RECIPE4SPEED Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 I have a complete system back-up on DVD+R I performed several months ago and would like to access some of those files, but I have several problems preventing me from accessing anything on these back-up discs: First, Retrospect won't allow me to configure my BenQ 1620 DVD R/RW drive, which I find rather odd, since the back-up was originally performed on this drive--so far I've wasted 4 DVD+R discs and 4 CD-R discs trying to configure the drive and it won't take. Second, I also have a Plextor 712A DVD R/RW drive which is supposedly 'verified' for use with Express 6.5, but it is not recognized either. I really don't want to waste any more discs trying to configure it, especially since it is supposed to be already 'verified'. Third, which makes the drive issue rather moot anyway, is that all of the files on the back-up discs are listed with an ".rdb" extension, and Retrospect doesn't want to recognize any files other than those with an ".rbf" or ".rbc" extension. Retrospect backed-up these files with .rdb, so why won't it recognize them?? Any help would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Hi "all of the files on the back-up discs are listed with an ".rdb" extension" I don't know how you did this but be glad you did... .rdb files are Retrospect Backup Data files. They are from a "Disk" backup set not a CD/DVD backup set. That means you don't need to configure the DVD drive to read them. Go to tools->repair catalog and use rebuild from disk option. This will index the backup data and create the .rbc file you need to use for the restore. FWIW I think the plextor drive will work if you get the latest driver update for 6.5 installed. Thanks Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RECIPE4SPEED Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Nate---Thanks for the info- I'll give it a shot and reply back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RECIPE4SPEED Posted November 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 Nate--Tried what you suggested (had actually tried this before) but Plextor 712 DVD is still not recognized, even though it's on the accepted device list as verified. Short of wasting a bunch more discs to configure it, do you have any other suggestions? What if I were to copy those files from my DVD to a hard drive file---would I then be able to recreate them from the HD file? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RECIPE4SPEED Posted November 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2005 Nate---I updated my drivers for Retrospect (again) thru Dantz, and now my Plextor drive is recognized. However, when trying to 'recreate' in either "Restore > selected files > recreate > CD/DVD Disc" or from the Repair Catalog I get a notice at the 'Media Selection' window showing the status as "Incompatible". I then tried to configure the Plextor drive, using the exact same brand and type of media (new, blank Sony DVD+R) that I used for the original backup and am informed that "...the drive cannot be configured with the media present....would you like to try another media? (DVD+R, CD/RW)" What's going on?!? Also, now if I try to read the original backup DVD (.rdb), under 'Properties' for the Plextor it still shows the drive status as 'Incompatible' and shows the media Format as "(Prerecorded)" and the Attributes as "locked". Now what? Right now I have 2 complete system back-ups, which were performed with this Restrospect program, that I cannot access! Any Ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted November 8, 2005 Report Share Posted November 8, 2005 Hi If you have .rdb files on your discs: Close Retrospect. Copy all the RDB files to a folder on a hard disk. launch Retrospect and try to rebuild a catalog from the files you copied to hard disk. Does that work? If so you will be able to run the restore. Thanks nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RECIPE4SPEED Posted November 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 Nate----No go. I copied all the files from one of my backup DVDs (7 .rdb files @ 614,408KB each) to one of my H.D.s, then attempted to retrieve the files through both 'Restore' (all options) and 'Configure' ('Backup Sets and 'Volumes'). When I get to 'Backup Set Selection', If I choose to recreate a backup set from 'Disk', Retrospect informs me "The selected disk does not contain any Backup Set data files, please select another disk". If I choose 'Recreate' or 'Open' from 'File Backup Set', Retrospect still doesn't recognize the ".rdb" designation---only the .rbf or .rbc files. How can I open these .rdb files?!? Am I going to have to go through a complete Disaster Recovery just to access these files? That seems a bit drastic--isn't there something else that can be done? Please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted November 14, 2005 Report Share Posted November 14, 2005 Hi The _only_ thing you can do with the .rdb files is rebuild the catalog file. You cannot restore yet. You went to tools->repair catalog and clicked on "rebuild from Disk" right? Thanks Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RECIPE4SPEED Posted November 16, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2005 O.K. I went to tools>Repair Catalog and it asked me to "Select a Catalog File Repair Function", at which point I checked "Recreate from disks". (there is no "Rebuild" from Disk) I then selected the disk (c:) which contained the .rdb files I copied from the original DVD back-up set. I was then informed that "The selected disk does not contain any Backup Set data files, please select another disk". If I try "Repair Backup File Set" it only recognizes .rbf or .rbf files, not .rdb----the same response I got when trying to restore the .rdb files directly from the original DVD back up sets, which started this whole forum 'help' quest. Now what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Hi "repair" will fix an existing catalog. You don't have a catalog so the repair function won't work. You don't have a "file" backup set either. The only option is "Recreate" from disk (sorry - I use a Japanese version of Retrospect so my translation was a bit off) When you look at your DVDs in Windows do you see any folders or just the .rbf files? If you see any folders please tell me what they are. I'd like to backtrack a bit here. You originally performed the backup using the BenQ drive right? Is this the same computer you were using when you ran the backup or a different computer? Have you made any hardware changes? Are the backups on DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R or DVD-RW? Thanks Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RECIPE4SPEED Posted November 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2005 1.) I see no folders, just rdb files, each one is 614,408KB 2.) Back-ups were done on Sony DVD+R 3.) Yes, the back-ups were performed using the BenQ drive. Before the back up was performed I was allowed to configure it, which I did. Now, for some reason I can't configure it. 4.) As for hardware changes, see my other 'BANSHEECAT' post. Thanks in advance for any help here----I've tried everything I know and I'm completely lost now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RECIPE4SPEED Posted December 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 Still waiting for a reply.................any takers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted December 27, 2005 Report Share Posted December 27, 2005 Hi Here is the deal: If you run a backup in Retrospect using a "CD/DVD" backup set Retrospect will write files directly to the disk. You will not be able to view the files on DVD using windows explorer because the disk is in Retrospect's own format. Somehow you managed to save files from a "disk" backup set on your DVD drive. I have no idea how that could have happened. Retrospect will not let you save data on DVD- or DVD+ media when you use a Disk backup set. At this point I think you need to talk to a support tech on the phone to sort out what has transpired and how to remedy the situation. Thanks Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slacker17 Posted December 20, 2006 Report Share Posted December 20, 2006 i just want to say that is weird. i was having the same problem being experienced above. i was getting quite upset because my whole computer crashed two months after i did the backup. then my whole computer gave out on me. i felt safe because i fortunatly backed up the files and thought that it was a good investment. now every time i tried to retrieve the files. i couldn't figure out how. I work for dell tech support. i am a+ certified and know how to use just about every program there is. i was quite surprised that i couldn't get those *** rdb files to read and was downloading all kinds of software from retrospect to get them working. finally i searched the net to find this. I also had issues trying to figure it out, but got it to work. some would say the program is poorly written. i'd say that in comparison to so many programs that are made today for idiots. it is nice to see a program made to accomodate someone who isn't a complete idiot. it was frustrating and on a side note, it wouldn't be too hard to make on there next update, for it to be that when you click on file, open, find any rdb file open it, and then it will tell you that you need to recreate the files needed and we will get your back up set working for you in no time. I went to tools>Repair Catalog and it asked me to "Select a Catalog File Repair Function", at which point I checked "Recreate from disks". the steps i used were as follows tools repair catalog recreate from discs all discs (just to be safe) then it opens up a menu chose the drive letter and only the drive letter that the files were on. (not directory) and then clicked on OK (not open) at that point another window came on to show me all of the sets that were on the drive letter that i chose. i chose backup set a (as that was the only one i had) then clicked on ok or whatnot and watch retrospect do its thing. it worked. i don't understand why it didn't work any other way i tried (and i tried many), but this worked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nekr0phage Posted December 21, 2006 Report Share Posted December 21, 2006 Quote: ...and know how to use just about every program there is. Yeah right. I'd settle for people reading the Getting Started section of the UG. Unfortunately, that will likely never happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sveronneau Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Excellent advice, I was always trying to get to a point where I was selecting the subfolder. Instead as you point out select the disk and click OK. It asks if there are other sets, then you can click down further. I am using 7.5 Pro and was wanting to restore after a complete loss of system disk, but there were no Retrospect Backup Catalogs and nothing else I tried using the Rebuild Catalog worked. But your suggestion worked fine. Of course it does take some time to rebuild a large catalog. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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