Rapid Restore help

[ehermanson]

I have an old backup that I made a couple of years ago. I did not make this bootable. Now I have the need to pull a couple of files off of this backup. However, I am not certain which version on Rapid Restore it was made with. Does anyone have a clue how I can do this? I have been pulling my hair out for the past day trying to get at the files.

[GomJabbar]

Take a look at the readme file in the following directory: C:\IBMTOOLS\APPS\IBMRNR\. That should tell you which version of Rescue and Recovery you initially had with your ThinkPad. Note that the Rescue and Recovery version is different than the Rapid Restore Ultra version. For instance, I have Rescue and Recovery version 1.00.0033.004, with Rapid Restore Ultra 4.0 (I'll take a guess here that the .004 at the end of the Rescue and Recovery version number refers to the Rapid Restore Ultra version). If you have to, I believe you could uninstall your existing version of Rescue and Recovery, reboot, then install your original version of Rescue and Recovery from the above directory.

When you have a good version, you can boot up into Rescue and Recovery by pressing the blue Access IBM button (or F11 I think it is) at the beginning of the boot sequence. If this does not work for you, try going to Start > All Programs > Access IBM > Create Rescue Media, and burn a Rescue Media CD to boot from. Boot from the Rescue Media CD to get into Rescue and Recovery. See following:

Rescue files: This recovery method enables you to rescue files to alternate media such as a diskette, a CD, a DVD, a USB hard-disk drive, or the network. For more information about recovering a file, see Using the Rescue files method

Note: In order to rescue files to a USB device, the device must be plugged in prior to turning on your computer and entering the IBM(R) Rescue and Recovery(TM) workspace.

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You can create a CD, a USB memory key, or a USB hard disk drive that you can use to help recover from failures that prevent you from gaining access to the Windows(R) environment or to the IBM(R) Rescue and Recovery(TM) workspace on your hard disk. Use your startable recovery media when you cannot enter the IBM Rescue and Recovery workspace by any other means. Although such problems are rare, it is a good idea to be prepared and make your startup recovery media as soon as possible, before a problem occurs.

You can perform the following tasks using the Rescue and Recovery workspace from your startup recovery media:

Recover files, folders, or your entire hard disk contents from a backup using the IBM Rapid Restore(TM) Ultra program
View key information about your computer and an event history
Troubleshoot problems by using information and diagnostics
Transfer files from your computer or network to other media
Access the Internet and link to the IBM support site

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Note: If your startup media fails to start, you might not have your startup device (CD drive, DVD drive, or USB device) set correctly in your BIOS startup sequence. Refer to the documentation that came with your computer for information about gaining access to the BIOS configuration utility.

To rescue files from a backup while within Windows, see following:

To restore one or more individual files, complete the following procedure:

1. From the IBM(R) Rapid Restore(TM) Ultra interface, click Restore and select Restore files.
A message is displayed reminding users that want to save files or folders to a USB device to plug in the device and restart the computer now.

2. Choose the location for the files to be copied:

Entire hard drive contents: Enables you to browse the hard disk drive to find the file, or files, that you want to rescue.

Backed up files only: Enables you to browse and rescue only files that were backed up using the IBM Rapid Restore(TM) Ultra program.

Non-backed up files only: Enables you to browse and rescue only those files on your hard disk that were created or changed since the last time a backup operation was performed by the IBM Rapid Restore Ultra program.

My Recent Documents only: This selection is available only if you choose to view Non-backed up files only. It enables you to limit your non-backed-up files view to show only recent documents saved in your Windows(R) environment. Use the drop-down menu to select the appropriate user account that contains the recent documents you want to rescue.

3. Choose the Destination for the files to be restored from the drop-down menu. The amount of free and used space for the selected medium is displayed.

Note: Only mapped network drives are displayed in the provided interface. If you want to use a network drive, you must map the drive before continuing with the procedure. After mapping a network drive, you might need to click the Refresh button before the drive is displayed in the provided interface.

4. Select the files that you want to restore from the provided interface, and then click Copy. A message is displayed indicating that the files that you selected will now be transferred.

5. Select the files you want to restore by expanding the file menu and placing a check mark in the check box next to each file, folder, or drive you want to rescue.

Note: Marking a folder or drive letter will result in restoring all files and folders contained within that directory structure. As each check box is marked, the amount of free and used space shown for the destination medium is updated.

6. Click Copy; then, OK. The file transfer begins.

7. If the program determines that there is not enough space on your destination medium to accommodate the files you want to restore, a message is displayed advising you that there is insufficient space. To delete unneeded files from the destination medium, expand the file menu under Delete unneeded files to increase free space and mark the check box next to each item you want to delete. Then, click Delete.

When you have cleared sufficient space, click Copy to start the file-transfer process again.

8. When the file-transfer process is complete, click OK. Then, click Exit to close the Restore Files and Folders window.

I hope this helps.

[ehermanson]

The original Thinkpad with its Rapid Restore Ultra directory are long gone. The computer was sold and all I have left of it is this backup. Looking at the tvt.txt file, I can tell that it was created with Rapid Restore Ultra, but not which version. Even if I knew the version, I do not have access to the software, that I know of.

Is there any other way to recover files from this backup without jumping through too many hoops?

[zhoubin5371]

I have just read your passage.

Maybe you can make a ghost to store your information.

Morever, I advise you to call IBM service, probably they will give you a better answer.