Invalid file when restoring

My nightmare continues ...

 

My computer woes began when I installed Bit Defender and installed Norton 360.  After doing this my computer became unstable so I made a full disk back up of my computer using Norton 360.  I was uncertain if it was a disk image or not (I suspected that it wasn't) but Norton never clarified this point.

 

After that I shut down my computer and the next time I launched it it failed.  I suspect that the problem was related to the removing Bit Defender.  The killer was I couldn't get to the restore points.  Anyway, after a million attempts (I exaggerate slightly) I finally decided to refomat the this and restore the computer to the original settings.  Now, after numerous updates, I am trying to restore my documents from the backup drive using aRestore from Norton.  The program should be intuitive and easy to use.  It is not. 

 

First, I try the "Restore to the Original Location" option, but that does not work.  I was hoping it might rebuild the file architecture, but that was more or less a wish.  As I expected that failed.  So I used the designate a location option and chose a new file under My Documents.  But that failed too.  All the files were indicated as being an "invalid file." 

 

However, as I was trying to fix my computer without having to reformat, I was able to restore some of the files while using another computer.  I had no trouble using the designate the location.  Why can't I restore the files?  What's going on?  Please help.  I am so tired of dealing with this computer problem. 

Hi, talltactician,

 

From what I've seen, if you have to start over (thus, without all the settings and history in your Norton backup software), your best bet is to go with the "Portable Restore" functionality Norton provides.

 

Check to ensure that the files "arestore.exe" and "arestore.loc" are present in the root directory of your backup drive. (If they aren't, do a search for them within Program Files, and copy them to the root of your backup drive, then run arestore.exe from there. This may take an excruciatingly long time if it has to rebuild the catalog...but when it's done, you should be able to restore your files as desired.

 

Keep us posted--we're here to help until the nightmare is over!

Keylogger Crusher - thank you for your very timely response.

 

What do you mean by root directory when you write:  "Check to ensure that the files "arestore.exe" and "arestore.loc" are present in the root directory of your backup drive"?  I put them into the same folder as the Norton Backup Files.  Previous to this, they were sitting one folder level up and it couldn't find the backup files there, but when I dropped them into the same folder, it can see and read the files.  If they should be elsewhere that may cure my problem.  

Hi again--"Keylogger Crusher" is actually just my Norton Forums "rank," so it could change at any time; my username is the line above that in a faint color LOL--"DistEd2"

 

The root directory is as high up as you can get on that drive: on the drive, but not in any folder. So if your backup drive were drive E: then its root directory would be E:\ and not E:\anydirectoryname\

DistEd2, There is light at the end of the tunnel in large part thanks to you. 

 

Your suggestion got me on the right path, but I will add to your advice.  Not only is Arestore.exe and arestores.loc required to be in the root directory, but the acutal backup files as well which I had in a folder called N360_Backup.  I believe Norton created this file.  Initially when I dropped them into the root director arestore could not find the backup files.  I then copied the files (arestore.exe and arestore.loc) and placed them into the folder N360_Backup.  It immediately worked and even restored files to their original locations.  (YEAH!)

 

There's still some quirkiness, but I am feeling much better about where I stand today.  Thanks.

Excellent! Glad to hear you're generally back in business--and thanks for the additional info. Did you move the files from where Norton put them when it backed them up (i.e., into that subdirectory)?  I've worked with a handful of arestore threads here and have never before seen one where the backups themselves had to be moved for the restore to work.