Help w/ back up saved in c/ drive..? Only people who know what they're talking about!!?

Question

i had to do a complete full system restore, w/ the back up disk and everything, which took out all the music, pics, games etc, is there any way to get these back??)

i found the file under "my back up" in the c drive, how do i restore these files??

please be SPECIFIC and tell me every step of the way...
i have no idea what i'm doing and need all the help i can get.

i already went to my computer and control panel, but couldn't seem to find anything.

Please help ASAP. thanks :0)

this is what i was told on the 1st q i posted:

"Go to system backup, and click on "restore files and settings"

this is what i need to know how to do, and if i can do it, w/o having to go out of my way.
otherwise, it would be easier just 're-installing" from where i got it from in the first place wouldn't it??

Answer 1

There are two types of backups. A "build system" backup that restores your system to the state it was when you bought it, and a "periodic backup" which restores all the stuff you've done since then. The first usually comes free with your computer, the second usually needs to be set up by you.

1) Did you set up a a periodic backup? When did it run (nightly, weekly, etc...)
2) Where did you back up the files to? External USB drive, tape, DVD, etc?

Once you know the answer to these questions you can post another question on how to restore it.

Answer 2

mr_crankypant's answer pretty much hits covers it. Unless you backed up your data to a drive other than "C:\", the restore will have removed all your links to the files (photos, documents, emails, etc...). You will also have lost all your application information (registry entries, shared DLLs, configuration information) and they will need to be reinstalled from the application CD/DVDs. Now one option you do have that may or may not have some success in recovering your files is using a file recovery application. These applications will look at the hard drive at a level below the operating system (they look at the raw disk rather than what the operating system file system tracks). As long as your disk is relatively large and hasn't had too much activity since your restore, you have a pretty good chance of recovering at least some (hopefully all) of your data. I would not attempt to recover applications as they generally have too much of a tie into the operating system (registry entries, shared DLLs, etc...) to make file recovery a simple task. Data on the other hand is generally in a single directory and recovery of these types of files is pretty easy with the recovery software. Many implementations exist but the one I used is Recover My Files. I picked it up for about $40 (USD) from Best Buy and it worked on recovering files after I had done a format and installation on my hard disk (in my case, thought I had everything backed up and would only lose about 1 weeks work, then my wife realized she needed an email from within that gap where my backup was missing files).

Answer 3

i think some people should just stick to building computers....
even though the files were deleted they are still on the system...they simply get written over as time goes on.
your safest bet is to take it to a computer technician. you'll be spending about $300 to get all the files back...you'll just have to shop around...some computer techs wont do it.
your second safest bet is to get the software...this will run you bout $150...but its reliability is unknown...do some research to see which one has the most positive reviews.

you said you found the file my back up....well whatever program you are using to restore those files...you should be able to open that back up file with it......like the others said...you need to provide more info

Answer 4

Even though your question was vague, i thought the link i provided here below will be useful for you. It's got step by step instructions as well as some snapshots of how to restore the files which you backed-up already.

Answer 5

Sorry. If you didn't back up the specific files you wanted to keep a "system" restore is going to wipe them from the drive! ;-(=