Restoring
your backup.)

1. If you used Method
   1. above, simply reverse the process.

2. If you used Method
   3. above, simply reverse the process.

3. If you used Method
   2. above, keep reading:

For this restore,
you’ll need a few things. Make sure you have them all, tested and
working before you do anything else!

1. Make sure you
   have a good working startup diskette, and a blank
   formatted floppy.

2. Insert the
   blank floppy, and copy these files from the
   c:\windows\command folder to the floppy: xcopy32.exe and
   xcopy32.mod

3. Start the
   computer, and repeatedly tap the F8 key on boot up, and
   selecting "Command Prompt Only" from the menu.
   OPTION: Boot the system to the startup diskette, you
   don’t need CD-ROM support. (Not recommended, as *LFN*
   may NOT be preserved)

4. Make sure you
   are familiar with the drive letters. C is the old,
   non-working windows, and D (or whatever drive letter that
   contains the backup) is the good, working version you
   wish to restore.

5. At the C:\
   prompt, type: path=c:\windows\command (just to
   insure a path to the xcopy32, and deltree commands.)

6. Delete the
   entire windows folder by typing: deltree c:\windows

7. SKIP THIS
   STEP if you started your computer using the F8 key
   option!
   Remove the startup diskette, and put in the one with the
   xcopy32 files on it.

8. At the C:\
   prompt, type: xcopy32 d:\*.* c:\ /y /s (If you
   used the startup disk, it will be an A:\prompt, not C:\)

9. Done. It’s
   possible (depending on system) that *Long File
   Names* may have been truncated. I’m sorry if
   this happened, and there’s no easy way around it. You’ll
   simply have to rename the files and folders manually, or
   take the easy way out, and reinstall windows over top of
   itself, then manually copy any pertinent files into the
   long versions of their folder names. (ie,
   windows\favorites may be called windows\favori~1 after
   this). Be assured, the contents are still there, just
   unreadable from Windows, and you’ll have to drag and drop
   the shorcuts, favorites, documents, etc. from the
   non-working folders (the ones with the ~ in the name) to
   the ones without.

Now I know there are
slightly different ways of accomplishing the same thing, and the
instructions may vary slightly from system to system, so caution
is always advised. I know this works with all versions of Windows
9x and ME, it’s been tested (boy, has it ever!) multiple times. I
do not know if it will work in Windows NT/2K, but I don’t see why
it wouldn’t. I also know there are quite a few pieces of software
around (Norton Ghost for example) and hardware (CD-RW’s) that
will do this much easier, and probably quicker, but they are not
free, so don’t remind me of how "good, easy, painless"
this software is. You could spend money, get the software, and be
happy, but you wouldn’t have learned anything in the process, and
your wallet may be a good deal thinner instead. As usual, none of
the above is guaranteed, warranteed, or otherwise supported by me
or anyone else. If you have serious concerns/questions, please
post them in the appropriate forum at

http://www.pcmech.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

Cheers, and happy
backups!

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