Need advice on putting backup from my desktop onto my laptop

Topic

New Reply

My desktop computer just died on me. I need to get what I have backed up onto my laptop as soon as possible.

Both computers have Win10 Pro 22H2, updated through last month. I have the desktop backed up with both FileHistory and BackBlaze.

I don’t use the laptop much, and it’s never been backed up. The are a lot of files on it, but not nearly as many as were on the desktop, and they’re all duplicates of the desktop files, so I don’t need to preserve them.

My issues are…

(1) I’m a computer idiot, and have little experience using backups to restore files (I’ve been lucky that way), so I can use any general guidance/suggestions anyone has to offer before I embark on this;

(2) Which backup — FileHistory or BackBlaze — is likely to be fastest/easiest/best for me to use, and why? Since there anything in particular I need to be aware of before using either method? And

(3) Are there any issues I have to account for because I’ll be using a backup created from one computer, with it’s own particular file structure, to put files onto a different computer, which has an entirely different file structure? For example, before doing the backup, do I need to delete the folder structure that currently exists on the laptop?

The desktop was partitioned, with all of the apps on the C drive and most, but not all, of the data files on the D drive. The D drive served as the parent folder for the data files, with many, many, sub-folders, sub-subfolders, etc. To extent that the desktop had any data files on the C drive, I don’t care about saving them.

The laptop has just the C drive, and the folder structure on that drive is completely different from the folder structure on the desktop’s D Drive. But, as stated, since all of the data files on the laptop are duplicates of files on the desktop, I don’t care about preserving them, as long as I can get the files from my desktop moved to it. (To make sure that nothing is lost, in case the backup doesn’t work for some reason, I can first copy all my laptop files to a hard drive, and then delete all those files from the laptop to accommodate what’s being transferred from the backup.)

So with that, I’d appreciate any advice that anyone has to offer regarding how I should go about this. If, say, FileHistory is the way to go, and there’s a sufficient online resource or guide that I can be directed to, that certainly would be fine. I’m just reluctant to blunder into this all on my own, without checking here first.

Thanks.

Reply | Quote

Replies

BobStr wrote:

My desktop computer just died on me. I need to get what I have backed up onto my laptop as soon as possible.

I looked up “FileHistory” and “BackBlaze”. The former would require a working computer. The latter is a cloud based backup. You would have to research them or ask them how to recover to a different computer, if that is possible. Maybe you can log in via the web and restore individual files and directories.

If I was in this situation, I would remove the drive from the desktop, and since I was trying to restore to a laptop, I would use a “USB 3.0 to SATA External Hard Drive Docking Station“. This would allow me to access the drive from the laptop and get what ever files I would need.

Reply | Quote

Thanks for the reply.

Regarding File History: I have a working computer — the laptop — and I know that FH can be used to put files on a second computer. The reason I asked about it, though, is that I wouldn’t be putting the files on a “clean” computer (which would be a simple enough process). As mentioned in my initial message, the laptop has its own set of files, and it’s own folder structure. And, of course, there’s a lot of overlap among the names of the folders on each computer. So the thing I need to know is what effect this state of affairs would have, and how to deal with it. Not knowing, I don’t want to simply blunder ahead, with the chance that I may only screw up the files to which I do have access — the ones on the laptop.

If anyone has an idea on whether and if so how it’s possible to use FH in these circumstances, I’d appreciate hearing.

Regarding Backblaze: going through the help file I saw that one method they have is to download the backed up files to wherever. There are steps to it, though, because the files do not reside on the Blackblaze server in the same form that they exist on a PC; they have to be converted and then downloaded. At the time I posted my initial message here, it had already taken 2 hours, and the conversation still wasn’t complete.

It ended up taking maybe 3 hours for the conversion to take place and then another 2 hours to download the resulting .zip file. And I then discovered that I couldn’t extract the files from the zip. Presumably very large (around 500G) zip files don’t work well — at least with Windows’ native process. So what I’ve had to do (or, at least, it appears so), is go back and convert the backed up stuff again, this time in smaller batches. That seems to work, but it is taking forever. So if there’s a better way, I’d certainly like to hear about it.

Regarding the docking station, I don’t understand what’s being suggested. The docking station looks like it’s essentially an external drive. I don’t understand how I could use that to access files on the drive that died. I’m obviously a novice with this stuff, so I’d appreciate a fuller explanation.

Thanks again.

Reply | Quote

BobStr wrote:

I don’t understand how I could use that to access files on the drive that died.

BobStr wrote:

My desktop computer just died on me.

You did not say your hard drive died, just that your computer died. So, I thought it might be  possible that your hard drive is still functioning. By using an external docking station, and plugging that into your laptop, you could see if you could access anything on the drive. If you can access it, you could copy files from that drive to your laptop. Just one idea.

OTOH, if the hard drive IS completely dead, you could install a brand new hard drive into the desktop, and re-install Windows. Your Win10 license is automatically attached to the hardware. Once Win10 is reinstalled, you could try recovering from the Backblaze cloud.

 

Reply | Quote

Ah, well this shows how little I know.

I assumed that since the computer shut down and wouldn’t start up again, it was the hard drive. Is there some way that one such as myself might determine whether the drive is dead, or if the problem lies elsewhere? You suggest plugging the external docking station into the computer, but I’m having trouble understanding what I would see, given the fact that there’s no power, and the docking station itself would have an operating system on it. If I turn the monitor off and then back on, it initially states “no DP signal from your device” and then it goes blank.

But I can now see that my saying that the computer “died” was ambiguous. The situation is that the computer initially seemed as though it went into sleep (or hibernation?) mode, and then wouldn’t power back on. The power button was lit — I believe it was a steady yellow light at first, but I could be mis-remembering — which, if I recall correctly, is what it normally is when the computer is sleeping. But pressing it did nothing — no sound, no change in the light, no effect on the computer. The computer just wouldn’t power up; nor did pressing and holding the power button in for any length of time make the computer power down. The only way to power down was to unplug it. When I plug it back in, the power button doesn’t light up until I press it; then when I press it there is an audible click, and it shows a blinking yellow light, but otherwise nothing happens. And again pressing the button does nothing; in order to turn off the blinking light I have to unplug the computer.

In these circumstances, is there a way I might explore using a docking station to deal with this? Or does what I describe suggest that the problem is with something other than the drive?

Assuming that the hard drive is the problem, I do like the idea of installing a new one. Though given how long it takes to do things with Backblaze, I think I’d go with FileHistory instead. Since I’d be restoring the files to a clean drive, I wouldn’t have any of the concerns that I expressed in my initial message.

But for starters — since this might make the entire idea moot — I’ve looked and can’t find my serial number for Windows. Without that, am I dead in the water? (I supposed I could buy Win 11 an install it, since it would be cheaper than a new computer, but of course I first have to figure out if the computer is ok other than the drive.)

Assuming that the license isn’t an issue, still … given the fact that I don’t know my way around this stuff, what do I need to know (or where do I look to learn) in order to select and install a new drive? Is it essentially just a matter of detaching some leads from the old drive and then reattaching the new ones?

Also, maybe this is another dumb/ignorant question: but I’m not clear regarding what I’m going to see once the new drive is attached. I’ve reinstalled Windows before, but it was always with a computer that already had some version of Windows installed. I thought I had to already have some sort of operating system installed in order to see something on the monitor. Not so?  Restated, since a new drive will not initially have any version of Windows installed on it, how will I be able to access the Windows installation file; what’s going to appear on the monitor?Sorry to be floundering so much here.Thanks very much for your help.

Reply | Quote

All things considered, with your limited computer knowledge, I would recommend that you get outside help from someone who understands computer troubleshooting.

Pulling the hard drive and connecting it with an adapter to another computer is a simple matter for someone with knowledge. The first thing I would do is, providing the drive is not encrypted, is backup the User data. Then go from there to troubleshoot the hardware.

You say it makes no sound. Are you getting a beep code when you turn it on and off? That could be ignored b/c it’s not the “usual sound” you expect on startup. It can help point to the problem.

1 user thanked author for this post.

PL1

Reply | Quote

Like @PKCano suggested, it might be best to have someone look at it for you. Maybe a Bestbuy if there is one near you. But, I will answer a few of your questions.

BobStr wrote:

You suggest plugging the external docking station into the computer, but I’m having trouble understanding what I would see

You would remove the hard drive from your computer and install it into the dock. The dock plugs in to AC and powers the drive. You plug the USB from the dock into the laptop. If the drive is working, you would have an additional drive on the laptop which you could copy from.

BobStr wrote:

But for starters — since this might make the entire idea moot — I’ve looked and can’t find my serial number for Windows. Without that, am I dead in the water?

That is the good part of Win10 & Win11. Once you have a digital license, Microsoft registers your hardware. If you re-install with a new drive, it automatically retrieves your digital license.

BobStr wrote:

since a new drive will not initially have any version of Windows installed on it, how will I be able to access the Windows installation file; what’s going to appear on the monitor?

The link I pointed to is the download page for Win10. You would go there with your laptop and download the Win10 image called a Windows.iso which can further be setup to boot up off of a USB drive or a CD or DVD. You would bring this USB or CD or DVD over to the desktop and when the computer powers on, the computer has an option to choose what to boot off of. And, if for example, it was the USB, it can install Windows on to your new blank hard drive.

This IS something a place like Bestbuy can handle, if after looking at it, they can tell what the reason for the failure is.

 

 

Reply | Quote

Thanks all for the help. Sounds like I’m best off getting outside help (this is a Best Buy just a couple miles away).

Regarding the question about whether the computer makes a sound: if I unplug it, then plug it back in, there is a single click when I press the power button, which then results in a blinking yellow light in the button. No sound after that, and pressing the button again (for example, holding it in to force a shut down) does nothing. At that point, the light continues to blink unless I unplug the computer.

Thanks again.

1 user thanked author for this post.

PL1

Reply | Quote

One thing to try.

Unplug the power cord from the back. Push and hold the power button for about 10 seconds. Plug the cord back in and turn it on.

 

Have seen this with many Dell Optiplex at work. Yellow flashing light in the power button usually signifies a dead power supply.

If it IS the power supply, that is a very easy fix for Best Buy as well.

Reply | Quote

Tried it, but it didn’t work. Off to a computer repair place this morning.

Thanks for the suggestion.

1 user thanked author for this post.

PL1

Reply | Quote

Just though I’d let y’all know how the issue seems to have resolved.

The repair people tell me that it’s the power unit. At least if it turns out that replacing it actually fixes things.

Thanks again for the advice.

1 user thanked author for this post.

PL1

Reply | Quote

That’s great. The power supply is not that expensive and your hard drive should still be intact. Once you get it back, you should start making backups that you can restore with a USB in case you really DO lose your hard drive.

Reply | Quote

Bob,

Power supply failures are not that uncommon. It’s a good idea to have an (inexpensive) power supply tester. I’ve got one from Antec. You simply plug in the main motherboard connector to the tester and “power-up.”

Zig

 

Reply | Quote

PL1 wrote:

That’s great. The power supply is not that expensive and your hard drive should still be intact. Once you get it back, you should start making backups that you can restore with a USB in case you really DO lose your hard drive.

Oddly, that’s how I used to do my backups: copy everything to an external drive, then periodically run a file comparison app to keep it up-to-date. After years of doing it that way, and finding it tedious (maybe there’s a better way than a file comparison app to deal with it, but I’ve never come across it), I finally decided to try something different.

That led me to OneDrive. I followed the basic instructions, but apparently the program didn’t like my having all of my data files on a separate partition, so the first time I ran it, it re-arranged everything. Some folders were completely moved over from the D drive to C:\Users\< blah, blah, blah >, others were moved there only partially (leaving the remaining partial folders on D), and still others were left entirely on the D Drive. I never did figure out whether anything was actually deleted, because at that point I immediately disabled OneDrive and used what I already had on an external drive to restore everything. (I don’t care what anyone says about OneDrive: I’m never using it again.)

Then, reading about the ease of backing up with File History and a cloud program, I shifted to them, and stopped directly copying files to an external drive. I used FH for several years, and Backblaze for the last year. Everything proceeded well, because I didn’t face any big emergencies. I occasionally used FH to restore older versions of files, or to replace ones I’d inadvertently deleted, and it worked fine for those purposes. I never had to rely on Backblaze, and regarded it mainly as a way to have a backup off-site, in case a disaster ever happened.

The problem I faced here was that I’d always relied on my laptop solely for travel, and so I didn’t store on it all of the files I had on the desktop. But when my desktop crashed, I lost access to a lot of stuff, and needed to get everything onto the laptop. But I then thought that FH wasn’t going to help, because of the different folder structures (my laptop, for example, wasn’t partitioned). At least I asked here whether there was any way to use it in such circumstances, and I didn’t get any response saying that there was a way. I therefore had to go to Backblaze, which turned out to be really tedious and time-consuming, relating both to the time it takes to prepare files for download, and then the time it takes to actually download.

There actually was a better way to deal with it, but it simply didn’t occur to me in time. I could have done this. First, copy all of the data files from the laptop to an external drive, to ensure that I didn’t lose anything to which I still had access. Then second, set up the laptop afresh. Partition it, and delete the data files and clean out the folder structure. Then now having a clean machine, use the Desktop’s copy of File History to put everything on the laptop. I know FH can be used that way, because I had previously used FH to transfer everything from an old laptop to a new one. I only wish that I had thought of it here. So, in short, I needlessly made this more difficult for myself by fretting about the folder structure on the laptop being different than the one on the desktop. I should have simply cleaned out what I had on the laptop, and gone on from there.

Perhaps what I really need to do is set up a home network, and sync the files between the desktop and the laptop that way, but until now, I never wanted everything from the desktop to also be on the laptop. Besides, I never learned how to set up a home network. Maybe I should look into that.

Reply | Quote

Zig wrote:

Bob,

Power supply failures are not that uncommon. It’s a good idea to have an (inexpensive) power supply tester. I’ve got one from Antec. You simply plug in the main motherboard connector to the tester and “power-up.”

Zig

 

Excellent idea.

Given the fact that my computer in now in for repairs, I don’t know that I have an immediate need for a power tester. But as you say, they’re pretty cheap, and if I ever have a similar problem, I can get one delivered from Amazon in a matter of days.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Reply | Quote

BobStr wrote:

Oddly, that’s how I used to do my backups: copy everything to an external drive, then periodically run a file comparison app to keep it up-to-date.

What I was referring to, is to find a backup software (paid for or free) that can make an image of your computer. The image could be saved to another hard drive. Most backup software solutions come with what they call an emergency boot disk. This can be a USB stick or a DVD. If your computer dies for what ever reason, you can still boot off of the emergency USB or DVD, and restore the backup image to your current drive or a blank new drive.

Reply | Quote

PL1 wrote:

make an image of your computer

My understanding of imaging is that it does the entire computer: not just files, but also Windows, apps, settings — everything. Unless you’re referring to something else, I’m familiar with the concept. And I have imaged my desktop, and would have used the latest image if it had turned out that the hard drive had to be replaced.

However, assuming that we’re talking about the same thing, I’m not understanding how that would work here, where what I wanted to do was put all of my data files, but nothing else, on a different computer, to be used there while the issues with my desktop computer were worked out. I have Windows set up slightly differently on the laptop, plus, while there’s a lot of overlap, I don’t have exactly the same apps or settings on both computers. So I don’t see where imaging would help me there.

Or am I off on a tangent?

Thanks.

Reply | Quote

BobStr wrote:

I wanted to do was put all of my data files, but nothing else, on a different computer, to be used there

You can open the image file and restore/copy any data from the image to any PC/HDD providing you have the backup Software installed / USB boot recovery for the software that created the image.

1 user thanked author for this post.

PL1

Reply | Quote

Alex5723 wrote:

You can open the image file and restore/copy any data from the image to any PC/HDD

I just keep learning stuff!

Thanks very much for the help.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Alex5723

Reply | Quote