How can I restore SmartSwitch backup from a different location?

[HeadacheCentral]

Hi, I backed up my S10 on my PC using SmartSwitch before sending it in for repair, however in the meantime my PC has become unresponsive. I have managed to get the backup folder off the drive and am now trying to restore it all to my S10 on a laptop, however SmartSwitch is asking me to manually select a file, and all I have are a bunch of folders with zip files.

Is there supposed to be one specific file that I need to select in SmartSwitch, and if yes, where do I find that?
Thanks in advance.

 

[mustang7757]

Smart switch on pc you can only get the back up from that pc u used , if im not understanding you correctly then please register

I'll leave a Link to register so you can communicate here, As a guest account you can only post questions but can't reply
https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[HeadacheCentral]

Hi, thanks for the reply (yeah I skipped registering somehow).

To me it looks like there should be a way to do that based on this window:

 

[rvbfan]

Hi, thanks for the reply (yeah I skipped registering somehow).

To me it looks like there should be a way to do that based on this window:

View attachment 344080

Unless you also backed up to the cloud, not likely. You say your computer is unresponsive? Have you tried to use (I'm assuming win10 here) a repair install on it?
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3080839/repair-windows-10-and-11-step-by-step-guide.html

 

[mustang7757]

Hi, thanks for the reply (yeah I skipped registering somehow).

To me it looks like there should be a way to do that based on this window:

View attachment 344080

Welcome to AC!
Yes you can choose files from back up to restore , but that Pc with smart switch gas your back up only on that pc

 

[HeadacheCentral]

Hi,

Yeah, it's Windows 10 - won't boot, stuck on "operating system did not shutdown cleanly. Reconstructing Cache Metadata".
Tried to boot with Windows Media Creator tool from USB but just keep getting BSOD with this code: DRIVER PNP WATCHDOG.

Tried creating recovery drive to USB from laptop, same result as well.

Managed to get in with Linux from USB and move data from hard drive but at the moment it doesn't look like I can even get to a point where I can do a clean install of Windows.

 

[mustang7757]

My screenshot example when i want to restore i can select what i want

 

[HeadacheCentral]

Welcome to AC!
Yes you can choose files from back up to restore , but that Pc with smart switch gas your back up only on that pc

Thank you. Not sure I understand though - so even if I copied the whole backup folder onto an external hard drive, I will not be able to restore it to the phone on another computer?

 

[mustang7757]

Thank you. Not sure I understand though - so even if I copied the whole backup folder onto an external hard drive, I will not be able to restore it to the phone on another computer?

Oh you copied on external drive , did it allow it? Havnt done this method

 

[HeadacheCentral]

My screenshot example when i want to restore i can select what i want View attachment 344083

Yeah, but I'm guessing that's when you're trying to restore on the same device you originally did the backup on, right?

My question is, if I copied the whole SmartSwitch backup folder from one PC and move it to another computer, can I restore it to the phone with SmartSwitch on the second computer?

 

[rvbfan]

Hi,

Yeah, it's Windows 10 - won't boot, stuck on "operating system did not shutdown cleanly. Reconstructing Cache Metadata".
Tried to boot with Windows Media Creator tool from USB but just keep getting BSOD with this code: DRIVER PNP WATCHDOG.

Tried creating recovery drive to USB from laptop, same result as well.

Managed to get in with Linux from USB and move data from hard drive but at the moment it doesn't look like I can even get to a point where I can do a clean install of Windows.

If you have a willing buddy try moving the hard drive to their computer and pulling the files off that way. And for the future but a portable hard drive and make regular backups!

 

[mustang7757]

I changed you to post owner so it makes it easier for you to find your thread

 

[smvim]

When you used the Smart Switch utility on your PC, it did a backup and stored all the necessary files into specific folders that may to you appear to be randomly placed but to the utility itself, like all such applications, rely upon a specific file structure. So there's actually an established directory tree of volume I.D.s, specifically named folders, and specifically named folders nested within some of those folders. There's a file path that the Smart Switch utility uses to backup files into, and it has to have that exact same file path to access those files to do a restore.
So now you've got that backup file data copied over, but it's almost definitely not going to be copied over into the same location on this new PC as your previous one. You need to manually put that data you copied over into locations that exactly duplicate the previous file path so the Smart Switch utility can do its thing.

 

[HeadacheCentral]

Oh you copied on external drive , did it allow it? Havnt done this method

Yes, I have the whole backup folder on an external drive, and moved it to a laptop. Based on the folder names in there it's got everything I had on the S10, but when I open SmartSwitch it's asking me to select a file, rather than a folder, and I can't see any files with the extensions it says it supports.

 

[HeadacheCentral]

When you used the Smart Switch utility on your PC, it did a backup and stored all the necessary files into specific folders that may to you appear to be randomly placed but to the utility itself, like all such applications, rely upon a specific file structure. So there's actually an established directory tree of volume I.D.s, specifically named folders, and specifically named folders nested within some of those folders. There's a file path that the Smart Switch utility uses to backup files into, and it has to have that exact same file path to access those files to do a restore.
So now you've got that backup file data copied over, but it's almost definitely not going to be copied over into the same location on this new PC as your previous one. You need to manually put that data you copied over into locations that exactly duplicate the previous file path so the Smart Switch utility can do its thing.

Yeah I can see that being a problem. I did copy the whole backup folder into the SmartSwitch folder on the second computer, but I guess that's still not exactly where it would be if the backup had originally been done on this computer. I guess I can try to play around with that maybe.

 

[mustang7757]

Yes, I have the whole backup folder on an external drive, and moved it to a laptop. Based on the folder names in there it's got everything I had on the S10, but when I open SmartSwitch it's asking me to select a file, rather than a folder, and I can't see any files with the extensions it says it supports.

This first time i heard someone using a external drive for smart switch pc , i have to dig a little bit more information on this

 

[mustang7757]

Yes definitely going have to play a little bit on your end

 

[HeadacheCentral]

If you have a willing buddy try moving the hard drive to their computer and pulling the files off that way. And for the future but a portable hard drive and make regular backups!

Fair enough - any tips on how to make my PC usable again, even if it means losing all data on there?

 

[rvbfan]

Look for obvious hardware failure, loose connections, swollen caps, burnt smell or spots. Then pull out memory, video card, power and connections etc, clean and reseat. Go into bios and make sure you have it set to boot from usb. Maybe turn off secure boot for time being. Cross fingers and make appropriate offerings to the computer gods.

 

[HeadacheCentral]

Look for obvious hardware failure, loose connections, swollen caps, burnt smell or spots. Then pull out memory, video card, power and connections etc, clean and reseat. Go into bios and make sure you have it set to boot from usb. Maybe turn off secure boot for time being. Cross fingers and make appropriate offerings to the computer gods.

OK thanks.