Dell Backup & Restore not restoring files

Question

This has been an absolute nightmare for me and right now I hate Dell with a passion.

I lost my C: drive together with a backup drive a few weeks ago (after a suspected power surge) and I can't get DBAR to restore my files from a backup I made a few months back on a third totally separate external drive. The Restore fails every single time, so I tried the Mig Restore prog as has been mentioned but got the same result as one or two others, namely this:

I've tried to install Mig Restore on my own Dell PC, my wife's Dell PC in work and two separate laptops and they all look like the above, with the options to browse & restore greyed out, making the program useless.

I've bought a replacement C: drive and installed Win10 directly onto it (i.e. I didn't use my Dell System Restore discs) and a second HD as extra storage and installed DBAR separately onto the new C: drive. Is this why the Restore isn't working - should I have done a Dell System Recovery with my backup discs onto the new C: drive rather than Win10 in order to make the Recovery work? I just can't figure out how Dell Recovery is supposed to work if it's not as simple as opening DBAR and pointing it to the Profile1 folder in case of system failure.

And I'd LOVE to know why Mig Restore looks the way it does, but haven't found an answer to this anywhere online.

Thanks for any help - I'm desperate!

SportBilly5150 · Answer

Update/edit of sorts

Ok, I wiped my new C: drive and used my Dell System Restore discs on it, keeping it at Windows 8.1 (for now). I used DBAR to do a new backup with a handful of files that Mig Restore will now point to (so it seems that the above image is blank because it couldn't find a backup.)

I still have a problem, which is that neither DBAR nor Mig Restore will restore from my original .inp files - only restoring from the most recent 'test' backup.

Also, I tried to create a new backup to give me a fresh Profile1 file that I then repopulated with my original .inf files. However, when I try to restore from that I get a message saying:

"Please connect the device containing your System Backups to continue the restoration process"

SportBilly5150 · Answer

Is there really no-one who can help with this, even a Dell Social Media Support helper?

I'm stuck here with a new C: drive, a Profile1 folder that's got over 400 Profile1_FFB_xxxx.inp files (each one around 666,000Kb and no way of accessing anything.

Despite trying everything I can think of for the last month, I've just tried a total reinstall of DBAR, then running a new backup and recovering that successfully. I then did the same thing but added a couple of files from my original backup in the Archive and the restore process failed

So what's stopping it from working with a backup that was done before my drive died? Anyone? Bueller?

So the names of these files are all showing up in the Archive as they were saved, but as shown above, if I try to restore from an archive in DBAR, Recovery just won't restore them at all. I'm really getting sick of both being unable to get several years' worth of files & photos back after stupidly thinking the 'R' part of DBAR meant 'Recovery' as well as the fact that no-one from Dell seems willing or able to help with a Dell product.

SportBilly5150 · Answer

Right, I've had this thread going for over 2 weeks now and in that time it's had over 200 views but the only replies have come from me.

I'm guessing that those people who browsed (including Dell Social Media people) have got absolutely no clue and can't be bothered to tell me that they've got no idea how to solve this. Dell support on FB told me that using Mig Restore would solve my problems and it didn't. Failing that I'm to pay for out-of-warranty support, which I'd happily do if there was a guarantee of getting my files back.

Nobody seems to be able to tell me where my files actually are. Are the .INP files simply a form of zip that I need to unpack or are they holding some sort of mytical info that names every single file in my backup while the actual files themselves are somewhere separate that I've yet to discover? Perhaps I've actually registered an account in The Twilight Zone and I'm the only real person around here, gradually going mad when nobody replies but an intelligent supercomputer is creating fake posts for everyone else to make it look as though I'm being ignored? (Actually if that's the case it's too intelligent to be a Dell...)

I've got to say I'm less than impressed, especially since tax time is around the corner and a new PC is in my budget. It doesn't look like I'll be buying another Dell any time soon.

spacetweek · Answer

Hi Dell,

I am having this exact problem. I am using windows 10 and when I run MigRestore, I cannot select a drive because the app only shows grey areas.

1. My C: harddrive crashed so I had a repair shop take a Dell Backup, install a new drive, then reinstall windows.

2. DBAR says no backups are available to restore from.

3. MigRestore just shows grey areas so I cannot select any files.

Please help.

Windows General

Dell Backup & Restore not restoring files

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