Smart Computing Article - Digital Resurrection

Subscribe Today | Contact Us | Register Now

Home | Tech Support | Q&A Board | Article Search | Subscribe & Shop

Digital Resurrection

Email This

Print This
View My Personal Library

Featured Articles May 2001 • Vol.12 Issue 5 Page(s) 52-55 in print issue	Add To My Personal Library
Digital Resurrection Use Backup Files To Restore Lost Data

In Cloning Your Data earlier in this issue, we talked about setting some data aside for a rainy day with the help of Microsoft Backup. Now it's raining. Your system has crashed, you've lost valuable data, and you just want things back the way they were the last time you backed your files up. Where do you start? In this article, we'll show you how to use those backups to restore your computer to fighting trim.

Backups Revisited

The first issue in planning a restore is what kind of backup files you have to work with, full or incremental. Full backups are much easier to restore from; you simply restore from your last backup.

In order to make an incremental backup, on the other hand, you start with a full backup and, for every subsequent backup, you append only those files that have changed. Incremental backups don't overwrite old copies of files; rather, they add new copies of every modified file each time you back your files up. The end result is that during a restore, you must find and restore the correct one, or there will be gaps in your data.

Additionally, if you delete a file, it will not show up on subsequent incremental backups, but will remain on the earlier backups. If you are only restoring selected files, this will not be a problem, but if you're restoring all files, you'll restore the file you deleted as well. Since a deleted file would not be on the latest backup, full backups tend not to have this problem.

As you can see, incremental backups give you more problems during a restore than do full backups. Because incremental backups are faster, you are trading the convenience of faster backups for the difficulty of completing the restore.

Tools Of The Trade

In some cases, having your backup data may be no help at all without the proper hardware or software to help you get it off the CD, Zip disk, or other storage media. This depends largely on how you made your backups in the first place, such as whether you used a zip utility to compress your data, and whether you used a backup utility that requires Windows to function.

If you have an uncompressed backup file on a CD, you can restore its contents to almost any PC. Simply use Windows Explorer (or DOS) to copy your data (documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other things you create and save) or static data (digital music or video files, items you download and save but rarely alter) files from the CD to the PC's hard drive. You can also use Explorer for a restore if the target computer has a Zip drive and you stored your backup to a Zip disk without compressing the files. If you used a zip program to compress the data or static data on the CD or Zip disk, you can easily restore it by using WinZip, ZipMagic, or another zip utility to extract the data to the proper directory. As we'll discuss below, restoring programs (Windows, Office, etc.) is more difficult.

Some backup utilities store data on backup media in formats other than the .ZIP format. If this is true in your case, you will have to install that program onto the target computer to handle the restore. However, some backup programs let you create a boot diskette containing a scaled-down version of the backup program, so you can perform a restore without having first to install Windows and the backup program.

Another difficulty with tape drives is that the target computer must have a compatible tape drive and either a copy of the software installed, or a boot disk with the mini-version. Backup data written to a tape by one backup program is commonly useless to another backup program, so you will need the same program for the restore that created the backup. If your PC was damaged or stolen, you may have problems locating a replacement tape drive that uses the same format, especially if you used an older drive. For this reason, we recommend never relying solely on tape backups.

That said, you should keep in mind that all types of backup media are fallible. With some compression formats, a tiny defect in the media can render the entire backup unreadable. For this reason, you should never have just one copy of your backup. Tape, CD-Rs (CD-recordables), and Zip disks are all cheap enough that you can afford several sets. If your data is critical, we recommend maintaining a minimum of three on-site and three off-site backups (utilizing at least two types of data storage media). With this many, it is unlikely that faulty media will keep you from restoring your files.

Two Degrees Of Restoration

There are two main occurrences where you will need to restore files from a backup. The first is if your computer suffers a major problem, such as hard drive failure or data loss as a result of power surges or power failure. The second is if one or more of the files on your computer get erased or damaged, or become infected with a virus. In the first case, you may need to restore all the files you had on your PC, whereas in the second you can probably just restore the individual files you lost.

You should handle each of these situations differently; your exact course of action will depend on the type of media you used to make your backup and the type of backup you created.

Full restoration. If your computer has suffered a major problem and a full restore is necessary, you have a decision to make. Will you restore your programs, or do you want to reinstall them? Restoring them will be quicker, but reinstalling them will yield a more stable and faster system.

Many backup programs, both for tape drives and recordable or rewriteable CDs, allow you to create a bootable emergency floppy diskette. These generally contain a version of the restore program you can use without having a running version of Windows present. If your backup program has this option, you should create and test the boot diskette now, before you actually need it. If you keep both on- and off-site backups, it would also be wise to have at least one copy with each.

When you boot your PC with this floppy, it loads a custom version of DOS and a scaled-down version of the restore program. It can restore your hard drive to its condition at the time of your last backup, prior to the catastrophe that ravaged your data. You can then reboot from the hard drive and have a fully functional, ready-to-use version of Windows with all your software ready to run. The advantage of this approach is that it preserves all your program configurations and Windows user preferences.

If you have your data and static data on other partitions or other physical hard drives, you can now use the full version of the restore program to restore those if needed. Since hardware disasters frequently only affect your boot disk (usually your C: drive), though, you may not have to restore data to other drives.

This approach becomes more complex if you have an incremental backup to work with. In addition to working through each incremental backup, after you finish the restore you must deal with any programs or files that you deleted from the original computer during your backups. For this reason, we recommend that if you plan to restore your programs (as opposed to data, static data, or configurations) that you only perform full backups.

If you plan to reinstall your software rather than restoring it, you will need to have access to the installation CDs for all your software. While it can work to reinstall some programs and restore others, it is a delicate process because you must make sure that you use the most current DLL (dynamic-link library) files. You must also be sure you use the restored Registry, as restored programs may depend on their previous Registry entries to function properly (or at all). Using a restored Registry rather than using a fresh one means you will lose much of the benefit of performing a clean installation. If you don't have installation media for all your programs, however, this may be your only choice.

Once you've restored or reinstalled your programs, you are ready to determine whether you need to restore your data and static data as well. If you do, don't worry, the process is pretty straightforward. Data and static data don't use Registry settings or require DLL files, so you can simply restore all of the data from your most recent backup. If you have been making incremental backups, you must restore starting with the last full backup and then work chronologically through all your incremental backups, from the earliest to the latest. Once the restore is complete, you will need to check your data to see if you restored any files that you had deleted since creating the backup.

Partial restoration. If you have only erased or damaged a few data files, restoring is much easier. If you have and use several sets of backup media, we recommend that you perform a backup to the oldest media before you begin. That way, if you accidentally overwrite a file you did not want to change, you can get it back.

When you're ready to begin, load your most recent backup and use your backup program or Windows Explorer to search for the files you want. Most backup programs won't overwrite a newer file with an old one in their default configurations, so if you want to do so you'll need to adjust their configuration settings. If you are using incremental backups, you will have to work backward, beginning with the most current backup, until you find the file or files you wish to restore.

Microsoft Backup gives you several options for dealing with existing files when restoring your data.

Restoring Your Files With Microsoft Backup

Start Microsoft Backup by clicking the Start button, pointing to Programs, Accessories, then System Tools, and clicking Backup. Once started, the following steps work for both the Windows 98 and Windows Me versions:

1. Microsoft Backup runs a wizard that offers three choices: Create A New Backup Job, Open An Existing Backup Job, or Restore Backed Up Files. Select the last option and click the OK button.

2.Select the drive or storage device you will use to restore your backup files.

3.If the media you select contains more than one backup, you'll need to select which one to restore. Microsoft Backup displays the name, date, and time of each backup present to make this easy.

4.Select the files you want to restore (this step is crucial). Regardless of how you performed the backup, you can pick files or folders to restore individually or in groups.

5.Next, indicate whether you want to restore your files to their original location or select a different one. Most users copy their restores to their original locations to keep things simple.

6.Tell Microsoft Backup how to handle the situation if the file you are restoring already exists. Your choices are to skip that file, replace that file, or replace it only if the backup file is newer.

7.Microsoft Backup tells you the media it will require. Click OK to start the restore.

The Windows 95 version of Microsoft Backup requires the same information, but it lacks the Restore Wizard newer versions have. Rather, it lets you make your selections manually as you did when creating your backup.

1. Click the Restore tab.

2. Point to the storage device or hard drive subdirectory containing the backup.

Microsoft Backup keeps you informed of its progress while it is running.

3. Indicate the backup set you want to use from that location (if more than one are present).

4. Click the Next Step button. Microsoft Backup brings up a complete list of all the files contained in the backup set you selected in the previous step.

5. Select the files and folders to restore.

6. Click the Start Restore button.

With either version, Microsoft Backup keeps you informed of its progress with a progress indicator. When it is finished, click the OK button and close the program.

A Post-Restore Checklist

One thing you want to avoid is restoring your files only to find out something is amiss after you have overwritten your old backup files with new ones. This is more likely to be a problem after a major restore, or after moving data and programs to another computer. To avoid this, perform the following checks after any restore:

1.Restart your system to make sure it boots normally.

2.Make sure your printer, modem, CD-R or CD-RW drive, scanner, speakers, and other peripheral devices work.

3.Run a check of your system using your antivirus software.

4.Run ScanDisk.

5.Start all your programs and make sure they work properly. Reinstall non-functioning programs from their installation media (CD-ROMs or diskettes).

6.Make sure you can log onto the Internet and any networks you use.

7.Load every major data file. Scan through each one to make sure they appear normal. Note that problems often appear near the ends of files.

If you encounter a problem, you can solve it by working back through your restore to see what you overlooked or by restoring a missing file from an earlier backup. With a little planning and preparation, restoring your files from a backup can be a minor inconvenience rather than a major disaster.

by Ronny Richardson

Restoring Lost Settings

If you have worked with your computer for a long time, it is likely that you have modified a large amount of the user preference settings in both Windows and the programs you use regularly. When restoring files, you would naturally like to keep as much of that customization as possible. Unfortunately, this is difficult to do without special software designed for this purpose, because programs don't store the changes you have made in a common location. Many of them are stored in the Windows Registry and are therefore very tough (if not impossible) to move to another computer. Others are stored in various configuration or program files, and are usually easier to transfer or restore.

Here are some tips on restoring some Windows settings and some of your settings from two commonly used applications:

Windows stores your Start menu settings in the folder C:\WINDOWS\START MENU. It stores most menu options as shortcut files. Copy these files to another computer to transfer all your Start menu options. Be aware that if you do not first erase the contents of this subdirectory on the target computer, you will merge the existing menu and the one you're importing. In addition, if you don't install the programs that correspond to your Start menu items on the target computer (or if you install them in a different location), the Start menu items will not work.

Microsoft Word stores its AutoCorrect entries in the Windows Registry, so they aren't easy to transfer. It stores any macros you write, changes you make to its menus, or icons you add to its toolbars, in a file called Normal.dot in your template subdirectory. Copy this file to the correct subdirectory on the target computer, and your new version of Word will look much like your old version. To find the correct subdirectory for any Word file, open Word, click the Tools menu, Options, and the File Locations tab of the Options dialog box. Words you've added to its dictionary are stored in the Custom.dic file and you can transfer these to another computer as well. You should not copy any Word file while Word is running.

Netscape Navigator stores your Bookmarks in a file called Bookmark.htm. Its location differs depending on how you configure Navigator, so you will have to use the Find command to locate it. Copy it to the correct folder on another computer (again, not while Navigator is running) to transfer your Bookmarks.

Other programs use a variety of files and Registry entries to store the options you set. Sometimes you can transfer them by copying the proper data files to the target computer, but Registry files make the process tougher. Consult each program's documentation or look for information at its manufacturer's Web site to determine where it stores its user configuration information.

Putting Your Backups To The Test

Our writers make their living with their computers. At any one time, they may be working on several articles. Much of this work includes tight deadlines, so losing any or all of this data would be very damaging. For this reason, some of them are meticulous about making daily backups.

If you depend on your computer as much as we do, you'll want to not only make daily backups, but in addition to make certain that your backup strategy will both protect you from data loss and get your computer back into operation as quickly as possible. You might think that testing your backup strategy would be dangerous to your data or computer, but that is not the case.

Currently, you can buy a large hard drive for $150 or less. If you are willing to do so, you can safely and thoroughly test your backup strategy in an afternoon. Best of all, if you spot any problems with your backup strategy, you can fix those problems easily and rerun this test. Here's how it works:

1.Buy a new hard drive large enough to store your program files and data.

2.Turn off your computer and open the case.

3.Take out your existing hard drive(s). This protects all your existing data and programs files.

4.Install the new drive.

5.Close the case and turn on your PC.

6.Restore all your program files and user data.

Chances are, you will run into a problem. Perhaps your boot diskette doesn't recognize your CD-ROM drive, or you can't locate a driver file you need. If this were a real disaster, you would be stuck until you could resolve the problem. To do so, you might have to go to a friend's house to download a driver, or buy a new copy of a program. If you get stuck while running this test, you can reinstall the old hard drives to correct the problem. You can then replace the new hard drive and either start the test over (by reformatting the new hard drive), or continue from the spot where problem occurred. Once you have all your programs and data restored, you will have spotted any flaws in your backup strategy and can be certain that you can quickly recover from any problem.

Completing this test has two additional bonuses. First, you may find that your system runs faster and crashes less. That is because over time, as you install and uninstall or reconfigure programs, Windows and its Registry become cluttered. A reinstall from scratch removes all this clutter. The improvement is so great that many people perform a fresh reinstall of Windows and all their programs every six months or year. Second, you can put either of your hard drives on the shelf and have a working backup of your programs ready to slide into your computer on a moment's notice.

Want more information about a topic you found of interest while reading this article? Type a word or phrase that identifies the topic and click "Search" to find relevant articles from within our editorial database.

Home Copyright & Legal Information Privacy Policy Site Map Contact Us