How do i restore files from a windows 7 backup on a windows 8 pc?

Hi ChibiFain,

As I understand the issue, you want to restore the files that you have backed up using Windows 7 Utility on Windows 8. Please let me know if this is not correct.

 On start screen and type "Windows 7 file recovery" to search then click the Settings category and open Windows 7 File Recovery.

Give this a go; I’m confident you will find what you need here. But if you face any further issue please reply back to this post and I'll be happy to assist you further.

Hey, thanks for the response but I'm afraid you're mistaken, my issue is that I made a backup using windows 7, then did a clean install of 8. I did nt use the "7 utility" within 8, that utility doesn't recognize my backup for some reason.

I see the option for Windows 7 recovery but it does not recognize the back up files from made on my previous HP laptop running Windows 7 at all. The backup files were made by HP recovery because the hard drive issues are not allowing windows to start on my old laptop. I cannot do the PC transfer option because my old lap top is not functioning. I need to open the files that were saved to an external hard drive. I have tried EVERYTHING. How can this be so difficult?? Does this mean all my files are lost? What is the point of creating these backups if there is no way to open them?

This is not working for me. The Windows 7 backup files are not recognized at all. My old lap top is not functioning so I cannot do any direct transferring or reinstalling or anything at all with the old computer. I have to open the Windows 7 backup files from my external hard drive to another laptop running Windows 8.

I came across your question while looking for the exact same answer.  I hope your problem is resolved by now, but I wanted to add my fix for this in the event someone else found this while looking for an answer.

Problem:  A friend had a Windows 7 laptop that was his only "work" machine.  Everything was on it.  He did his backups regularly to an external drive.  Last night, the laptop crashed.  He was about 4 hours away, so I couldn't look at it.  He took it to a local shop (local to him) - they said the motherboard was dead.  He had no choice but to buy a new laptop - he needed it for work.  The question was, how to get his important work files from the Win7 backup on the external drive onto the new Windows 8 machine.  He was traveling, so he didn't have access to his Win7 desktop machine at home.

Our solution:  He plugged the external drive into the new laptop, went to desktop mode, and used Windows Explorer to browse to the external drive.  In the files listed, there is an item that is called the name of the computer the backups were done from - for example, JohnsComp.  This item will stand out because the icon is different - it looks like a disc with a green down arrow.  All the other folders have a folder for their icon - this one is a small disc with an arrow.  My friend double-clicked that item and was prompted to start the restore process.  I began walking him through the restore process.  I advised him to do the "Browse for Folders" option, and only select the folders he knew had his personal files.  When it was done, his files were restored.  At this point, he says everything is OK.  He is able to use the files as if nothing happened.

Note:  I advised him to not do a full restore of everything in his backup in the event some of the files were specific to Win7 and would conflict in Win8.  He used the 'Browse for folders' option and only selected folders like music, videos, documents, etc. 

yes sandy_26 you can do that if you only have Windows * but if you already installed windows 8.1 it doesn't let you do that it only let's you serch the files inside the folder but nothing else....it is really annoying

I agree. What is the restore option for users of Windows 8.1?

I have the same problem after I upgraded to 8.1 My E:\ drive where I kept my families home movies failed. I thought, no problem, I have them backed-up on my external hard drive. I now can not get them restored.

Hi ChibiFain,

As I understand the issue, you want to restore the files that you have backed up using Windows 7 Utility on Windows 8. Please let me know if this is not correct.

 On start screen and type "Windows 7 file recovery" to search then click the Settings category and open Windows 7 File Recovery.

Give this a go; I’m confident you will find what you need here. But if you face any further issue please reply back to this post and I'll be happy to assist you further.

The problem after I upgraded to 8.1 My E:\ drive where I kept my families home movies failed. I thought, no problem, I have them backed-up on my external hard drive. I now can not get them restored.

 

Please get me some help with 8.1

I'm having the same problem that the users above describe with restoring a Windows 7 backup using Windows 8.1, i.e. when I double click on the disc icon with the green down arrow, it just opens the folder rather than starting the restore process.  It's been more than a month since someone posted the last update from Microsoft.  Is there a fix for this in Windows 8.1?