How to restore files from a backup disc on another PC

On the other computer, open Burn by Zaweba, choose Restore from backup discs and put in any disc from the backup. Every disc carries an index of the whole backup, so Burn can show you everything it holds and restore all of it or just the files you tick. It asks for each further disc it needs and checks every file as it restores.

That's the situation backups are really for: the old PC has died, or you've moved to a new one, and the files need to come back. Here's how it goes.

Getting set up on the new machine

Burn runs on Windows 10 and 11 and needs no account or internet connection, so it can go on a brand new PC before anything else is set up. The new PC needs a drive that can read the discs. Find the discs from the backup set. Burn's labels mark each one, for example Set 2 of 4, so you can see if any are missing before you begin.

Open Restore from backup discs from the home screen or the Tools menu, and put in any disc of the set. It doesn't have to be the first.

Choosing what comes back

Burn reads the index and shows everything the backup holds as a tree of folders and files with tick boxes. Tick the whole lot to restore everything, or open the folders and tick just the files you need.

Then choose where they go. You can restore to a folder of your choosing, which is the usual pick on a new computer, or back to where they were. If a file already exists in the destination, you decide whether to keep both, replace it or skip it.

Start the restore, and Burn asks for each disc it needs in turn. Big files that were split into pieces across discs are joined back together. If you made changes-only backups after the first, the index knows which files are on which discs, and Burn asks for the right ones across backups.

What Burn checks as it goes

When the backup was made, Burn took a SHA-256 fingerprint of every file and every piece of a split file. On restore, each file is checked against that fingerprint, so you know what comes off the disc is what went on. The files keep their last-changed times, which matters if you sort folders by date. Burn never leaves half-restored files behind, so if something goes wrong part way, you won't be left with damaged copies mixed in with good ones.

If a disc won't read

Try the disc in another drive if you have one, and clean any fingerprints off the shiny side. Discs that were stored warm or in sunlight age faster, which is one reason to keep backups somewhere cool and dark and to make fresh ones every so often.

If you're restoring because you've moved PCs, it's a good moment to make a new backup on the new machine as soon as your files are back. Saved backup sets live in %APPDATA%\Zaweba\Burn on the old PC, so on the new one you'll create a fresh set, which then appears as a one-click chip on the home screen.