Reader Tom is dealing with this major hassle:
When I switched from Windows XP to Windows 7, I was very careful to backup my entire computer to my laptop. After installing Windows 7, I found out that it had changed its backup application, and I was unable to restore it from my laptop to my desktop. Is there a fix?
Kudos for backing up your system, Tom. Demerits for removing backward compatibility from your utility, Microsoft.
It’s true: the Windows 7 Backup program can’t restore files created with the Windows XP Backup program. Fortunately, there is indeed a fix: the Windows NT Backup Restore Utility.
I know: you didn’t use Windows NT to create your backup. But the utility that came with Windows XP was called NTBackup.
Be sure to download the correct version of the Restore Utility–“x86” for Windows 7 32-bit, “x64” for Windows 7 64-bit. Then just install it, run it, and point it to your backup file(s). Should do the trick.