I need to restore files from Vista Backup file structure

I backed up my files (not the full system backup) using the Vista Backup
tool. My computer crashed and it wont allow me to restore from the drive
that I had previously backed my files up to (it says its a system drive for
some reason). I do, however, see the backup catalog on the drive and can
access the files within. Most of the files can be located and restored just
by dragging them out of the compressed folders but the large files (videos)
have been split into multiple files with the same file name and won't open
with Media Player any longer.

Any suggestions on how to get these movie files to work (or to tell windows
that my backup drive is not a system drive)?

Any help would be appreciated.

Can you explain more about what happened during the crash and how you got
the system back up? In other words, how did you get the backup drive after
the computer crashed? (did you back up to D:, and then C: failed, so you
replaced C: with D: and reinstalled the OS?) We'd really like to understand
this!

There are ways to rejoin the files. Here's one suggested by a developer:

It is possible to join two or more files together using the '+' syntax on
copy.

copy smallfile1+smallfile2+smallfile3 largefile

The copy command above has to have "/b" switch in order to prevent
terminating reading from the chunk at the 1st ctrl-z.


There are also other tools on the Internet for this, such as tucows.com or
download.com. We just split the files at the byte level, so they can just be
"glued" back together.

Another question for you: did you try the advanced restore, backup made on a
different computer?

What happened:
I don't know exactly what I did to cause this but during a restart the
startup failed and left me with a black screen with the vista build number in
the lower right corner of the screen. The startup wouldn't go any further.
I tried running the Vista DVD repair to no avail so I re-installed Vista on
the same drive that it was on before (the C drive). Thankfully I had used
Vista backup to backup my files to my D drive(a separate hard drive). When I
tried to get my data restored using the Vista restore app, it wouldn't
recognize my D drive because it was (much to my surprise) now the boot disk
and the system disk. I found out how to change the bootmgr and make C the
boot disk but can't figure out how to change the system volume to C also so
the restore tool will allow me to restore my files off the D drive.

Yes, I tried the advanced restore but it still won't list my D drive because
it is a system disk.
I've passed this on to our team and will let you know
what I hear.

While the team is investigating this one for you, a wild thought...
Unplug the D: drive and do a repair of Vista. Now, plug D: back in and see if it
has lost its system designation. If it does, perhaps you can pull it and put it
in an external USB case.

We're not sure what happened. The developer suggests that if you can fix
your machine that so c: is boot, Backup should be able to load the catalog
from d: (restore from different computer) and restore the files.

The restore program will not recognize system drive(s) as a valid restore
drive. I've tried it.

I also tried copying the backup folder from D to a DVD and restore.
Although it gets further that my previous attempts, it eventually fails
stating that the restore application cannot read from the DVD drive. It says
to insert the disk volume (blank) and try again. Very frustrating. I
might have to just accept that I lost a couple of valuable videos. My fault
for loading beta software I guess.

Maybe we can try something else. When look into the tree structure of the
backup. I find the video file and another file with the .%%%TOC.WMV extension
on it. When I drag the video file (.avi file) to my desktop and try to play
it with Windows Media Player, I get the error.

"Windows Media Player cannot play the file. The player might not support
the file or file type or might not support the codec that was used to
compress the file."

Is there a way I can recover the file?

Thanks again for all your help with this. I really appreciate it.

There are ways to rejoin the files. Here's one suggested by a developer:

It is possible to join two or more files together using the '+' syntax on
copy.

copy smallfile1+smallfile2+smallfile3 largefile

The copy command above has to have "/b" switch in order to prevent
terminating reading from the chunk at the 1st ctrl-z.

There are also other tools on the Internet for this, such as tucows.com or
download.com. We just split the files at the byte level, so they can just be
"glued" back together.

What did you try, and how did it not work? Did you receive an error message?
Did you try the Internet tools? You aren't giving us much to go on here :-)

Can you also try moving the entire backup to another drive and trying the
restore?

I strongly suggest that you resolve the problem with your D:\ drive being a
system drive. It may require you to remove the drive from the case and using the
Vista DVD to repair your installation with that drive removed.
If the drive is still indentified as a System partition, you probably should
copy all of the data from this drive to another, non-system drive and recreate
the D:\ partition.
I assume that moving the data to a non-system partition, perhaps on an external
USB drive, will allow you to access the backup.

I finally got my D drive to stop being recognized as a system drive. Now the
backup/restore program recognizes the drive as a backup drive. I run
through the vista restore program and I can see the files that I want to
restore.

I use the restore wizard as follows.
I open the Backup and Restore Center from the Contol Panel.
I click on Advanced Restore
When the next window appears, I click on Advanced Restore again.
When the next window appears, I click on "Files from a backup made on a
different computer"
I click Next
In the next window, I choose my D drive (where the backup is located)
The next window says "Select the date to restore from.
My backup is there(the correct date and time is in the Date and Time column
but the backup location column states "Backup location is not available"
I choose the backup anyway and click next.
I choose "Add files" in the "Select the files and folders to restore" window
I find the file that I want to restore and click "Add"
The file appears in the window.
I click Next
In the "Where do you want to save the restored files?" window I choose "In
the original location"
I click "Start Restore"
The next window says "Preparing Restore" and then I get an error that states:
"The Restore did not complete successfully
Restore did not finish successfully. Error code:

The backup file could not be found. Check your hardware
configuration or restore from a different backup. (0x8100001A)
The only option is a "finish" button.

Thanks for your help so far.
At least I can see the backup now and get close to restoring my files.

Note your statement: "I click on "Files from a backup made on a different
computer" and then the following ""Where do you want to save the restored
files?" window I choose "In the original location" - "different computer"
and "original location" not compatible.

Why did you not elect the "Restore File" option instead of the "Advanced
restore"?

I tried to choose the Restore Files from last backup but my backup doesn't
show up when I make that choice.

I've also tried to save the files in a different location (eg desktop) and
that doesn't work either. I'm trying to figure out why is says that the
backup location is not available when it clearly sees my backup!?!?!??!

Can anyone help??? Microsoft Support???

Did you ever get an answer to this? I'm having the exact same problem.

I didn't receive an answer. Yes they are zip files but the large video
files in the zips are broken into 2 files, the video file and another file
with a .%%%TOC.WMV extension. If I try to play either file, a message
appears in Media Player stating that it can't find the codec for the file and
can't play the video. All other photos and docs are fine in the zip files.
I can retrieve them.

These videos are big ones of my kids so if I could find a solution to the
video splitting or codec problem, I would be extremely grateful and happy.