Restore Nero backups

[Marek Kalisz]

Nero Back It Up stinks. But, some time ago I used this (unfortunatelly) for
backups. Then, after a computer crash, I recovered *.nci (archive file) and
many *.nco files. Nero claims that it does backup in some zipped format.
However, its Restore function doesn't see those *.nci files. Nero staff
wasn't much helpfull sending me to Restore gadget only. All other utilities
(A/V, Search, antyspies, etc.) see those files archive (*.nci) and files
inside (*.nco) - all other but Nero.
Now, since those files have some sizes I believe that there are still some
information inside - what I'm looking for: to recover those somehow.
Did someone had similar experience with Nero backup?
Does someone has some idea about some way (utility) to repair/recover/open
those (supposedly zipped) files?
I tried in the past a few zip repair utilities but they don't deal with Nero
extension.
Anye help...
Marek Kalisz

 

[Vanguard]

Nero Back It Up stinks. But, some time ago I used this
(unfortunatelly) for backups. Then, after a computer crash, I
recovered *.nci (archive file) and many *.nco files. Nero claims
that it does backup in some zipped format. However, its Restore
function doesn't see those *.nci files. Nero staff wasn't much
helpfull sending me to Restore gadget only. All other utilities
(A/V, Search, antyspies, etc.) see those files archive (*.nci) and
files inside (*.nco) - all other but Nero.
Now, since those files have some sizes I believe that there are
still some information inside - what I'm looking for: to recover
those somehow.
Did someone had similar experience with Nero backup?
Does someone has some idea about some way (utility) to
repair/recover/open those (supposedly zipped) files?
I tried in the past a few zip repair utilities but they don't deal
with Nero extension.

A compressed file is created however the application wants.
Compressed is not some global standard that every application uses.
Nero likely uses their own proprietary method to compress the data
into their files, so you need to use the same program that created the
compressed file. There are LOTS of different schemes to compress
files and most utilities only support some of them. Some support lots
of formats but not all of them. It is unlikely that any of them can
read whatever format Nero used.

Presumably Nero pointed you at whatever program is needed to read
those old compressed archive files used for the backups. If their
program can't read their own backup files, perhaps those backup files
are corrupted. It is unlikely that Nero used some format that would
tread on someone else's copyright since they would then have to pay
the royalties to use that format. Instead they'll use their own
algorithms and file format to use compression. If Nero is sending you
their Restore program for free which is how they provide access into
their backup files then I can't see why you think they are unhelpful.
It's not their fault that your files are corrupted or weren't verified
to ensure they were readable from whatever media to which you saved
the files.

Whenever you save backups, make sure you ALWAYS enable the "verify"
option. Backups that have not been verified immediately after the
backup to ensure they are valid and can actually be read are dubious
backups. What good is a backup that you have no assurance is readable
at a later time? Verification doubles the time to perform the backup
but it almost a required function unless, for some reason, you think
your hardware and backup media are absolutely infallible. Unverified
backups are unreliable backups. Could be Backup It Up isn't what
stinks but instead it is whatever backup scheme or media that you use.

I'm still back on version 5.5 of Nero. I've read that the trial
version of Nero 7 has Back It Up v2 included, so you could try
installing the demo to see if that version of Back It Up can read your
old backup files. If you still have whatever version you used to
create the backups, try reinstalling it. Try a test backup to see
what filetypes are created for the backup files. If they still use
..nci and .nco then there is some other reason why the backup program
cannot find those files. Maybe you don't have read permission to
those files. Also, backup programs should have a means of rebuilding
the catalogs by reading through the backup media.

 

[Marek Kalisz]

Yes, I always set "verify" or "test" options on any backup programs that I
use(d). I have now Nero 7 installed (without backup). I'll try your advise
and contact Nero again. Thanks. But - FYI - previously Nero tech support
wasn't very helpfull. Backups were made with Nero 6 (or 5). They never
answered how to deal with theeir eventually corrupted files sending only to
their Restore wizard.
Marek Kalisz

 

[Vanguard]

Yes, I always set "verify" or "test" options on any backup programs
that I use(d). I have now Nero 7 installed (without backup). I'll
try your advise and contact Nero again. Thanks. But - FYI -
previously Nero tech support wasn't very helpfull. Backups were
made with Nero 6 (or 5). They never answered how to deal with
theeir eventually corrupted files sending only to their Restore
wizard.
Marek Kalisz

Could be backwards incompatibility between version 7 on backup files
created with version 6. Nero used to provide download links to the
old versions but they screwed up their web site so it isn't so usable
anymore for support and downloads. I did manage to find
http://ww2.nero.com/nero6/enu/prog_versions.php which shows the
versions of the programs under Nero 6. Alas, no download link for a
demo of version 6 so you could use that old version on your old backup
files. If you upgraded to version 7, maybe you still have version 6
around. If you don't have v6 anymore, there are some folks selling it
for a buck over on eBay (I assume you'll need the Ultra version and
not the Express).

 

[Marek Kalisz]

Thanks for tips again. I still have Nero since v. 5. Yes, I tried before
(a few month ago) with v. 6 - nothing too. Meanwhile, I sent a new request
to Nero tech support (attaching 3 first messages from this thread). A year
ago, when I was asking them for help I suggested that - since obviously they
have some proprietary scheme - they should have some working repair tool to
deal with such (even corrupted) their backups. Until now (v. 7) - nothing.
Thanks.
Marek Kalisz

 

[Marek Kalisz]

Just received some answer from Nero:
"Dear valued customer,
thank you for your email and your interest in our software. If you used
compression, or more than one CD or DVD to backup your data with, you need
to use the Nero BackItUp utility to restore from. First install Nero , which
will install Nero BackItUp as well. Then follow the directions in our How To
Guide for doing restorations with BackItUp. It will provide step by step
instructions in PDF format on how to accomplish this operation. Use the
below link to download this PDF file.

http://www.nero.com/us/631938327790644.html

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 or later to open these files. You can
download this for free from Adobe's website at http://www.adobe.com

If the compressed files are damaged, for instance because of burn errors,
then you can try to restore them by using archive repair utilities that are
capable of handling ZIP files. As long as you don't set a password when
backing up the files, Nero BackItUp uses a standard ZIP algorithm for
compressing the files. Just make sure that you either change the file
extension of the compressed files to ZIP or select to open all files in the
repair utility.
If you set a password, Nero BackItUp uses a 56 bit key to encrypt the files.
Then the only way to restore them is by using Nero backItUp and the
password, so you won't be able to repair such protected files with an
archive repair utility.

Should you have any other request, please don't hesitate to contact us
again.

Best regards

Daniel Haferkorn
Technical Support

Nero AG
Im Stoeckmaedle 18
76307 Karlsbad
Germany
Fax : ++49 (0)7248 928 499
http://www.nero.com "

Ok, in the past I tried a few zip repair utilities without success. I
haveto try again. Does anyone can suggest any?
Marek Kalisz

 

[Vanguard]

If they are a "standard" compression scheme and if WinZip can't read
them, looks like your screwed. You could try UltimateZip and 7-Zip on
their backup files but it would almost be a fluke that they could read
them but WinZip could not (I'm assuming you have a version 8, or
later, or WinZip). It doesn't look like Nero provides a data
extraction tool that allows you to recover some of the data out of
their backup files. I guess my response to them would be, "Thanks,
but I usually get a kiss before bending over."