1st System Restore

C

copiman

Member
I am going to attempt my 1st system restore and had a few questions. I have 2 disk from the mfg. One says Operating System CD. This I assume is the Vista Business 32 bit. The other says Application and Driver DVD.

I have an external hdd that I did a back up for files like docs, pics,etc..

I have some apps on the laptop that I want to save like office 2007 and other that did not originally come on the laptop, but am not sure how to do that. Is there a way to back up those as well?

Although I will probably have more questions during this process of recovery, I need to take it one step at a time, for this is the first time I have done this. A wise man once told me how to eat an elephant: One bite at a time!
 
Any particular reason why you need to a do a system recovery? Any programs would have to be installed fresh after the recovery. There is no way to back up individual programs.
 
There is a difference between (System Restore) and (Recovery) And A Fresh install..
Which One are planning on doing ?
 
I have a friend that allowed someone to work on their laptop. They lost a bunch of files which I have recovered using Recuuva. OS in not functioning properly, cannot do updates. I have tried many tools from Microsoft and others with no luck. Overall, the operation is erratic. Pop ups saying the file needed to do a function does not exist. Its a mess. Looks like a corrupt OS. I suggested putting the laptop back to the state when she bought it. I have received the restore cds from HP for her laptop. She said that was fine. I was able to back up her files, but was also wanting to back up programs such as Office 2007, and a couple others. I'm afraid she does not have what she needs to reload them. Since you say the programs must be reloaded, not sure what to tell her other than if she doesn't have the stuff to do it were out of luck on them. Unless you know of a way to put the OS back to scratch from the cds I got. I too green to know. Whats your thoughts.
 
Well, If she has Any restore points you could try to restore back say a week ago... Thats if she has any... I would try that first, The If worst comes to worst, Then you can do a total recovery.. But She will lose her office software...But you can always install a free Office software..
 
You can get a Windows disk and use it to REPAIR the OS.That will fix and replace and damaged and missing files.

I do recommend you to perform CHKDSK before the REPAIR though.

On that way you can at least try to fix the OS and NOT lose any installed programs and other data.

But if the OS and all other data is REALLY 100% messed up then you are...well...fu**ed lol.This is why I have my entire computer's drive cloned on other drive in the case if this happens together with all the installers of all the programs I have.

So it's really up to her.If she has OFFICE disk then great.You will be able to reinstall it.
If not then try to do what I suggested above.

If you don't or can't get ANY disks then do a CHKDSK,DEFRAGMENTATION and then delete all invalid registry.You may also want to delete any infections (if there are any) and uninstall all unneccessary programs.

But like I said...if the system is 100% dead then you have no choice but to format and then reinstall everything.

This is EXACTLY why you should always have your computer's drive 100% cloned in the case if this happens so you can easily revert back without losing absolutely anything EVEN if the computer's hard drive dies.



Cheers!
 
Thanks everyone. I can try the Windows disk to repair. Not sure which one is the repair cd. One says Operating System CD and the other says Application and driver recovery DVD foe Windows Vista. Not sure which one has the repair on it. Also, when I use the right one, do I just boot from the dvd drive or just put it in and turn on the laptop?
 
I don't think either of those cd's will do a repair install. Those recovery cd's will usually totally wipe the drive and reinstall from scratch.
 
Thanks John. Guess I go ahead and do the restore and start over. Ran a couple of programs that will scan your system for reg errors and they all found 100s of errors. Of course to supposedly fix them they want money. If I really have that many, I would think starting over would be best.
 
copiman said:
Ran a couple of programs that will scan your system for reg errors and they all found 100s of errors. Of course to supposedly fix them they want money.
Click to expand...

Thats the worst thing you can do, all they want is your money. Most of the reg fix programs are malware themselves. And to be honest, there really is no need to run a registry program.
 
Thats good to know. Thanks for the info. Well, I'm doing the install from the recovery CD as I type this. Wish me luck. Lord knows I need it. Oh, I also ran sfc /scannow. Missing stuff.
 
There are many recovery disks which have the REPAIR functionality.
Unforcenately many of them also do not have it lol.

Anyway I wasn't talking about the recovery disks.I meant on the regular Windows disk.Those always have the REPAIR option.I ALWAYS use the regular Windows disk(s) to either INSTALL,FIX,REPAIR or do ANYTHING else.I NEVER really use recovery disks to be honest.Last time I used them was back in 2004. lol.

Recovery disks are great for those without much computer knowledge since they mostly do everything automatically.But like I said...I did not use them since 2004. and I never will again.I just hate them lol.They delete EVERYTHING just to install Windows over again and ALL installed programs,ALL the settings together with absolutely EVERYTHING ELSE is gone lol.The hell with that lol.This is why I clone my drives so I don't have to lose absolutely anything.And if I ever need to repair something simple,I will repair JUST THAT SPECIFIC PROBLEM instead of deleting the WHOLE drive every single time lol.

But anyways...your choice lol.




Cheers!
 
Thanks. When you say clone, what exactly is that and how is that done? I know that you can do a back up of the data files or a complete back up. And I assume when you reload one or the other, it will reload the data files or put your PC back to what it was when you did a complete back up (OS and everything else). Am I right so far? I have seen the word clone used a lot since I starting using the forum and would like to know more so I can learn. Thanks again for your guidance. It really helps me.

Recovery went well. Doing updates right now. Then will load other stuff, like adobe reader, flash player, office if she wants it or Open office, AV, etc..
 
Everything went well. She also had her Office 2007. Had a little hiccup on the updates. Man! there were a lot of updates. Some installed some failed. I then loaded SP1, then SP2 individually. After that all updates went just fine.

Thank you for your help. Glad this forum is here. I think I'm learning more from ya'll than I am at the Tech College I go to.
 
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