Nero backitup essentials

[Big Jim]

Just done data recovery for a customer however the backup they have performed was using the built in software which came with their external harddrive which just happens to be Nero backitup essentials.
They seem to have chosen the drive backup option instead of the fle backup option so all of their files are locked up inside of 30GB Nero archive file

this software is awful, have any of you guys used it before ?

If I go through the software and search for an image to restore it doesn't see the backup image file, but if I double click the file from explorer it opens itself up in Nero.
It seems that they have backup 2 drives (or partitions) I have already restored the D drive, but it won't let me restore the C drive from within windows, instead instructing me to burn a disk in order to use Nero's disaster recovery tool, which i have done, however once booted that tool does not see any of the harddrives that are connected to the machine so i can neither see the image I want to restore from or the drive I want to restore to.

Is there anything I am missing or is there someway i can "unpack" the backup file to extract customers data ?
just to complicate things slightly, there are 2 image files one is ~30Gb the 2nd time stamped about 45 minutes later is 17GB, when opened in the nero software in windows they show the same size drives and data usage which makes me assume this was a sequential backup, or if I am lucky the customer tried different compression options and the smaller file is just a more compressed version of the same backup

 

[Larry Sabo]

Tried 7zip?

 

[nlinecomputers]

You were able to restore drive d from Windows. Can you not restore C to third drive? An external drive?

 

[Big Jim]

You were able to restore drive d from Windows. Can you not restore C to third drive? An external drive?

it says it cannot restore the boot drive from within windows, an that you need to boot with the disaster recovery disk which doesn't recognise any connected drives apart from the USB dvd drive it was booted from.
doesn't recognise USB thumb drives or anything.

 

[nlinecomputers]

it says it cannot restore the boot drive from within windows, an that you need to boot with the disaster recovery disk which doesn't recognise any connected drives apart from the USB dvd drive it was booted from.
doesn't recognise USB thumb drives or anything.

Check your settings because NERO can do selective file restore. https://support.nero.com/en/support...how-to-restore-old-backups-from-nero-backitup

 

[NviGate Systems]

Is the recovery environment Linux or WinPE? That can have an impact on whether drives show up. WinPE may be missing drivers, Linux might be old version which has known issues. Maybe try booting recovery in a virtual machine and see if it behaves same. There were times in the past I had to perform recovery in a virtual machine due to hardware limitations.

Also, which version of Nero? That can affect what function is available.

 

[Big Jim]

not sure on the recovery environment its heavily customised by NERO , how would I know ?
there is a newer version of the software which presumably would create a newer recovery disk with more drivers but the customer wanted to see if the original laptop that was backed up is still around before he commits to paying for the software
the disk says imagetool 6.0.19.100 when booting from it
the software on the PC is version Nero backitup essentials 6.0.18000.19.100

 

[NviGate Systems]

I had a look on Nero's site and Nero 6, which if memory serves was available with backup, was released in 2003! So that software was originally intended for Windows XP!

Nero does say you can install a trial of the new Nero and you will be able to restore your backup just in case you don't have the original program. I think the trial is like a 7 or 14 day trial so you could restore and test.

I think this is a good example of clients doing backups but never really making sure it works. Add to that it's a custom data format, so if something goes wrong you kiss your data goodbye.

I'd recommend the client to not only replace that drive they are backing up to (if it's really that vintage as Nero 6) but move to a more robust backup solution. Although I would commend them for backing up at all, as most don't.

 

[Big Jim]

I think its just an old backup of an old system, there is a single backup on the drive and no other files, a 1Tb drive with about 60GB in use.

The free trial I have already tried it says you need to pay to "restore from an older backup feature"

the boot disk is linux by the way, I have just booted it on an old Dell laptop we have lying around and does detect the internal drive so i could restore to that but it doesn't recognise the USB HDD connected with the image on it. so I basically just need to find an older desktop that will take 2 drives and I will probably be good to go.

 

[HCHTech]

If the easier option is to pay them and it's reasonable, just do it and get on with the jobs - it's part of the cost of the recovery, right? It doesn't make sense wasting hours to save a few bucks, IMO.

 

[nlinecomputers]

If the easier option is to pay them and it's reasonable, just do it and get on with the jobs - it's part of the cost of the recovery, right? It doesn't make sense wasting hours to save a few bucks, IMO.

This right here. Gotta grow a set and not care about the client financial situation. They want it fixed, it will take doing X and cost Y. Do wish to proceed? Yes or No? Next customer please.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I also find that collecting a diagnostic fee upfront makes it easier on me. They have paid me to figure out a possible solution. No skin off my back if they don’t take it.

 

[Big Jim]

well the initial agreement was data recovery from a dead drive, which i have completed.
Only he didn't realise it was in a proprietary format that needed extra software.
Thinking about it now I should have probably just paid for the software and billed him later, however we always work on the basis that we call customers before extra outlay, and he may have turned around and said, yes no problem i am using that software and I can restore it myself.

I found a solution I think now anway, the laptop i mentioned detects one of our spare SSDs connected via a USB adapter, so i am just copying the file onto another drive now so that I can copy it to this old Laptop then i can restore it hopefully

 

[nlinecomputers]

well the initial agreement was data recovery from a dead drive, which i have completed.
Only he didn't realise it was in a proprietary format that needed extra software.
Thinking about it now I should have probably just paid for the software and billed him later, however we always work on the basis that we call customers before extra outlay, and he may have turned around and said, yes no problem i am using that software and I can restore it myself.

I found a solution I think now anway, the laptop i mentioned detects one of our spare SSDs connected via a USB adapter, so i am just copying the file onto another drive now so that I can copy it to this old Laptop then i can restore it hopefully

Which is perfectly fine. You found the solution, even if he does the work. It is billable time and research. Not to mention the recovery of backup files.