Windows 10: Need to see program files on external hard drive.

Windows 10 did an update on my wife's desktop that was incompatible with the Nvidia graphic drivers on it. As a result, the dual monitors no longer display. We took the computer to the local Microsoft store and they were fully aware of the problem and are working on it. But, after two weeks, the problem has not been solved. Meanwhile we bought a new desktop and had Microsoft empty the entire contents of the C: drive onto an external hard drive. They did and showed me that the external drive contained the root directory and program data that contains years of work using Lightroom.

I brought the external hard drive home and connected it. Luckily I can see the User Libraries but not the Program Data.

Is there some way that I can make everything visible in the external hard drive so that I can copy the contents to the new desktop?

:)

 

Transferring programs and files

Hi,

I would suggest doing both, transfer first all the program and files to an external hard drive to assure that you will have a backup and not lost program and files then transfer it to new. If you only need to transfer or move the program files and not
the program itself, you can locate the folder file that contains all of the program information and copies it to an external drive. If the program will not operate from the external hard drive, it is tied into the computer registry of the initial computer
and cannot be circumvented. If that is the case, only the data files for the program can be used from the external drive.

If you have further question feel free to post.

 

Moving files to an external drive

You can't just move the program files to another drive because for one they need the registry to operate and you will break the connection.

How to Move Program Files to a Secondary Hard Drive - dummies

The way to move a program file is to uninstall it and then reinstall it on the secondary hard drive. An external drive may not be the best place to install a program.

 

If, by program data, you mean applications, then sorry, you're not going to be able to "migrate" the applications from the external drive to your new desktop simply by copying folders. Applications have components installed in many different places, including the registry, and it involves a lot more than copying folder from Program Data to migrate them.

LapLink sells a product (PC Mover) that IS able to migrate apps from one PC to another, but you either have to (1) install it on the first PC and migrate to the second, or (2) have a backup image of the first PC and mount that on the second to do the migration. However, it MIGHT work if you have a copy of the first. I would check with LapLink to see if their product will do app migration in your situation. IF it does, then you will be able to install it on the new desktop and do the migration.

However, there is a second problem alluded to by your last question. Win10 enables FastStartup by default. With this turned on, all partitions that are open when Win10 shuts down are put into a hibernated state -- which prevents them from being accessed until the original machine comes out of hibernation. I ran into this problem when I was dual-booting Win8.1 and Win10TP and using a shared NTFS partition. I had to disable FastStartup on both Win8.1 and Win10 to be able to safely used a shared partition. I don't know if there is a way to access the partitions in the external drive, if FastStartup was enabled in Win10. Perhaps someone else can help you with this.

 

To view you can use 7Zip. But to just move the app data files is not enough like Mark said:

There are also the .dll and .ocx(if applicable) files, there is the WinSxS files, there are other file tucked deeper in C:/User/App Data. that's for programs. But if you just want data(document and photos...etc. You can use 7Zip to view and move/copy when you set it in 2 panel mode.

 

Shot in the dark, maybe they're just hidden?

 

Thank you: Here is a bit of clarification. I don't need to move applications, only hidden Program Files. The way Lightroom works is that it does not physically alter the original photos. Instead, it stores the edit commands in a separate catalog in an Adobe folder under Program Data.

I have installed Lightroom on the new computer and the photos there as well. I am only trying to see and export the Lightroom catalog that contains the edit commands. Otherwise, Lightroom has tools to find photos that may have been relocated.

 

Thanks. I have tried the Hidden option to know avail. I have two other possibilities. Perhaps the Microsoft store will fix the problem. They say that the machine and the hard drive are in good working order.

It is backed up using Backblaze (which is similar to Carbonite) but I will have to do a serious download of zip files to recover the image. I was hoping that someone knew another option.

 

You could always boot off a Live Linux CD/USB and see if you can see them that way. It's not daunting. Here's a decent article that gives you a good idea how to do it. http://www.pcworld.com/article/21470...-distress.html

 

What happens if type <drive letter of external drive>\ProgramData into the Run dialog and click OK? Does it give an error? Or perhaps r antivirus removed the entire folder for some reason into the quarantine.

 

Try unchecking this





then click Apply and Apply to all folders.

 

The last two suggestions seem to have helped me with the puzzle. When I tried the Run command, it told me that it couldn't find the the file. When I unchecked Hide protected operating system files, it showed me three files. The recycle bin, the folder name and the System Volume Information. When I clicked on System Volume Information it showed me an IndexerVolumeGuid and a file called WPSettings.dat.

When I clicked on WPSettings.dat, it displayed a Norton screen with a check mark. I don't use Norton. It may have been quarantined by the laptop in the Microsoft store. .