system restore image please help.....

[dezigner98]

please help.
i created a windows image on my external hard drive. i cant for the life of me figure out how to install it.
let me start at the begining... i saved image, then started messing around with drivers ect. i did a restore to factory settings and then tried to load that image on. when i tried your way either threw F8 and/or windows back up and restore it sees the VHD image on my external but when i try to go further it says missing hardware or something like that and i cant proceed. next i mounted my VHD on my laptop made the VHD active and went into the files and folders to see if everything was there and it looked fine to me. there must have been windows updates running in the back ground and my system rebooted .... when it did it said no disk manager found. black screen... ekk... luckly i had a windows 7 pro upgrade handy and reinstalled from there then i went to comand prompt reinstalled windows.old to bring me back but now all the programs that came with the laptop are gone.
oh boy what a mess... i want to load the image file i saved on my external drive but need help please.............................. this is all done on the same laptop all under windows 7

 

[whs]

Have a look at this: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/675-system-image-recovery.html

 

[dezigner98]

i tried that method... i would have to first make another imaige copy of my hd. i get this message when i use repair computer from the F8 function

 

[severedsolo]

Why are you loading Drivers? The Drivers should already be there. Is Windows not seeing the HDD the Image is on?

 

[dezigner98]

i dont know.... im now in the process of doing a copy and paste from the mounted VHD to my c drive. all fles and folders. i hope that works? or am i going to screw things up more?

 

[severedsolo]

I dont think thats going to work. The Registry won't be copied for one thing.

I think you said earlier the image is on a External HDD?

Just plug the HDD in, turn the laptop on and boot from your Windows 7 disk, and click "Repair my Computer" then click "Restore from a system image i made earlier" Windows should find the image automatically and sort it out for you.Just keep clicking next No Driver installation, no nothing. Next is the only button you need.

 

[dezigner98]

yeah no... i dont think thats going to work either...

 

[severedsolo]

You dont think whats going to work? My posted solution? or your copying to C?

 

[dezigner98]

believe me i tried that already 100 times. i cant get anywhere with that
i can browse to the file on my external and select the correct VHD file click next and get that error message? lost from that point. wont let me go any further..

 

[severedsolo]

I hate to say this... but it might be time for a Clean Install

 

[dezigner98]

wish i could but laptop wasnt shipped with cd's. i already did a clean install with a windows 7 pro upgrade but then it didnt have all the programs that were shipped with laptop, so i did a restore from comand prompt to reinstall windows.old folder hoping..... that everything would be there and .... it wasnt.... not even "paint" urgo the reason i am desperatly trying to use the image file that i saved when everything was working just fine and dandy doesnt an imaige file have all the drivers and program exe files in there?

 

[dezigner98]

its amazing that after i did the restore from windows.old all the programs appear to be in my control panel/programs but they arent loaded on the pc...?

 

[severedsolo]

Doesnt the laptop have a recovery partition? usually accessed by hitting a F key on boot. Of course if you have installed Win 7 with another disk you might have wiped it out. I reckon the reason your image isn't working is because you don't have the OEM copy of windows you made the image with on there any more.
and no your programs wont be loaded into Windows because they don't have the right registry keys installed.

Oh what a tangled web.

 

[dezigner98]

it does have a recovery... and it shows that it has files on there but when i go to use it it empty it might be hidden? idk....
and oh yes... what a tangled web i weaved...
this all started, mind you.. because i bought a icore 7 and i was TRYING.... to install the drivers for the new WIDI wireless internet display from the intel site and netgear site Push2TV uggggg....

 

[severedsolo]

Ok now your REALLY confusing me. You were trying to install an Icore 7 into a laptop?

When you say you try to access the recovery partition it says its empty, what exactly do you mean? How are you trying to access it?

 

[dezigner98]

nonono the computer i am trying o restore is a icore 7.... i thought i was smarter them them andi could some how hack my way into having the computer work with WIDI.
as far as the recovery partition its shows 17 Files, 3 Folders 1.58 MB (1,664,615 bytes)
but when i go into the folder it has nothing...
E:\Recovery folder is empty

 

[severedsolo]

Sorry I have no idea where I got the idea its a laptop from.

Check your PC manual on how to access the recovery partition. You wont be able to see it from Windows its hidden to stop you messing with it.

If you have wiped it out, then its going to have to be a fresh install somehow I'm afraid.

I'm sorry I need sleep, I'm probably not much help to you at the moment. I'll check in on you in the morning.

 

[dezigner98]

thank you for helping ..... sleep well

 

[dezigner98]

and it is a laptop ok ill check manual thx

 

[severedsolo]

Right, I've slept on it, and I am still bloody confused. But I THINK I'm getting there now.You just werent explaining yourself very well

Fill out the system specs of the laptop under User CP at the top. I might be able to help you.