online backup - moving files back to PC


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Old 07-12-10, 08:16 AM
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online backup - moving files back to PC

PC constantly freezes, has incredibly long delays before apps and internet become available at startup, and consistently give blue screen warnings.

Tried virus scans, malware scans, etc with no improvement and have had no luck finding a solution.

My ISP offers free online backup & storage so I am considering moving everything online, wiping the PC and starting fresh.

My question is about moving the files back to the PC after the PC is restored. is this a fairly easy process? Will the online backup program do most of the thinking for me? We have lots of photos stored and I don't want to risk losing them.
 
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Old 07-12-10, 08:56 AM
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I would back up to Cd's and thumb drive ,

put the photos on Cd's then use a thumb drive for the data

I have some pictures a the ISP that I haven't been able to get back to

thumb drives are cheap
 
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Old 07-12-10, 09:30 AM
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I agree, there are better options before backing up to your ISP.

I have a removable hard drive where I keep back up copies of all of my music, pictures, important data, etc. You might want to think about investing in one as it would be a lot easier to put your pictures on there as opposed to burning them to a bunch of CDs/DVDs. Plus, moving forward anytime you have new pictures or data that you wouldn't want to get lost if your computer crashes, just simply copy them over to the hard drive and you've got a safe backup.

You can get a 1TB external hard drive for around $100, and that should be sufficient storage space for the average user. You can check some out on Newegg.com here.
 
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Old 07-12-10, 09:53 AM
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Originally Posted by dsarver
Plus, moving forward anytime you have new pictures or data that you wouldn't want to get lost if your computer crashes, just simply copy them over to the hard drive and you've got a safe backup.
Installing an external hard drive makes sense but has limitations. You loose everything if the computer and external hard drive are destroyed in a house fire, both are stolen in a break-in, or direct lightening strike that not only takes out the computer hard drive but the external one too.

For roughly $50-$55/yr. ($0.15 a day), having online backup (Carbonite) in addition to an external hard drive is cheap insurance. Both are updated automatically, and its easy to restore files from either one.
 
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Old 07-12-10, 10:04 AM
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You certainly can't go wrong with using both an external hard drive and an online storage service. This might just be me being overly paranoid, but I don't upload anything sensitive (financial documents, etc.) to my online backup... I'm just not comfortable putting certain things in a place where I have no control over who can access it on the providers side (admins, their IT guys, whoever).
 
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Old 07-12-10, 10:39 AM
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Originally Posted by dsarver
You certainly can't go wrong with using both an external hard drive and an online storage service. This might just be me being overly paranoid, but I don't upload anything sensitive (financial documents, etc.) to my online backup... I'm just not comfortable putting certain things in a place where I have no control over who can access it on the providers side (admins, their IT guys, whoever).
I agree, and also somewhat paranoid, and reason for having both backups. At first, I too was overly paranoid about using an online backup service until doing research by what some of the “experts” had to say about their encryption methods and verifying against what was revealed on the sites of these providers. I still password protect certain sensitive documents as an added precaution but that too has limitations. I also like the flexibility to pinpoint a specific file(s) that can be excluded from the online backup service if deemed to be too sensitive. My other concern stemmed from the dot.com bubble, and watching a number of tech companies going bankrupt and closing down, and not wanting to be solely dependent on any outside business . . . probably would see evidence of this before needing to restore files, but the reason I wanted dual backup capability.
 
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Old 07-12-10, 12:26 PM
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I have two external harddrives - one at the office and one at home

I bring the one at the office home a couple times a month and cross-copy the files so I have a recent home copy at the office and vice-versa in case of fire
 
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Old 07-12-10, 09:06 PM
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Thanks for the input. I think I will go with the dual backup (online & external).
 
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Old 07-14-10, 07:39 AM
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Picked up an external hard drive from Newegg last night.

So now my question is about the PC and the difference between restore, reformat, and repair.

I have tooled around with repair and it seems like I need to know what the problem is (I don't) before I can repair the PC.

Reformat seems to require the original operating system discs which I don't think I can find, they are probably stored away in the attic somewhere.

I have a Windows XP Home upgrade disc I bought for another PC, but my operating system is XP Pro. Could I use this?
 
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Old 07-14-10, 12:05 PM
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Have you checked to see if your hard drive is almost out of room. That may be your problem.
 
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Old 07-14-10, 12:16 PM
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Restore returns the computer to a previous state. In theory, one of the captured states (called "restore points", which are essentially "snapshots" created by System Restore) will be before your computer started behaving poorly. So if you've backed up all your data/pictures/etc., then you could restore your computer to an old restore point and see if that takes care of your problem. Microsoft says that System Restore doesn't affect personal files, but you probably want to backup everything first to be safe. Here is the how to from Microsoft support.
 
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Old 07-14-10, 07:40 PM
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Originally Posted by michaelshortt
Have you checked to see if your hard drive is almost out of room. That may be your problem.
66 of the 80 GB is taken. Could moving some of this to the external hard drive help?
 
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Old 07-14-10, 07:59 PM
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when was the last time you ran defrag ?
 
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Old 07-14-10, 08:40 PM
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I would try moving files before anything else.
 
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Old 07-15-10, 08:21 AM
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Moving files to the external hard drive and then defraging your internal hard drive is definitely the place to start. I have a feeling you might see an improvement in performance after doing so...
 
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Old 07-15-10, 08:55 AM
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Defragmenting often makes little difference unless you're near capacity

You are
 
  #17  
Old 07-16-10, 11:19 AM
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2 things

First, go to add/remove and get rid of programs that are taking up room and you don't want.
Run disc cleanup and cleanup your browser.
'Run' %temp% and empty the folder.
Run MalwareBytes -Anti malware and then a good a/v program. There is a free AVG. Google Trend Micro also to see if you can obtain free detection and removal
If that does not help, I'd get to the attic and find the discs to format and reinstall both the hard drive and install drivers.
Secondly, there is backing up and there is "imaging"
If you have or get an external hard drive you can either buy Acronis True Image or better yet dowload the free version of Macrium Reflect. It is an imaging program which is easy to use and takes a snapshot of your hard drive. It is better than backing up which has problem with recovery.
Back your entire system to this drive for two reasons.
One is to retrieve a lost file and second to recover in case of failure or disaster(such as you are in now).
Don't put any sensitive material in our pc.
They have flashdrives which can contain all your passwords and banking etc.
Use two of them for security/safety and you can keep them around your neck or in a vault.
The imaging I suggest has saved my self and countless others the grief of reinstallation and is the best way to go.
Good luck and stick with it; little bit each day so you are not overwhelmed and you will be surprised what you will learn and be in a better place. Buy a little at a time. Get a terabyte for external drive size.
 
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Old 07-19-10, 10:04 PM
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I received the external hard drive, ran the backup utility in Windows, it recognized the external drive and the backup completed successfully. But when I look at the external drive, I don't see the backup files.

I see them in the backup log that was created on my C:drive in the backup utility program. Am I supposed to move the backup that was created to the external drive?

The files I see on the external drive are some I moved myself. Am I missing a step?
 
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Old 07-20-10, 04:58 AM
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image

You are on the right track.
You first have to install the external hard drive so you can see it in My Comp. Open MY Comp and you wil see MY Book or whatever the name of your new drive is. If you can't call suppoert as your drive is new and has an 800 number so you can locatethe drive.
Now, you do not want to back up. You want to image. Do not use Windows at all.
Google, Macrium Reflect and download and install it.
This is the imaging program that will take a snapshot of your pc, not Windows.
Follow the prompts to 'create' a full system image of your hard drive. I do not remember exactly what it says as I am not at my pc.
If you can't find it(big red area) write back.
You will follow staraight forward prompts to image your C: drive to your external drive. Next, hover your cursor over the icons on the program until you find where you can verify the image you created.
You should be able to look in your 'MY Comp' and find the back up. Hover the cursor near it and it will show the date of the back up. Keep a couple of them so if something goes wrong you can restore.
Importantly,during the installation process it is going to ask you to create a rescue disk. You must do this and it is ez.
Us the Linux choice not the bart PE one.
If you ever have trouble you can either retrieve a single file or your entire system. You need the rescue disc to insert to do this.
Now, I have to leave but if you have trouble with this, write back and when I am at the othe pc with Macruium I can better help you along.
When you have a successful image go to the external drive which is in My Comp where you see all your drives and delete the old backup.
It sounds confusing now but you will see it fall into place.
First find your external drive in MyComp. As I said if you can't
locate it call you 800 number that came with your drive. It has to be recogmised by the pc first before doing anything.
 
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Old 07-20-10, 08:16 AM
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I was able to locate the backup file on the external drive. I was expecting to see all the files displayed, not just the backup (zip?) file.

I will take a look at the imaging software.

So to be able to free up space, view, and work with the files I need to move them to the external, not copy them. Correct?
 
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Old 07-20-10, 08:35 AM
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I would practice on some non important files until your comfortable with moving files first

Personally I just back up the files that are important to me , Quickbooks , my work folders and pictures

peters snapshot program is interesting but it will back up everything and take space equal to what you are using now

its something to do once to start with then just back up what you really need on a weekly /monthly basis
 
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Old 07-20-10, 10:31 AM
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imaging

Hi Stumped
You do not work with the external drive's software.
It sounds like you are at the point where you want to download Macrium Reflect
As a side note Mango makes a good point in this resect; put your sensitive information on a couple of flash drives. Things lke bank info and passwords -don't keep them in the pc or the external drive.
What you are going to image is your full system so that you can both pick up a lost file or recover your system in case of failure.
Please do not forget to create the rescue disc as soon as you install Macrium. Put it on a cd-rw (or flash, or cd or some external location.
When you need to, you inseret the disc in the machine and having set the boot oder to boot from cd you will see the Macrium program appear.
Recovery will take about 7 minutes as you will set compression to medium. Also, you will use the advanced button to select " Intelligent" ' copy. But that is down the road.
For now install the program(or if you wish to pay you can use Acronis).
Once the program is installed, look my notes over and get back to me.
Get the sensitive data in a afolder and out of the machine first.
 
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Old 07-21-10, 07:30 AM
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free not trial

Stumped
Note to download the "Free" version of Macrium Reflect not the trial 30 day version.
 
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Old 08-09-10, 06:27 AM
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bought external drive and backed up everything. removed old programs, moved all my pictures and ran recovery.


message said recovery was successful, but now I get a message that says system has detected a configuration error and the pc won't boot.

help!
 
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Old 08-09-10, 06:45 AM
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recovery

How did you back up and how did you recover?
You should use Macrium to back up the system and then use the rescue disk I told you about to recover.
Let me know.
 
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Old 08-09-10, 07:11 AM
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I backed up using the backup wizard program that is installed in Windows XP. I used the recovery program that is installed on the PC.

HP does not provide recovery discs for this PC, rather the recovery program is stored on the D:/drive.
 

Last edited by Stumped1; 08-09-10 at 07:11 AM. Reason: correction
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Old 08-09-10, 08:27 AM
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step by step

First you have to create those D: system reinstallation discs with dvds. have you done this yet?
Depending on your pc you go to the recovery >start > all programs >recovery application or place on your pc and follow the simple steps to create the discs that you use in case you need to reinstall your operting system. It wil probably require three dvds. Write back if you don't undertand this.
This is not back up and recovery, yet. It is just making the discs you should make when you buy your pc so in case you want to reinstall the operating system you can.

It is a one time deal which vanishes when you use it so you can't let others use it to make more discs.

After this is done we can get into backup and recovery.
We will not use the backup in your pc as it is not "imaging" and the wizard is not as good. We will use a free download called Macrium to "image" your system.
Do the first part above for now and write back.
 
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Old 08-09-10, 09:11 AM
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Thanks.

I googled "code purple" which is part of the error message. Apparently this is a recurring problem with HP computers related to the recovery process and motherboards. I will contact HP to try and get this resolved.
 
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Old 08-09-10, 09:33 AM
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step by step

If you still have free tech support you may call them.
Did you by chance use the D: to create dvds as you should have as you can only use it once. If unknowlingly you have removed this feature, ask them if they can help you in that respect.
That may be your error message.
After speaking with H.P. let us at least begin the backup and recovery so if your machine has a problem you can save it.
 
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Old 08-09-10, 09:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Stumped1
Thanks.

I googled "code purple" which is part of the error message. Apparently this is a recurring problem with HP computers related to the recovery process and motherboards. I will contact HP to try and get this resolved.
>>Is it refurbished or has it been modified?
>I hope this article helps you with code purple which is plaguing H.P/Compaq users:

One day my compaq just stopped working due to this code purple no upgrades no new anything! After searching google I found this site and learned about the lawsuit. After about an hour with hp online chat (the pc isover 5 years old)I was told someone would call me in 48 hours to confirm my address to ship the pc back to be re-tattooed free of charge. 4 days go by NO call back. This time I called hp they wanted to charge a fee to talk to a tech as I was told online chat you get a level 1 tech. Pay for the phone call you get level 3! I said NO way! Anyway long story short after a few different transfers around hp and after telling them I knew of this lawsuit (thanks geek.com) I was shipped the empty fedex prepaid box and received it back within a week just like brand new shipped from factory!

Before I sent it back to hp I had my computer guy download all important photos and docs!
 
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Old 08-10-10, 07:25 AM
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I was able to find a solution to "code purple" and am now in the process of restoring my files.

I apologize if this is a dumb question, but if I restore the files to the PC, aren't I restoring the problems as well?
 
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Old 08-10-10, 11:59 AM
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steps

Originally Posted by Stumped1
I was able to find a solution to "code purple" and am now in the process of restoring my files.

I apologize if this is a dumb question, but if I restore the files to the PC, aren't I restoring the problems as well?
>>We need to get on the same page.
Is your pc running ok?
What files are you restoring and how are you doing that?
I repeat, do not use any wizards or backup/recovery devices yet.
Let me know what shape the machine is in, where and how you have saved your files and what your files are.
Once we slow down and are on the same page we can proceed in an orderly fashion with out making errors. It is tempting to jump ahead but let us try to work together -ok?
If for example you go ahead and use some backup recovery wizard you may be in a pickle again.
 
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Old 08-10-10, 05:57 PM
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I did restore the files from the backup drive. Everything seems to be okay, but I don't have my internet favorites, and the user logins are not back to what they were (had three different users) . Also, my anti virus is not available, which concerns me.


Please let me know what I SHOULD have done. I would not be opposed to doing the recovery again, or restoring to where it was prior to the backup restored my files if this is an option.
 

Last edited by Stumped1; 08-10-10 at 05:58 PM. Reason: corrections
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Old 08-11-10, 07:23 AM
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Some of the symptoms eventually returned, so I went ahead and reformatted again.

My plan is to keep the internet disconnected and use my anti virus software to scan the external drive and remove any malware, viruses. Then install windows updates.

Not sure what to do after these steps are completed.
 
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Old 08-11-10, 07:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Stumped1
Some of the symptoms eventually returned, so I went ahead and reformatted again.

My plan is to keep the internet disconnected and use my anti virus software to scan the external drive and remove any malware, viruses. Then install windows updates.

Not sure what to do after these steps are completed.
>>I do not mean to be impolite but we are skipping all over the place and I cannot keep track.
I suggest that you re read this threadAll the posts or discussions) especially the part about H.P. and Compaq and the lawsuit. If you call them they should replace or reapir your machine because this is a known problem with tattooing that you cannot fix by by yourself. Once you get you machine fixed then we can go step by step in creating installation discs and then "imaging" your syatem.
I cannot help you further till this is done.
 
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Old 08-12-10, 09:31 AM
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I purchased Acronis Home 2010 online. After it arrives, I will get back with you to go through the steps.

Just purchased a new laptop in addition to this PC. I want to get it setup and protected while everything on it is fresh so I don't have to experience this again.

In the meantime I will get in touch with HP and get them to fix this. I have read online that others have been successful in getting them to take the machine back and make it right.

Thanks for all you assistance and patience with this.
 
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Old 08-12-10, 02:07 PM
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help

I too have Acronis True Image Home 2010. Take advantage of their free suppoert while it lasts. After that you can still chat for free and there is a forum.
I will be glad to help you and am glad you are making progress.
If you persist, H.P. will fix your machine at no cost. Mention the lawsuit to them regarding tattooing and the motherboard.
Macrium is what I use for my other pc and Acronis for this. Macrium is free.
Good luck.

P.S. don't forget to create the dvds to reinstall your operating system if you don't have the cd. Call the company for help if you need it but do it asap.
 
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Old 09-07-10, 05:24 PM
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Alright, I made the recovery disc with Acronis. I tried to copy (clone) one of my backups but I get a message that the file is corrupted. I was able to restore a backup using Windows backup recovery program. So now I have backups on my external drive and the PC.

What next? I tried tooling around with the Acronis, but its all foreign to me.
 
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Old 09-08-10, 10:41 AM
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Originally Posted by Stumped1
Alright, I made the recovery disc with Acronis. I tried to copy (clone) one of my backups but I get a message that the file is corrupted. I was able to restore a backup using Windows backup recovery program. So now I have backups on my external drive and the PC.

What next? I tried tooling around with the Acronis, but its all foreign to me.
>>There is not enough information here.
Please see the previous posts regarding contacting H.P., getting tech support from Acronis while it is under warranty, + free chat.
I think you need to start from the beginning and once your machine is running well you can then proceed to imaging and recovery in an orderly fashion.
Google the forum called WhatTheTech or Major Geeks. When you are at either, register for free then log in and post or ask a question. Please give as much information as you can such as;
type of pc + the trouble you have had with it especially the tattoo, poor running condition, + other issues.
Give your operating system and any service packs you have.
Tell them what you have done and that you are confused as to what to do. Tell them what your goal is.
I know you will not like the sound of this but they are professionals who will guide you from start to finish, properly.
You and I can go on forever but you seem to change and I can't follow what you do on your own.
Do not do anything on your own as you will push the wrong buttons.
Follow their instructions exactly and do nothing unless told and it will work out.
Other than this sound advice, you will continue to go from bad to worse.
Nothing is done quickly; you need to be patient, follow directions and they will sort this out for you.
I hope you have run a good virus scan and have a good firewall. Also try running
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebyte...-10804572.html. It is a free download and will pick up any malware in your system.Either your hardware is not functioning well or your software is corrupted so run the scans first to see what you find.
Download and run Secunia PSI and it will automatically patch any vulnerable programs. You may wish to copy and paste this message for reference.
Good luck.
 
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Old 09-08-10, 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Stumped1
Alright, I made the recovery disc with Acronis. I tried to copy (clone) one of my backups but I get a message that the file is corrupted. I was able to restore a backup using Windows backup recovery program. So now I have backups on my external drive and the PC.

What next? I tried tooling around with the Acronis, but its all foreign to me.
>>There is not enough information here.
Please see the previous posts regarding contacting H.P. etc.
I think you need to start from the beginning and once your machine is running well you can then proceed to imaging and recovery in an orderly fashion.
Google the forum called WhatTheTech or Major Geeks. When you are at either, register for free then log in and post or ask a question. Please give as much information as you can such as;
type of pc + the trouble you have had with it especially the tattoo issue.
Give your operating system and any service packs you have.
Tell them what you have done and that you are confused as to what to do. Tell them what your goal is.
I know you will not like the sound of this but they are professionals who will guide you from start to finish, properly.
You and I can go on forever but you seem to change and I can't follow what you do on your own.
Do not do anything on your own as you will push the wrong buttons.
Follow their instructions exactly and do nothing unless told and it will work out.
Other than this sound advice, you will continue to go from bad to worse.
Nothing is done quickly; you need to be patient, follow directions and they will sort this out for you.
Good luck.
 
 

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