Windows XP Backup

[Guest]

Hello, I regularly perform backups using Windows Backup Utility.

Today I needed to do a restore - only to find that the backup(s) are
useless. All I get from the Backup utility is an image of the Folder hiearchy
with no files in them. Despite this the size of the Backup file reports as
(almost) exactly the same size as the Explorer Properties View.

Is there a way to check that the Backup file(s) (.bkf) are valid without
going through a COMPLETE Restore.

 

[HEMI-Powered]

=?Utf-8?B?SmVmZkc=?= added these comments in the current
discussion du jour ...

Hello, I regularly perform backups using Windows Backup
Utility.

Today I needed to do a restore - only to find that the
backup(s) are useless. All I get from the Backup utility is an
image of the Folder hiearchy with no files in them. Despite
this the size of the Backup file reports as (almost) exactly
the same size as the Explorer Properties View.

Is there a way to check that the Backup file(s) (.bkf) are
valid without going through a COMPLETE Restore.

First, IMO, Windows backup is a slow, bloated, error prone way to
backup your system. I'd suggest you invest in a good imaging
utility such as Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost.

As to checking the validity of a .bkf, don't really know but a
good indicator would be its size. If it is much smaller than the
GB you attempted to backup, it is likely corrupt or you had a
setting wrong. I never touch the stuff so don't know if Windows
can or can't compress the data, but on a fairly robust system
using Acronis True Image, e.g., mine, a full image of just my C:
\ with NO personal data on it at all (my data is on one of 2
extended data-only partitions), my highly compressed image files
are around 6 gig from an amount of used space uncompressed of
around 15 or so gig.

 

[Steven L Umbach]

You could try restoring some of the folders in the backup to an alternate
location on your hard drive or external hard drive. You will see that option
when you try to do a restore. It is a good idea to select verify for backup
jobs which will compare the contents of the folders in the backup to what
was actually backed up.

Steve