Help: I did Thinkvantage "Quick Restore to last backup" by mistake, but had never backed up. :-( Can't boot.

This started when I was getting an error message when I tried to boot up, saying "The User Profile Service service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded." From what I've read, all it needed was a Safe Boot (F8), edit the Registry, and it should work.

I had trouble getting it to Safe Boot -- not sure why. After many tries, by mistake I think I hit the blue Thinkvantage button, which I'd never used. And I'd never done the Thinkvantage backup. (I back up my files to an external hard-drive -- but it's been 6 months or more. I do have the original 160gig hard drive from 6 months ago, that I'd mirror-imaged onto a 320gig drive, so my operating system and software should be on the original 160g.)

I chose the option for "Quick Restore to last backup," which said it preserves your data files but replaces your software. (Not the Full Restore, which also loses data files.)

After 25 minutes of "initializing partitions 1-3, do NOT interrupt," it finished. And now my system will not boot.

It starts, asks for password, says "Preparing your desktop", then error rundll32.exe, "Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item."

It's a Lenovo Thinkpad T500 running Vista Business Edition (which I'm told has Complete PC Backup that can make a mirror-image).

Questions:
1) Is it possible to "undo" the backup, and restore my software? (Not easily, I'd guess.)
2) How likely is it that my data files are still there? (I hope!)
3) To mirror-image: does this link have the right instructions to "mirror image" a drive, so as to copy all the software on it to a new hard-drive? (Last time I paid $80 for someone to do it.)

I've gone ahead and ordered an HDD Caddy 2.5" 9mm Sata bay (43N3412), so that I can put the damaged 320gig hard-drive in it, put my original 160gig drive back in to hopefully boot off of, and see if I can read data files from the damaged 320gig drive.

I also ordered a new 500gig drive on eBay, thinking I might upgrade to Win7 (or Win8??), or mirror-image the original 160gig onto the new 500gig, then copy my data files -- if I can! -- from the 320gig if they are readable.

(For those of us who never use Thinkvantage, it'd be nice if they gave a warning: "Warning: if you've never backed up your software using Thinkvantage, then you will lose it all if you try to Restore it." Just a thought, Lenovo.)

Many thanks for any info or tips!

 

If you've kept your data files in a separate partition, they're almost certainly still be there.

If you've kept your data files in the same C: partition as the system files, they might be there.

It's time for you to get a new drive and do a fresh Windows installation (and then re-install your applications). First thing first: get a Windows environment up and running properly. And I suggest you migrate to Windows 7.

Then, attach the "damaged" drive and find your data files. If you have another working computer, I recommend you use a SATA-USB cable to connect the "damaged" drive to it and try to salvage your files ASAP, before trying to re-build the T500. Even if you don't have access to another computer, such an adapter cable will help you view the "damaged" drive on the (working) T500 without the UlraBay caddy adapter.

Universal advice: Religiously follow a regular back-up routine. (Without using Lenovo tools.)

 

Thank you very much for the overview and guidance!

All my files (data and software) were on the same C: partition, alas (as far as I know).

Good to learn about the SATA-USB cable. I gather the hard-drive gets power off the USB(s), so I can just run it as an external drive. (I can at least borrow a PC, or use one at the library, etc., to copy important data files onto a flash drive etc.) That's very helpful!!

I'll have to buy or download new applications, alas, as I've no idea where my original Vista or MS-Office disks (etc.) are -- I've moved 6+ times since I got the Lenovo, traveled for 3 years in a dozen countries. C'est la vie. I don't use a lot of software, and what I have is mainly shareware (various utilities), so MS-Office is the big cost.

I'll read that as an endorsement of Win-7 over Win-8. :thumbsup: (I've only read a few reviews about Win-8, but since I don't have a tablet or Windows-phone, Win-8 doesn't seem like a big improvement for me, and not worth the learning curve.)

(In my sleep-deprived state I thought it was to a Restore Point, not a 'backup'. Sigh.)

Thanks again!!

 

I'd speculate that the reason for your error is that your previous user account was password protected and the partial restore is trying to reaccess that user account after the rest of the OS as been replaced (as this new OS has no knowledge of the previous profile, it cannot access it as it lacks permissions.)

As you don;t have any account on this laptop now and cannot access the administrator account without it, i don't think you're going to get in there normally.

What I would try to do is drop the drive in another PC, select the user account you were using, take ownership of the folder structure from the other PC, grant permissions to everyone, and recover the data.

Once that is done, you can try rebooting the OS in your laptop--with the permissions changed, it might boot.

I think your data is there, though. Hopefully, it is not encrypted.

 

Yes, the HDD is powered solely via USB. My SATA-USB adapter cable has only one USB connector, and I can connect a drive using a single USB 2.0 or 3.0 port. The one you showed has two, which allows for it to be used with older USB ports, each of which does not provide enough power for the drive.

I've been using OpenOffice for years, now at version 3.3. Unless you're addicted to certain features of Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer is equally capable (and can read .doc files).

Good luck.