck

 

[richc46]

A BSOD is a Blue Screen of Death. When you are on your computer, the Screen will turn blue.
An image restore will bring everything back to a certain point in time. Everything will be the way it was done.
If you mean a system restore, everything goes back to a certain point in time, but your stuff, (Excel, Word etc) remains untouched.

 

[Chuck38]

A BSOD is a Blue Screen of Death. When you are on your computer, the Screen will turn blue.
An image restore will bring everything back to a certain point in time. Everything will be the way it was done.
If you mean a system restore, everything goes back to a certain point in time, but your stuff, (Excel, Word etc) remains untouched.

Oops! Looks like I was wrong!

Please refer to the post directly below this one.

-Chuck

 

[richc46]

Chuck, your final analysis was still correct, it IS best to back it up first.
You are 100% correct for image restore, I was talking about system restore which is different.

 

[Chuck38]

Chuck, your final analysis was still correct, it IS best to back it up first.
You are 100% correct for image restore, I was talking about system restore which is different.

Ah, that makes sense! Thanks for correcting me!

 

[whs]

There seems to be a little confusion. Yes you can lose files - those that were created after the last image was taken. But all files that were present at the time the image was made will be recovered with an image restore.

That is why I always recommend to make frequent images. An image from last year will lose a lot of files relative to today's status. Frequency depends on the amount of changes. Weely images are a good compromise but if there are important changes, an immediate image may be appropriate.

System restore restores only system files - no user files. But it is possible to retrieve user files from a system image. For that use this program.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/132087-shadowexplorer-recover-lost-files-folders.html

 

[Alnitak]

@Chuck38, @ richc46, Does using the @ sign work in this forum? We’ll soon find out! lol!

I did mean “Image Restore”.

I use an external hard-drive, Seagate, for my backups. About half of my data files on the C drive are acting like system files. It was discovered by accident when I performed a cut and paste on a Word document moving it from one folder to another.
So, I imagine that a back-up will not grab these data files if they are considered ‘system files’ and even if they do back-up, when they are re-installed they’ll still be ‘system files’.
It is so complicated.

Thanks for the BSOD definition.

 

[Chuck38]

Nope, it seems that the @ doesn't work here.

How do you know that they are considered 'System Files'? Do you get an error message?

 

[Alnitak]

Yes, Chuck38, when I performed the move, a message popped up telling me that if I move this 'system file' that it could damage other files.
Usually, when I have move files from one folder to another folder there are no pop-up messages. The file just moves.
In addition, the backup I have on the external Seagate drive is from the first week in September. So, those data files ought to be normal. It is all the data files I created after that date that are showing up as 'System files' that has me concerned.

 

[Chuck38]

If there isn't anything important on the drive than I would suggest formatting the drive and see if that helps.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yes, Chuck38, when I performed the move, a message popped up telling me that if I move this 'system file' that it could damage other files.

In addition, the backup I have on the external Seagate drive is from the first week in September. So, those data files ought to be normal. It is all the data files I created after that date that are showing up as 'System files' that has me concerned.

The term "backup" means different things to different people, depending on context, how it is used, and the program or method used to make the "backup". It is not a well-defined term.

An "image" refers to a file that itself is a representation of ALL files on one or more partitions. The entire partition, including both system and non-system files. A "backup" can mean anything.

I'm a bit mystified by you getting the error message for a true data file. Can you provide an example or two of the type of file that generates this error? Are you getting this error for something like a spaghetti sauce recipe or a picture of your cat?

 

[Alnitak]

Image restore Addendum

Yes, ignatzatsonic, the word backup has many variables and it was not clearly defined in the previous post. I do not care for the Seagate Dashboard so I prefer to use the backup service in the Control Panel and point it to the external drive. As far as what was backed up, my assumption is that I would have to connect the Seagate external drive in order to find out that information. Would it be helpful if I did?

I am attaching a jpg that should better explain the data file issue.

In addition, there is a much larger issue going on within this computer. I’m assuming that there is a registry problem (remember I am not technical) It (the computer) has been scanned for malware, virus etc. using 4 different programs & it is clean. Microsoft community forum had a few solutions that have not worked and there have been no other suggestions for a week. Lenovo forum has yet to reply. With all of the uninstalls and re-installs etc. the only reasonable date offered on the recovery list is the ‘image restore’.
My solution thought process is to do the ‘image restore’ and the computer will be as it was on 9/15/2014 with the exception that it would include all newer created files.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

It appears you have used Windows built-in backup/imaging in this case.

It is cryptic and not particularly user-friendly. As evidenced by your admission that you don't know what it has backed up.

Windows backup has its own opinion of what constitutes a "system file". I think it comes to that opinion based on where the file is located, as opposed to what the file contains.

You haven't said where that file is located. My guess would be that any file called "Adobe Lesson" would not be a system file in the typical sense and that it has been branded as a system file based on location alone.

Did you personally create that file and do you know what it contains? If you in fact created it, I'd say yes to that message, knowing that it is NOT a Windows file necessary to Windows functioning correctly.

I'm guessing it's not a Windows file as I don't see any file with a similar name on my hard drive.

I'm hardly an authority on Windows built-in backup capabilities.

You can wait for other opinions.

My candid advice would be to avoid Windows Backup and to instead use a third party application that you can understand and that does not have peculiar rules.

 

[richc46]

Forget the back up. Download and make an image once a month with Macrium Reflect. If you ever have a problem, big or small, use the back up. You will be back exactly where you were when you made the back up. If you have documents, you can back them up separately, you will never have a serious problem. Even with a bad virus, use the back up and its gone.

 

[Alnitak]

Thanks Richard for the Info I'll be certain to look into that once this issue is resolved. In an earlier message whs made the same suggestion & I must say I have no idea how to create an Image Restore at this time. As far as the backup, ignatzatsonic, you can make specific choices even when using the Microsoft built-in service. I just do not remember what I selected and the only way to know that information is to hook-up the Seagate external drive and look. Yes, I created all these files and as it was stated earlier, they are saved to the C drive. If I understand the rest of your message correctly, it would be safe to say 'yes' to this message but i should wait for others to respond. If I miss-understood please correct me. Thank You.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yes, I created all these files and as it was stated earlier, they are saved to the C drive. If I understand the rest of your message correctly, it would be safe to say 'yes' to this message but i should wait for others to respond. If I miss-understood please correct me. Thank You.

Exactly where on the C drive? What directory/sub-directory?

What is the complete path to the file?

I'm thinking you saved that Adobe file to some atypical place by mistake.

Like maybe you normally save stuff to C:\users\yada yada, but the Adobe file is elsewhere.

There's no reason I can think of why a doc file (Word file) that you personally created would be considered to be a "system file" unless you saved it to a non-standard location where Windows Backup regards all files as "system files".

But, as I said, Windows Backup is a bit idiosyncratic and has its own ideas.

 

[Alnitak]

The path is C:\March-20(this is a folder I created)\ a complete path of the file will not help because all the folders & sub-folders were created by me. There is no User. It is not in Libraries or My document. This folder is on the same level as the folders for Programs, Users, $Recycle.bin etc
As I stated, there is a larger issue with the computer. There are many cliches going on that ought not be happening. i.e. The first thing that shows up after I enter my computer password is the Windows Installer. This is not normal. Whether I open a Browser or a Program the Windows Installer shows up and it can take as long as 15 minutes for the installation to complete. It's a mess.

 

[richc46]

I am not saying that you should do this, but rather it is what I would do.
Back up all your stuff
We can get you a Windows 7 SP1 ISO. You can reinstall, if you have a valid Key Number
You must back up your papers first so you would not lose them, if that is possible
Then you will be as good as new
Then use the Macrium that I suggested, so you always have a back up.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

If you have other significant problems as you describe, I tend to agree with Rich.

Other possible alternatives would be:

1: Do a System Restore to a point back in time to when you did not have the problems you describe. This may or may not resolve all of your issues and you may or may not have a System Restore point going back that far.

2: Use a program shipped with the Lenovo that will do a "factory restore" to take the PC back to the state it was in when purchased. I'm only guessing Lenovos have this capability. Most OEM PCs do. You'd have to back up your personal data first.

3: Try to trouble shoot the issues you have individually. This may be time-consuming and ultimately solve nothing.

I'd lean toward a clean install as Rich suggests.