Restoring msbackup files

[txsurveyor]

I have some file on 3.5" floppy disks that I am trying to
restore. Is it possible to do this using Win XP? I do not
see anywhere where I can install MSbackup.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

I have some file on 3.5" floppy disks that I am trying to
restore. Is it possible to do this using Win XP? I do not
see anywhere where I can install MSbackup.

Do you have XP Home Edtiion? Backup is installed automatically on
XP Professional, but not on XP Home. If you have the complete XP
Home CD, find backup on the CD, in \ValueAdd\MSFT\NTBACKUP and
install it yourself by doubleclicking the file ntbackup.msi.

If you don't have an XP CD, you can download ntbackup.msi at
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/software/ntbackup.msi

Also see http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894

However, note that if these backups were made on an older version
of Windows, they are not compatible with Windows XP's NTbackup
program. I have no personal experience with it, but I understand
that the full version of BackupMYPC will read and restore these
files.

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, txsurveyor.

What backup utility was used to put the file onto the diskettes? Each
backup program uses its own algorithms for compression, file organization,
etc., which means that usually WinXP backup, for example, cannot restore
Win95 backups. Some backup programs come with a companion restore program;
others have the restore function within the backup program.

So, the starting point is to know what program wrote the file(s) to the
floppies.

RC

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, txsurveyor.

Chances are, you're going to have to find that very old program and use it.
Probably nothing else understands how that backup program compressed and
organized the files onto the diskettes.

If you find a better way, please let us all know. In a newsgroup, we all
learn from each other.

RC

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Thanks for the input.

Please quote the message you're responding to. It's very hard to
make sense of your message without a quote. If it's me you're
thanking, you're welcome.

I did find the ntbackup program and installed
it. It will not restore my old files.

Yes, as I said. NTBackup will *not* restore backups from older
versions.

I originally backed up these
files in 1994 using, I believe, either MSDOS Backup or Windows 3.1.
Are we looking at an impossibilty?

You may be. If you can find the program you created the files
with, you *may* be able to run it in Windows XP, but if it's as
old as 1994, there's a very good chance it won't work.

If you still have the machine the files were created on, you may
be able to restore them there, then move them to your current
machine another way.

 

[Bob Harris]

Get an old PC (pentium I class or lower), install win3.1 or DOS, and try to
extract the data. Then, write the data to floppy, ZIP, or whatever, in some
more stable (i.e., non-Microsoft) format. If you need it, there are sveral
free file spliting/joing programs on the web. But, if each file < 1.44 Meg,
just use as many floppies as is require to do the move.

Or, try to link the old PC to a newer one via the parallel or serial ports.
There is moderately priced software that will do this for you, and it
usually comes with the special cross-over cable that you will need.

Or, get the data onto the hard drive of the old PC, then moev that hard
drive to a new PC, being careful to re-set the jumpers to "slave".

Good luck.