I am having to recover files for the first time and have a few concerns…not sure where to start.My PC was on Vista 64bit and the hard drive failed - getting it replaced and doing my Windows 7 upgrade too. Once I have my PC back up do I just plug my WD Essential hard drive into the USB or do I need software installed first. I guess I am worried now that since it was backed up on Vista but now I am W7 it could be a prblem having the software put everything back. Also, just before my hard drive failed the WD new software avilable window popped up so if I download the newest software to my PC it may be a different vesion than what is on my WD harddrive. I can’t find documentation adn am anxious about losing pics and any othe My Docs files and game files
I would recommend installing the recovery software first before connecting the hard drive. As long as you were using version 1.4 onwards you shouldn’t have an issue. However, it may not be possible to recover the files to the original places since the system structure will change. You will have the option to restore the files into a particular folder of your preference. You can also manually copy out the files since they will be stored in a a folder called “Smartware.swstor” with no additional encryption or software needed.
