I recently did a clean reinstall of xp and used the microsoft 'back up
utility' saved to an external hard drive.

when I copy the file back from the ext hard drive to my desk top it appears
as an icon of 19.5 GB which wont open.

So I went to the microsoft web search and it tells me its a file extension
BKF that i need to open it.

Being a novice I'm now 'stumped' as to what next to do to get the original
files back to my pc.

Thanks for any advice.

"johngood ............." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:qukli.19553$_(E-Mail Removed)...
>I recently did a clean reinstall of xp and used the microsoft 'back up
>utility' saved to an external hard drive.
>
> when I copy the file back from the ext hard drive to my desk top it
> appears as an icon of 19.5 GB which wont open.
>
> So I went to the microsoft web search and it tells me its a file extension
> BKF that i need to open it.
>
> Being a novice I'm now 'stumped' as to what next to do to get the original
> files back to my pc.
>
> Thanks for any advice.
>

You must run ntbackup.exe, then use it to open your .bkf file. You can
then extract individual files or folders from this backup file.

When doing similar exercises in future you should adopt the cautious
approach:
1. Back up your files & folders.
2. Perform a test recovery of some folders.

If you omit Step 2 then you will never know if your backup was
successful, until it's too late . . .

johngood ............. wrote:
> I recently did a clean reinstall of xp and used the microsoft 'back up
> utility' saved to an external hard drive.
>
> when I copy the file back from the ext hard drive to my desk top it appears
> as an icon of 19.5 GB which wont open.
>
> So I went to the microsoft web search and it tells me its a file extension
> BKF that i need to open it.
>
> Being a novice I'm now 'stumped' as to what next to do to get the original
> files back to my pc.
>
> Thanks for any advice.
>
>

Click Start > Run > ntbackup > OK

Follow the instructions in the restore wizard.

"mappy24" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4695da8f$0$13454$(E-Mail Removed)...
> johngood ............. wrote:
>> I recently did a clean reinstall of xp and used the microsoft 'back up
>> utility' saved to an external hard drive.
>>
>> when I copy the file back from the ext hard drive to my desk top it
>> appears as an icon of 19.5 GB which wont open.
>>
>> So I went to the microsoft web search and it tells me its a file
>> extension BKF that i need to open it.
>>
>> Being a novice I'm now 'stumped' as to what next to do to get the
>> original files back to my pc.
>>
>> Thanks for any advice.
>
> Click Start > Run > ntbackup > OK
>
> Follow the instructions in the restore wizard.

Thanks to all. Reinstalled Microsoft back up utility from the Windows CD.
The wizard that I copied on to the external hard drive I copied back to my
desk top after the clean install. The wizard icon on the desktop says its'
file size is 19.5 GB. But when I use the wizard to transfer it back to the
cleaned hardrive, I get this report:

Restore Status

Operation: Restore

Backup of "C: 397473", Restored to"C: 397473"
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 05/07/2007 at 09:23"

Restore started on 14/07/2007 at 16:32.
Warning: Unable to create "C:\_SharedHardlinkData_\18645780.30000.9276" -
skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the path specified.

Restore completed on 14/07/2007 at 16:52.
Directories: 2940
Files: 0
Bytes: 13,440
Time: 19 minutes and 41 seconds

I dont understand what is going on. Grateful for any advice please.
Thanks

"johngood ............." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Np6mi.19810$_(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "mappy24" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:4695da8f$0$13454$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> johngood ............. wrote:
>>> I recently did a clean reinstall of xp and used the microsoft 'back up
>>> utility' saved to an external hard drive.
>>>
>>> when I copy the file back from the ext hard drive to my desk top it
>>> appears as an icon of 19.5 GB which wont open.
>>>
>>> So I went to the microsoft web search and it tells me its a file
>>> extension BKF that i need to open it.
>>>
>>> Being a novice I'm now 'stumped' as to what next to do to get the
>>> original files back to my pc.
>>>
>>> Thanks for any advice.
>>
>> Click Start > Run > ntbackup > OK
>>
>> Follow the instructions in the restore wizard.
>
> Thanks to all. Reinstalled Microsoft back up utility from the Windows CD.
> The wizard that I copied on to the external hard drive I copied back to my
> desk top after the clean install. The wizard icon on the desktop says
> its' file size is 19.5 GB. But when I use the wizard to transfer it back
> to the cleaned hardrive, I get this report:
>
> Restore Status
>
> Operation: Restore
>
> Backup of "C: 397473", Restored to"C: 397473"
> Backup set #1 on media #1
> Backup description: "Set created 05/07/2007 at 09:23"
>
> Restore started on 14/07/2007 at 16:32.
> Warning: Unable to create "C:\_SharedHardlinkData_\18645780.30000.9276" -
> skipped.
> Reason: The system cannot find the path specified.
>
> Restore completed on 14/07/2007 at 16:52.
> Directories: 2940
> Files: 0
> Bytes: 13,440
> Time: 19 minutes and 41 seconds
>
> I dont understand what is going on. Grateful for any advice please.
> Thanks

It sounds as if you have insufficient access rights to parts of
drive C:. Things are getting a little dicey here - if you're not
experienced in the use of ntbackup then I recommend that
you seek the assistance of a friend.