I have *never* used Windows backup utility ... help me out, please.

[eppur_se_muova]

I've used Macs for years and have never needed to do a full backup of a Windows system, even though I use them occasionaly. Now I'm trying to help someone copy her files from a laptop to a new desktop. So ... in Windows XP, alt-double-click on the laptop disk icon. Choose Tools. Choose Backup. Choose files to backup (all) and destination disk (attached to laptop). Files saved as a .bkf file, then utility asks us to insert a floppy(!) but there is no floppy drive on the laptop and no other option given to save the ??? file (three letters -- ASD ?? or something like that). Now we have a huge .bkf file on the external disk. Move external disk to new desktop (Windows 7) and ... can't open .bkf file. MS's "search the Web ..." option provides a list of downloadable SW from various sources that may or may not fix the problem if you make a purchase. Isn't there some simple way to open a file created by MS's own system utility, using MS's own system utility ???

[ChromeFoundry]

1. If you are on a network...

you can create a shared folder and copy the files directly over the network from one machine to the other.

If you are looking to move installed software, setting and files from one machine (new machine) to another you may want to look into a program such as:
http://www.pickmeapp.com/

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Thanks, but it turns out there is a program called "Windows Easy Transfer" ...

that came with Win 7 that will do this. Unfortunately, we started out in Win XP not knowing we needed this program, and it took a *long* time to back up data ... obviously, we can start all over with Easy Transfer but I'd prefer it if Windows backup utility just worked the way you would think it ought to, so we could extract the data from the .bkf file.

Microsoft *invented* this file type, but their OS can't handle it ? WTF, Microsoft ? (As ever !)

[ManiacJoe]

3. Windows Easy Transfer is the program you are looking for.

Backup and Restore does not do what you want.

It does not surprise me that BKF files are tied to OS versions.

[canetoad]

4. Is this any help?

http://www.taskmanagerfix.com/how-to-open-bkf-file-in-windows-vista

Substitute Win7 for Vista. They are very similar.

[Earth Bound Misfit]

5. canetoad is on the right path...

...as always. However, Removable Storage Manager (RSM) is no longer included in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2.

A simple google search for "import .bkf file windows 7" yielded this Hotfix solution in about 3 mouse clicks, although I cannot vouch for the utility's effectiveness or lack thereof. Caveat Emptor & all that...

Description of the Windows NT Backup Restore Utility for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/974674

The Windows NT Backup Restore Utility for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2 is not intended to remain on computers that are running Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 indefinitely and should be removed once you have restored backups that were made on Windows XP and on Windows Server 2003.

All supported x86-based versions of Windows 7: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=18924
All supported x64-based versions of Windows 7: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=5771

Hope this helps.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Thanks a lot ! I knew someone at DU would know ...

and without that "Oh, pitiful Mac user ..." ambience.

[canetoad]

6. I've been thinking....

Yeah, I know it took a long time to make the bkf file but maybe the path of least grief is to forget that method and start again.

If it's only files being copied, they can just be transferred as they are; no need to make a backup. If migrating from XP to Win 7 it is pretty obvious that you are not cloning a system drive.

It's a shame you wasted your time with the bloody inefficient MS backup utilities but maybe now is time to cut your losses and just do a straight file transfer.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. I'm working with someone who's not gifted with a lot of patience ...

if the workaround posted above doesn't do it, though, I'll just start over with Easy Transfer.

Can spend 3 hrs in the kitchen while the backup runs.

[HopeHoops]

9. M$ seems to do this intentionally.

It's a way to force upgrades. They stop making it easy to find updates to older OS versions (even though they've still got them on the server) and make you get pissed off whenever you try to move things between versions. Trust me. I worked on the original IBM PC before the DOS became M$DOS. M$ Word is a good example. It can't open files from a few versions back without fucking them up but Open Office doesn't have any problem with them. I have to use OO to convert M$'s own file formats.

The best way to do this is to avoid backup software altogether. Use an external drive (a fucking terabyte is under $100 now). Just copy the folder onto the drive, unmount it, and move it to the Win7 machine to copy them onto its drive(s). Keep the copy on the external drive just in case something screws up. The Win7 backup utility works really well. It's very much like the Mac Time Machine program. I don't even bother with the Vista backup program - I do that manually onto external drives in native format (like I just said to do).

[eppur_se_muova]

11. That was my intrepretation too.

I was willing to bet good money there was an easy port from XP to Vista, and one from Vista to Win7, but not what I'm trying to do. Fortunately, there appears to be a workaround.

I recently worked at a university where I couldn't open ANY of my old Word files on the version of Word that was licensed to the U. -- this was part of the terms of the license, as I was informed by a message I got anytime I tried to import a file created in an older version of Word. So I had to take all my old exams, quizzes, etc. home, open them in the older version and save as .rtf files, then bring them back and open them in the new version of Word, where it turned out that every page break was now in the wrong place (apparently even with the same formatting and the same size fonts, fonts with the same name and size take up more vertical space than in older versions). The message I got from this ? Stop using Microsoft products. Unfortunately, MS knows how to convert purchasing agents to their cause.

I tend not to try direct copy of large numbers of files, because then I get error messages re one file or another, and I have to keep track of them by hand. As long as the number is small, it's not too bad. But I'm trying to port over ~33GB of data.

[canetoad]

12. Depending on the versions of Word

There are a free set of converters available for download at MS. I still use Office 2003 but have the converters for 07 and newer versions.

[HopeHoops]

13. One of the best cartoons I ever saw was when Compaq bought DEC.

It was a young kid (Compaq) being pushed in a stroller by a full-grown man (DEC) with the kid saying "I want to be like him when I grow up." The next panel was an young man (Compaq) pushing an old man in a wheel chair (DEC) who was saying "I wish I was still like him."

It wasn't a bad arrangement. Compaq machines had always been a bitch to work on and a VAX was a piece of cake (hardware). After the purchase, Compaq integrated a lot of VAX technology like drop-out cages for hard drives. I loved VAX/VMS. It was a reliable workhorse and paired well with Sparc stations. I still haven't figured out why Compaq dumped it.

I suspect we'll see M$ head down the same path, but I really can't speculate on who will eventually acquire it. I never expected Compaq to be able to buy DEC. Shocked the hell out of me.

[CK_John]

10. use a crossover cable

I would use a crossover ethernet cable about $6 and about 3 to 6 ft long. Just connect each computer at the network port and each computer is visible to the other(windows systems).

Just copy flolders and files from one to another.