System Restore question

[Fernando1378]

Well I finally found my system restore disk, and wanted to run it because I know I'm missing a few necessary files like the one that ran my CD burner. My question is, if I do a system restore, do I go back to nothing? Do all my files get deleted and its like starting from the beginning? If so, is there any way to restore only the files that I know are missing?

I dont really know much about computers so any help would be good, thanks. Oh yeah, its windows 98 if that matters.

 

[macknight]

with a system restore you basically have two options...destructive? or non-destructive restore. With the first option...you lose everything (back to factory condition). With the second...you'll retain your data...but will lose any applications you added that were not part of the original bundled package. You can reinstall the apps and your data will work again. IMPORTANT!!! Back up your data before you restore...in some cases...something can go wrong with the restore...and you lose it all. good luck!

 

[Pavlyk]

All your data stays

 

[macknight]

hmmm...i thought that was what i said..."With the second...you'll retain your data...but will lose any applications you added that were not part of the original bundled package."

anyway...backup your data first.

 

[ShoobieRat]

As a side note, it also depends on your restore disk.

My little compaq tablet PC has a restore disk that only has one option: Instant Death. If you put it in, the system gets wiped and restored to factory condition. End of story.

So...just a word of caution there. macknight is very right in saying you should definately backup your data before you try this!

 

[Fernando1378]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm a little confused by " With the second...you'll retain your data...but will lose any applications you added that were not part of the original bundled package." Also, if I want to go with this option, how do I do it? I don't want to just put in the disk and end up screwing things up.

Oh yeah, and how do I back up my data?

 

[macknight]

as for backing up your data...evidently burning to cd is out of the question??? just out of curiosity...is the cd your only issue? if so...you might want to try downloading the driver for the cd first before you do an os reinstall. if you can see the model in the device manager...go to the manufacturer's website or somewhere like www.driverguide.com and download the correct driver.

if you would rather do the backup and reinstall...would be nice to know what system you have? (brand/model/specs) in order to backup data...gonna need floppy drive, or networked to another computer, or have an external hdd, or another hdd you can install in the box as a slave. more info... thanks