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In my entry titled “How to backup your Microsoft Office 2007 Outlook in its entirety (Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7)” I described how to backup the Microsoft Outlook 2007 data file together with that part of the Windows registry that stores within it the email accounts from where Outlook retrieves emails or via which emails are sent out. Today I discuss how to use that backed up information to either recover a failed computer or to transfer the settings from one computer to another. The former may happen if the hard disk fails or as a result of a malware attack while the latter would apply if you are upgrading your computer or operating system.

On your freshly formatted computer you need to install Microsoft Outlook. Accept all the defaults. After the installer completes, run Microsoft Outlook for the first time. You will be asked a number of questions. Enter anything that will allow you to proceed to the end of this process. Do not enter valid email account details because Outlook will attempt to download mail after you complete the process and since this is not the database you will be using, you do not want any messages to end up here (this can be fixed but why create a problem that will need fixing).

 

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How many computer users rely completely on application wizards?  I have nothing against application wizards, in fact, I do recommend users to make use of these when they are using new applications and lack experience with that application. However, wizards most often set certain parameters to default values rather than adding an extra screen or step to allow the user to verify some advanced parameters! Wizards are tools with a sole purpose of making your life easier and hence, would assume many assumptions! Hopefully, safe assumptions rather than deceiving ones! But, is this ok with backup applications? Without debating whether this is correct or not, I would prefer to share with you the most important parameters to look for when performing a data backup: Read more »

Using the Backup and Restore console to restore files is very easy :) You can restore files to their original location or to a different location. There is another file recovery option and this is the restore from a shadow copy! Shadow copies are copies of files and folders that Windows 7 automatically saves when it creates a restore point. This feature may give you more flexibility when restoring files but such explanation is found in the Shadow Copies article.

To restore a file or folder follow these simple steps:

1. Open the Backup and Restore console – type backup in the search box Start/Search programs and files and click the Backup & Restore Icon
2. Click Restore My Files – assuming one or more backups have been done previously
3.  The Restore Files window shows the latest backup as default but you can click on the Choose A different Date to select an older backup
4. Click the Browse for Files button – click Browse for Folders button to restore a complete folder
5. Search for the file you wish to restore and click the Add File button – repeat for more files or folders (use the CTRL button to add multiple files)

    6.  Click the Next button
    7.  Specify the restore location
    8.  Click Restore – make sure when overwriting current files with older ones, that the older file is the one you want!

Finally, click Finish :)

Shadow copies are previous versions of files or folders and are created at the same time as a restore point. However, the system protection feature must be enabled! By defaut, Windows 7 creates Restore Points and Shadow copies for the system drive or partition only (Ex. C:). So, make sure that you set the Restore Settings for each and every drive you intend to save valuable data. Shadow copies are managed by the Volume Shadow Copy Service. Therefore, it is very important that this service is never disabled as all backup operations rely on it. Although, its startup state is manual, the service starts as needed by the different applications.

To restore a file or folder you simply right-click the file or folder (in windows explorer) and select the Restore previous versions option.
If the Restore previous versions is not available then your file structure must have been changed. Also, note that the restore operation is not reversible!

From the Restore previous versions window select the date of the desired restore point. If no previous dates are available, the selected file or folder has not been modified.

You have three options. You can Open the file (Open button) and view its contents and save it to an alternate location, you can Copy the file (Copy button) to an alternate location or you can just restore the file by clicking the Restore button.

Remember, that if you cannot find previous copies of files, then you have system protection disabled for that drive. Also, shadow copies are unavailble for Offline files and system files that are used by the Windows 7.