How Can I Restore XP Backup File in Windows 8?

“We had Windows XP Operating Systems installed at office and I had backup of all my important data created by Windows backup utility. Recently all the systems of our office got upgraded with Windows 8 Operating System including mine. Now I am in urge of restoring my old backup file in Windows 8, but unable to find any option. I have a very important project file in my backup file and hence it is quite urgent to restore BKF file as soon as possible. How can I restore XP backup file in Windows 8?”

Restoration of XP backup in advance Windows 8 platform is basically not possible because Windows 8 does not support BKF file created by XP backup utility. This is because the backup option available for Windows varies from version to version. Windows Server 2003, 2000 and XP were integrated with most powerful back-up utility that is NTBackup utility which creates BKF file. This utility was soon replaced by more convenient backup options in advance Windows 7 and 8. Windows Backup and Restore was provided in Windows 7 and File History option was affiliated in Windows 8. These backup applications are way too different from NTBackup application and hence you will not find any option to restore Windows .bkf file in Win 8. But there are some work-around methods you can do if your data is very important.

Get Windows Backup Utility Downloaded
Windows XP backup utility can be partially downloaded in the advance system as this application needs only three files to run, that are;

• ntbackup.exe
• ntmsapi.dll
• vssapi.dll
These files can be downloaded by downloading nt5backup.cab file which can be later extracted as .exe and supporting .dll files. Once these files are downloaded you can perform the restore operation on Windows 8 just the way you did it in Windows XP. Extract the files at a location and then double click the ntbackup.exe file. This will open the restore operation of backup utility and by browsing and adding your backup file here you can easily restore the backup file.

The only issue with this work-around that it is not recommended on regular basis. Considering the fact that the files you downloaded do not actually belong to this OS and hence it is not safe to keep these files in the machine this process is avoided for frequent restoration. Moreover, for newbie this process can be really complicated and time consuming. In such situation one can utilize an alternative option of third party software like SysTools BKF Recovery software which is capable to restore the XP backup file in Windows 8 version. This software supports all the versions of Windows and hence is an easy and reliable choice for the necessary backup restoration.