The problem comes when you only do full backups and you need to restore just a handful of specific files. Technically a Windows 7 system image was meant to recover your PC in case of system failure and not to recover individual files. So what do you do in this case? Well, this is what the tip for today is all about. You’ll need to download and install 7-Zip, this is a great free and open source utility for Windows that manage tons of file compression formats including: ZIP, TAR, RAR, 7z, ISO, among many others; VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) happens to be one the unpacking file format supported as well, which is also the file format used by a Windows 7 system image (full backup). Once the application is installed, locate the folder with the Windows backup, the path should be WindowsImageBackup[computer-name]\Backup xxxx-xx-xx xxxxxx, then just double-click the largest file size with the extension .vhd.
After a few seconds all the files in the backup will be revealed to you. That’s all there is to it! The last thing left to do now is to search for the files you need to recover, select them, click Extract, choose a destination and then OK.
Knowing this, you can back up your whole computer without the need of creating additional file copying which can eat up a lot of storage. All content on this site is provided with no warranties, express or implied. Use any information at your own risk. Always backup of your device and files before making any changes. Privacy policy info.
