factory reset, cannot find backed up files

hey so i did a factory reset on my hp pavillion because it was blue screening, so i plugged in an external hard drive, and backed up my giles from the restore center, and it said it backed up everything but when i reset my pc to factory settings and plugged it in, i can't find the backed up files, whats the deal?

The restore center deals with backing up and restoring system files, not personal ones. You have to manually make your own back ups of personal files, using a 3rd party program like Macrium Reflect (or just manually copy them to an external storage device). Plus, those backups are for the existing operating system installation, to roll back to an earlier set of system files.

If you do a brand new operating system install on your system, you're starting fresh and the Restore Center backups will be wiped out (they only apply to the previous installation). But when you do this, if you elected to allow Windows to format the partition for installing Windows again, you will have lost any user files present. This is why it's a good idea to a) back up your personal files to an external hard drive, and b) define a separate partition for personal files (this way the operating system partition is separate).

so what exactly went to my external harddrive, because when i watched it copy it copied things like my games and saves, which are no longer there, is there a way to recover documents or program files?

OK, maybe I've jumped the gun here. I thought you had used the System Restore to back up your files. When you go to System Properties, you can create a restore point anywhere, including an external hard drive.

But,

"System Restore helps you restore your computer's system files to an earlier point in time. It's a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e‑mail, documents, or photos."

"System Restore is not intended for backing up personal files, so it cannot help you recover a personal file that has been deleted or damaged. You should regularly back up your personal files and important data using a backup program."

Did you use some other backup program?

Lastly, if you have a C:\Windows.old folder, then you may be in luck

The "Users" folder - most programs store a user's personal files in the "User" folder. Generally, you do not find personal files in the Windows folder or in the Program Files folder. The "Users" folder contains one folder for each user who logged on to the computer in Windows Vista. For example, the following folders appear in the "drive:\Windows.old\Users" folder:

drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Contac…
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Deskto…
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Docume…
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Downlo…
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Favori…
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Links
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Music
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Pictur…
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Saved Games
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Search…
drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName\Videos

If it exists, you should be able to get your old user files back (click HERE for an example and HERE for a tutorial).

well, i just used the hp program that lets me recover, said back up files? i clicked yes-all files and it finished backing up. then windows factory restore