Backup/Restore Utility

[Guest]

I had to make a backup of my laptop to do a hard drive recovery. Now when I
try and do a restore the backup utitlity is telling me that "The backup file
contains unrecognized data and cannot be used."

Is there a possibility that my hard drive recovery is an older/newer version
of this utility or is there a possibility that the backup utility copied bad
data?

Is there a way to ignore that particular piece of data?

 

[Sharon F]

I had to make a backup of my laptop to do a hard drive recovery. Now when I
try and do a restore the backup utitlity is telling me that "The backup file
contains unrecognized data and cannot be used."

Is there a possibility that my hard drive recovery is an older/newer version
of this utility or is there a possibility that the backup utility copied bad
data?

Is there a way to ignore that particular piece of data?

If the hard drive was dying a slow death, it is very possible that there
was file corruption. It's impossible to guess at the scope of the
corruption: how long it was a problem, how many files and folders were
damaged and whether or not any of those are even salvageable.

What options you have available to salvage data from bad backups depends on
the backup program that was used. Some allow you to pick and choose folders
or files. Some do not. Which backup utility did you use?

You lost me when you got to "recovery is an older/newer version." Which
driver recovery utility are you referring to as there are many...

 

[Guest]

Sharon,
Thanks for the reply. I used the backup utility that is part of the System
Tools. I would assume that it is through Misrosoft.

 

[Sharon F]

Sharon,
Thanks for the reply. I used the backup utility that is part of the System
Tools. I would assume that it is through Misrosoft.

Ray, it probably was the Microsoft tool but OEMs have been known to weave
their own tools throughout XP help and the control panel. In other words,
it could just as easily have been a different program.

Typically, a program's title is displayed in the top bar of the program
window. Glancing at that whenever you run a program is a good habit to get
into. Especially when working with applications that you don't use on a
daily basis. When you get in a spot like this, you can at least go online
and start looking for more specific answers.

Another good habit to get into with backup programs is to use their
"verify" routine. This takes a bit of time to run but is well worth it. It
checks the integrity of the files in the backup. If it succeeds, you know
you have a "good" backup. Consider making a second backup or a copy of the
successful one. If one copy is damaged (a CD gets scratched, the cat spills
your coffee on the disk, you roll over it with your computer chair or
whatever), you'll have a second one to fall back on.

If the verify fails, try another backup. If it fails too, you know that
something is not right. A clue to start looking the system over more
closely - memory, overheating, hard drive failure, worn controllers, etc.

Those little tips aren't going to help you now but are good to keep in mind
for the future.

Below is a link to an article about NTBackup the tool that comes with XP.
Hopefully you'll find something in it that can help you to regain your data
files.

How to use Backup to restore files and folders on your computer in Windows
XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309340/en-us