HDD replacement

[Albert Tatlock]

Running windows7 on a laptop that showed an error message indicating HDD
failure immanent, and recommended making a backup disk before returning the
machine to retailer.

On receiving repaired machine, I restored from backup expecting to reinstate
my original setup.

I think I was perhaps a little naive. Although the data has reappeared on
the laptop under C:/users/ as another account, I don't know how to ready the
machine to make use of that data.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Char Jackson]

Running windows7 on a laptop that showed an error message indicating HDD
failure immanent, and recommended making a backup disk before returning the
machine to retailer.

How you proceed will be determined by the nature of that backup disk.
If you made an image of your whole hard drive, you can simply restore
that image and be back in business. On the other hand, if you did some
sort of file backup, then you have no image with which to do a full
restore and a lot of surgery will be required.

 

[Paul]

Running windows7 on a laptop that showed an error message indicating HDD
failure immanent, and recommended making a backup disk before returning the
machine to retailer.

On receiving repaired machine, I restored from backup expecting to reinstate
my original setup.

I think I was perhaps a little naive. Although the data has reappeared on
the laptop under C:/users/ as another account, I don't know how to ready the
machine to make use of that data.

Any help would be appreciated.

I was going to say this is easy to solve, but after reading
this, I'm not so sure.

http://social.technet.microsoft.com...y/thread/d14731ec-4f0e-4ef8-9aac-028dd7104e0e

With an older OS, you'd look up "Take Ownership" as an answer
to permissions problems. But with the new OS, it's hard to
say what recipe is guaranteed to work. So who knows, maybe
copying the files would work. Or maybe the solution involves
going back a step, and doing something during the restoration
step (assuming that would be less work).

Paul

 

[Albert Tatlock]

Thanks guys.
I'll take the laptop back to the retailer and see if they can offer any
help.

 

[Dick Mahar]

Running windows7 on a laptop that showed an error message indicating HDD
failure immanent, and recommended making a backup disk before returning
the
machine to retailer.

On receiving repaired machine, I restored from backup expecting to
reinstate
my original setup.

I think I was perhaps a little naive. Although the data has reappeared on
the laptop under C:/users/ as another account, I don't know how to ready
the
machine to make use of that data.

Any help would be appreciated.


Most backups only back up your files. You will have to reinstall programs.
This can be done throught use of the CD's or DVD's that installed them
originally. An image file would also work. To restore programs from another
source will require some work. Having said that, let me point out that I
have no little experience in these proceedures, but if you know the
difference between files and programs, (sometimes known as applications)
you will be on the right track.

 

[Albert Tatlock]

Well at least I learned that there's more than one meaning to the
instruction "take a backup". I've re-installed the lost apps and restored
the lost data now (not that there was much on there anyway), and have a nice
clean machine now, plus a little wiser myself. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[G Mulcaster]

Well at least I learned that there's more than one meaning to the
instruction "take a backup". I've re-installed the lost apps and restored
the lost data now (not that there was much on there anyway), and have a nice
clean machine now, plus a little wiser myself. Thanks for the feedback.

I'm a bit late here but, FWIW, Windows 7 has a good imaging and file
backup program built in.

Over the years I have been trying to convince a friend to back up to
an external hard drive. Yesterday his C drive crashed and he lost
everything.

Gary

 

[johnbee]

< "G Mulcaster" wrote in message

Well at least I learned that there's more than one meaning to the
instruction "take a backup". I've re-installed the lost apps and restored
the lost data now (not that there was much on there anyway), and have a
nice
clean machine now, plus a little wiser myself. Thanks for the feedback.

I'm a bit late here but, FWIW, Windows 7 has a good imaging and file
backup program built in.

Over the years I have been trying to convince a friend to back up to
an external hard drive. Yesterday his C drive crashed and he lost
everything.

Gary >

I should tell you that the amount of money and effort spent on doing regular
backups exactly balances the bother of restoring when something goes wrong
and you haven't bothered with backing up at all. What is more, it's like
taking your umbrella so it doesn't rain. If after a failure you decide
you'd better back up in future, it won't go wrong again.

 

[Char Jackson]

< "G Mulcaster" wrote in message


I'm a bit late here but, FWIW, Windows 7 has a good imaging and file
backup program built in.

Over the years I have been trying to convince a friend to back up to
an external hard drive. Yesterday his C drive crashed and he lost
everything.

Gary >

I should tell you that the amount of money and effort spent on doing regular
backups exactly balances the bother of restoring when something goes wrong
and you haven't bothered with backing up at all. What is more, it's like
taking your umbrella so it doesn't rain. If after a failure you decide
you'd better back up in future, it won't go wrong again.

Only slightly related to the above, I always tell people to assume
that their backups are worthless, corrupt, not usable, etc., until
they have been tested. I can't even count the number of times over the
years that people have come to me, backups in hand (supposedly), and
the backups are corrupt in some way, incomplete, you name it. If only
they had actually tested their backups instead of assuming they were
good. Heck, I know of more than a few businesses that never test their
backups. Shame on them.