If someone formats the hard drive with WIN98 OS and all that is left
is the WIN98 OS and desktop, is it possible to retrieve the
appications/programs as you would in XP using the system restore
function.  The person has a CD with all the backed up files but cannot
access them without the programs.  Answer price will increase if the
answer is YES and instructions are given on how to recover.

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 28 Apr 2004 11:36 PDT

rashad...

XP system restore can only function from a system with XP
installed, along with all the backed-up registry files
which would restore the Operating SYstem, but not the
necessarily all the programs running on top of it.

You don't say exactly 'what' files are on the backup CD.
If they are program files which are the product of a 
specific program, e.g. files with an .xls extension,
which are products of the MS Excel program, he could
just install the XP version of Excel on the new
computer, which would give him access to the archived
.xls files.

If the backups consist of the full installed program,
these will probably not work under XP, as their
functioning is usually dependent on critical registry
entries, and .dll files which are stored in the OS
root directory (Windows) or the Windows 'System' folder.
There are some exceptions to this rule in the form of
programs which keep all their functional files in their
own directory, independent of Windows.

So without knowing more, I can't say yes or no.

sublime1-ga

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Clarification of Question by rashad-ga on 28 Apr 2004 12:16 PDT

Please ignore the reference to XP.
The question should have asked if someone (my sister-in-law) reformats
her hard drive and everything was deleted leaving only the WIN98 OS
and Desktop, but she used the Back-Up function of WIN98 and has
whatever those backed up files are(I have not seen the CD so I do not
know if there are any .exe files) are on CD, is it possible to reload
all the applications or does the Back-up function only back up the
files and not the programs.

thanks for your answer, hope this clarifys your question

rashad...

If your sister-in-law used the Windows Backup program
to backup her old system, every file in every directory
she selected when performing the backup will be available
for restoration, and she can use the Restore function in
her current installation of Windows 98 to perform a 
restoration of any or all of the folders and files she
backed up. If she backed up all her programs in the 
Program Files directories, she should be able to restore
them with complete functionality, assuming she also
backed up the Windows registry files and the dll files
in the Windows and Windows\System directories.

In other words, if she backed up the entire system,
including everything on the C drive, there is a good
chance that all the programs will work. If she only
backed up the contents of the Program Files directory,
and restores only this directory, there is a good
chance that many of the programs will not function
correctly. If you're starting with a basic installation
of Windows 98, and can simply reformat and install it
again, it can't hurt to try restoring the entire
backup file. Reboot after the Restore, and this will
let you see if changes made to the system are functional.
At worst, you will find that the programs or the Windows
operating system don't function as they should, and you
need to start over, with a fresh installation of Windows. 


Tutorials for both Backup and Restore in Windows 98 are
available on Geek.com in the form of Java Applets, a 
little below the middle of this page (you must have Java
enabled in your browser):
http://www.geek.com/tipstrix/qarbon/win98/

If the Backup program was not automatically installed
with the new installation of Windows, it can be installed
from the Windows 98 installation disk.


Perhaps the simplest way to open Backup is to insert the
CD in the CDROM and browse to the backup file she wants
to restore (ending in a .bkf extension, if I remember
Windows 98 correctly). Clicking on the file should
open the Backup program and from there you can select
the Restore tab and negotiate the folder tree on the 
left until the backup file on the CD is located and 
selected. Once selected, this will open an interface
with the file that will show the contents (folders
and files) which were included in that backup session.
Any or all of the content can be selected for restoration.
As noted above, if the backup was a thorough backup of 
the C drive, I would go for a complete restoration of 
the file, and see what the outcome is. If this results
in a system or programs which are unusable, you can 
reformat the drive, reinstall Windows 98 and then 
separately reinstall the programs you want to recover,
which will reinstall the system files and registry entries
which make the programs function correctly. You can then
use the Restore program to restore the content specific
to the program directories and recover the data that way.

Best of luck, and feel free to ask for any clarification
that is needed.


Please do not rate this answer until you are satisfied that  
the answer cannot be improved upon by way of a dialog  
established through the "Request for Clarification" process. 
 
A user's guide on this topic is on skermit-ga's site, here: 
http://www.christopherwu.net/google_answers/answer_guide.html#how_clarify 
 
sublime1-ga


Searches done, via Google:

"windows backup" WIN98 OR "Windows 98" +tutorial
://www.google.com/search?q=%22windows+backup%22+WIN98+OR+%22Windows+98%22+%2Btutorial

"windows 98" backup restore tutorial
://www.google.com/search?q=%22windows+98%22+backup+restore+tutorial

thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!