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3707
July 14th, 2009 20:00
Files and Settings Transfer Wizard not able to read files
Hi again
This is getting to be a bit of a pain... After a recent flatten and rebuild of my Dell 9100 with Windows XP, I want to recover my files and settings that I had stored on a removable (USB) hard drive. But I am getting an error message that reads:
The location that you specified does not contain stored information.
Please type a valid folder path into the edit box
If you entered a path to a folder on a removable disk
the disk must be in the drive
To get to this USB drive I browse to it, no problem. I have been able to copy files to it, and view then copy them back. Hardware manager says its OK. I have looked at the file systems, checked on services, made sure there was nothing in security settings that might be blocking. I really want the settings back more than the files, who knows what I have set for mail, and network? Set them and forget them don't you? One thing I have noticed that is a bit odd after the rebuild is that the NIC, the VGA and sound are not working (drivers not installed apparently). There was a driver CD for the video, so that is done, but the other two are on-board. I was hoping that restoring the settings would have resolved that issue too
As always, your help is much appreciated
Brian
fireberd
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July 15th, 2009 04:00
You can't use the Transfer Wizard to just "copy" (transfer) files from a hard drive to the new system the wizard is for transferring from one PC to another. All you can do is copy user data over. If you exported for example the Internet Favorites to a folder you can import that. Programs will have to be installed using the program's installation and can't be copied.
On an install, the correct and required sequence is (1) Install Windows (2) Install Chipset Drivers (3) Install Device Drivers such as the Dell sound drivers, Video Drivers, Ethernet, etc. It sounds like you didn't fully install all the drivers when you installed on the new hard drive. The chipset drivers are critical to a successful install and are the most commonly missed item on an install.
Crazy_Aussie
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July 20th, 2009 22:00
Hmmm, I disagree somewhat with this. I have used the File and Settings transfer several times, both from one machine to another using a serial cable, and also temporarily storing the data on another drive (usually on a network drive, although this is my first attempt using a USB external drive). This is the whole idea of the utility isn't it? Rather than make backups, and re-set all your configs, as the name of the utility implies, it saves your settings.
I used the wizard and it seemed to run OK. I have a file on the external drive after the utility has run, with a .unc extension, and appears to be the correct size (51Gb) to indicate that it is the proper file.
While I might need to add chipset drivers, and device drivers, I want to hope that much of this is saved, and negate the need for having to go through these steps. If not I can do them after.