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Old May 15th 21, 12:24 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul[_32_]
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Posts: 11,873
Default O.T. Missing Folder/files

Robert in CA wrote:
I understand we can change the label but not the ID but not
how do I do it step by step? I have no clue what to do even
after I download it ?

I decided to do a backup on the 8500 to check it and see if it
had the same XML issue. All Mrimgs looked good until the end
and the earliest date! So I've had this since 2016 and there's no
way how I could remember that long ago what I did to get this
but we need to resolve this problem if I'm going to have clean
Mrimgs for both computers This is especially true of the 8500
which has it's original hd and needs to have clones made.

https://postimg.cc/CRgxByhS

https://postimg.cc/yDjsDkpy

https://postimg.cc/mzzspVLm

https://postimg.cc/bdV6w8RS

Thanks,
Robert


What you're looking at there, is a list of backup definition files.

The earliest ones were made to back up a disk configuration
that existed in 2016.

The backup definition is there, to back up the things you
wanted at the time. There must have been a partition 4 at
the time for example.

Such a backup definition file would not be relevant to today
in 2021. Your drive has fewer partitions on it, implying
you made a configuration change.

Consequently, a backup definition prepared in more modern
times, is likely to be correct for a job in 2021.

You don't have to use the old definitions, in the year 2021.

What's important, is the partitions you need to back up,
are getting backed up. To check that, you go to Restore,
Browse for files to restore, select one, pretend you're
going to Restore it. There will be a graphical representation
on the screen, including a DiskID. That tells you what
actually got recorded. If there is a System and a C: ,
then that's the OS portion secured. If there is a 24GB Restore
partition, that's the Dell Restore for putting a clean OS back.
Maybe you've captured that too. That would be part of keeping
a Dell 8500 in order perhaps.

I don't see anything particularly wrong here. Computers
change. We make new definition files in the Backup menu,
to account for change, and capture the disk as it is
today.

Perhaps you would not want to even restore an image from 2016.

When the image does not match, there are some things you can do.

1) Select an MRIMG file, like double click on one in File Explorer,
and you should be prompted, via a small window with a tick box
per backed-up partition, to mount the MRIMG file as if it is
a virtual disk drive. The letter C: you backed up, you can, via
that menu, tell the machine to temporarily make that drive
letter W: . Once mounted, you can traverse W: and copy out your
BookMarks file from 2016 and put it on a current partition of the
hard drive.

This is the so-called "Random Access" option, in which you go
fishing inside a backup, for a specific file or folder you need.

There is no need to restore every blasted MRIMG collected.
Some images collected are so old, they may not be desirable
as fully restorable images. They can be treated like a USB stick
with select-files stored in them.

I gave an example, where the oldest one I fully restored, was
two years old. And I only went back two years, for a specific
driver issue. Eventually, I returned the machine to the present day.

It's unlikely you would return the machine to 2016, to fix a
malware problem.

2) You can restore just a single partition from an old backup.
As long as the partition isn't marked Active, it won't blow up
the boot-ability of the computer. But there is only room for
four primary partitions (with MSDOS partitioning). You could
for example, examine the 2016 image collected (if you still
have one), and pull the "partition 4" from it that is currently
missing.

Again, no reason to restore the whole thing. You can be more
selective.

This is a lot like looking at old manuscripts at the library.
You expect old items to look "crusty" from the perspective of
today. Examining the images, by Browsing them, can help you
discover what changes happened to the drive setup over time.

This is why, picking names for MRIMGs, putting comments in the
Comment Field, is important for future archaeological purposes.
A backup is as useful, as the effort you put into cataloging
it. And don't panic, because you've collected "lots of something".
For example, I doubt you've lost a single BookMarks file. C:
is probably in every one of those backups.

If a backup completes too quickly, that's a hint something is
wrong. For example, one backup test I did, I was expecting
the backup to take 2 hours and it took 10 minutes. That
was a hint to me, that the preference I'd selected, hadn't
worked. And that's the only time to be really concerned, is
if the output isn't big enough to contain what you think it
contains.

You have many backup definition files. You made them for
a reason. The "name" of the backup, the text you enter,
that's your hint for later as to what you were doing.

Backup Definitions Existing MRIMG files
------------------ --------------------

Don't have to match Contain a self sufficient
existing MRIMG files snapshot.

Backup Definition 1.XML Can be examine, mounted,
Backup Definition 2.XML restored, as they stand,
.... independent of anything
else.
These are like cooking recipes.
"If you don't want a 2016 cake, Via Comments you keep in
don't use a 2016 recipe." the file, such a Comment
helps later, when figuring
them out.

There is no reason to panic. This is Forensics 101,
leave enough evidence *somewhere* so that if there
is any discrepancy, you've taken note of what happened
and why you did it.

I keep a notes file on my computer, for this purpose.
That's the central control for my machine. Think of it
as a log book. It doesn't have to be "pretty" to work,
it just needs hints. I occasionally transfer the notes
file to the other machine, so I have two copies of the
log.

Paul
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