It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some regularly
scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of disk space.
Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?
--
W. eWatson

(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet

Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>

I can see a Backup in Accessories-System Tools but I have never been
game to use it. I use this instead:
SyncBack Freeware: http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/compare.html

....Alan
--
Alan Edwards, MS MVP Windows - Internet Explorer
http://dts-l.com/index.htm



On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:10:30 -0800, in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general, "W. eWatson"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some regularly
>scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of disk space.
>Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?

"W. eWatson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:K2Tcl.9080$(E-Mail Removed)...
> It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
> regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots
> of disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?

Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if
the only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your
needs.

What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?

If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you run
into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is restore the
most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a stable system
once more.

You could try file Comparator freeware version 2.2 by Softbyte Labs.

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/U...omparator.html

It's purpose is more to compare files in two separate locations and will
make both locations equal if you want. I think it is intended to be a
replacement for MS Briefcase. It's ideal for transporting files on a
thumbdrive between work and home. But it also can be used to "backup" files
from one drive or folder to another. After it's run once to your taste, you
can run it again later and have it only copy the "new" or "updated" files...
as an incremental backup.

Above is the freeware version and works quite well, the full version
"Comparator Pro" can be found here...
http://www.softbytelabs.com/us/index.html

Their other applications are quite useful too, in fact... they're flat out
bad to the bone!

Or...

You can try xxcopy.exe, www.xxcopy.com, If your comfortable with DOS and
the old xcopy.exe command. You can use the XP scheduled task to run your
backup batch file daily or weekly. This will take some work and
determination tho, but it is freeware as well. I use this to mirror one
drive to another at 10:00 a.m. each day. Mirror meaning it will copy new
files, copy files that have been updated in the source location and delete
files from the target that no longer exist on the source. The first run
might take 1/2 hour, but subsequent run should take lees than 1 minute if
run on a regular bases. Simply rename a file at the source location... no
problem, that change will be mirrored to the target as well.

xxcopy is the old DOS xcopy command on steroids...

Hope this helps!!

Richard in Va.
++++++++++++++




"W. eWatson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:K2Tcl.9080$(E-Mail Removed)...
> It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
> regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of
> disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?
> --
> W. eWatson
>
> (121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
> Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W, 2700 feet
>
> Web Page: <www.speckledwithstars.net/>
>

Daave wrote:
> "W. eWatson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:K2Tcl.9080$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
>> regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots
>> of disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?
>
> Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if
> the only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your
> needs.
>
> What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?
>
> If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
> imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
> data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you run
> into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is restore the
> most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a stable system
> once more.
>
>
Acronis True Image will NOT be part of my backup package; now or ever!
Just had a nightmare with IT this past weekend. Had various problems
with my computer because of a failed installation. Thought the easy way
out would be to restore from a image I made with IT. Wrong. IT gets have
way through the restore when it decides to tell me that the image is
corrupt. I was than left with a computer without a operating system and
no backup. I than tried to restore via a backup that I made with IT. It
wouldn't/couldn't even read the file!
I am now looking for a good program that I can rely on for my regular
backups. I have tried the free version of "DriveImage XML" and I have
purchased "Backup Plus". From now on; I will be using two programs to
backup and I will periodically test them to make sure they are working!

One man's opinion! ( from experience )

Yeah, I looked REAL close at Acronis True Image... but then found the
freeware xxclone application.

www.xxclone.com

Developed by the same folks that made xxcopy, I've used this too and was
quite impressed. Xxclone your OS drive (while running) to a secondary
"backup" drive. Run the "Cool Tool" features to make sure your secondary
drive is bootable. Swap the 2 drives and boot to your cloned drive....

Solved a word of concerns for me.... don't forget to make a paypal donation!

Hope this helps!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++


"Theslaz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Daave wrote:
>> "W. eWatson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:K2Tcl.9080$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
>>> regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of
>>> disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?
>>
>> Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if the
>> only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your needs.
>>
>> What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?
>>
>> If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
>> imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
>> data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you run
>> into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is restore the
>> most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a stable system
>> once more.
> Acronis True Image will NOT be part of my backup package; now or ever!
> Just had a nightmare with IT this past weekend. Had various problems with
> my computer because of a failed installation. Thought the easy way out
> would be to restore from a image I made with IT. Wrong. IT gets have way
> through the restore when it decides to tell me that the image is corrupt.
> I was than left with a computer without a operating system and no backup.
> I than tried to restore via a backup that I made with IT. It
> wouldn't/couldn't even read the file!
> I am now looking for a good program that I can rely on for my regular
> backups. I have tried the free version of "DriveImage XML" and I have
> purchased "Backup Plus". From now on; I will be using two programs to
> backup and I will periodically test them to make sure they are working!
>
> One man's opinion! ( from experience )

Richard In Va. wrote:
> Yeah, I looked REAL close at Acronis True Image... but then found the
> freeware xxclone application.
>
> www.xxclone.com
>
> Developed by the same folks that made xxcopy, I've used this too and was
> quite impressed. Xxclone your OS drive (while running) to a secondary
> "backup" drive. Run the "Cool Tool" features to make sure your secondary
> drive is bootable. Swap the 2 drives and boot to your cloned drive....
>
> Solved a word of concerns for me.... don't forget to make a paypal donation!
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Richard in Va.
> +++++++++++
>
>
> "Theslaz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Daave wrote:
>>> "W. eWatson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>> news:K2Tcl.9080$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>> It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
>>>> regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of
>>>> disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?
>>> Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if the
>>> only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your needs.
>>>
>>> What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?
>>>
>>> If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
>>> imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
>>> data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you run
>>> into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is restore the
>>> most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a stable system
>>> once more.
>> Acronis True Image will NOT be part of my backup package; now or ever!
>> Just had a nightmare with IT this past weekend. Had various problems with
>> my computer because of a failed installation. Thought the easy way out
>> would be to restore from a image I made with IT. Wrong. IT gets have way
>> through the restore when it decides to tell me that the image is corrupt.
>> I was than left with a computer without a operating system and no backup.
>> I than tried to restore via a backup that I made with IT. It
>> wouldn't/couldn't even read the file!
>> I am now looking for a good program that I can rely on for my regular
>> backups. I have tried the free version of "DriveImage XML" and I have
>> purchased "Backup Plus". From now on; I will be using two programs to
>> backup and I will periodically test them to make sure they are working!
>>
>> One man's opinion! ( from experience )
>
>
Thanks for the info. I will check it out. What I like about these
freeware versions; is that they are so easy to use and
everything/progress is displayed up front.

Yes, VERY easy to use. Just make sure you have your Primary or Basic
partition created as NTFS and set as active prior to running xxclone. If
you have a huge drive, maybe make the partition 40-50 GB and leave the rest
as unused or unassigned space. Run xxclone, let it find your "source" and
"target" drive. Run the (2) "Cool Tools", then run xxclone. When xxclone is
done, run the "Cool Tools" again to insure the xxclone drive will be
bootable. Then swap the drives out leaving your original OS drive unplugged
and boot to the xxclone drive. Then use XP disk management to create your
other partitions or extended partition and logical drives to utilize the
additional drive space. Leaving the extra space unused when running xxclone
might help prevent drive letter confusion during xxclone.

Hook your original OS drive back up for everyday use and put the clone drive
away for safe keeping. OR use the xxclone drive and keep the original in
case you need to make a new xxclone drive. Never let a stubborn virus ruin
your day again!

One other thing tho, don't forget to check for security updates and such
when hooking up a xxclone drive. Also, be mindful of any hardware changes
with drivers and such that may have occurred between drive changes.

And don't forget to make a PayPal donation...!

Richard in Va.
+++++++++++

"Theslaz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Zt%cl.5723$PH1.5003@edtnps82...
> Richard In Va. wrote:
>> Yeah, I looked REAL close at Acronis True Image... but then found the
>> freeware xxclone application.
>>
>> www.xxclone.com
>>
>> Developed by the same folks that made xxcopy, I've used this too and was
>> quite impressed. Xxclone your OS drive (while running) to a secondary
>> "backup" drive. Run the "Cool Tool" features to make sure your secondary
>> drive is bootable. Swap the 2 drives and boot to your cloned drive....
>>
>> Solved a word of concerns for me.... don't forget to make a paypal
>> donation!
>>
>> Hope this helps!
>>
>> Richard in Va.
>> +++++++++++
>>
>>
>> "Theslaz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> Daave wrote:
>>>> "W. eWatson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>>>> news:K2Tcl.9080$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>>>> It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
>>>>> regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots
>>>>> of disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?
>>>> Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if
>>>> the only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your
>>>> needs.
>>>>
>>>> What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?
>>>>
>>>> If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
>>>> imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
>>>> data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you
>>>> run into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is
>>>> restore the most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have a
>>>> stable system once more.
>>> Acronis True Image will NOT be part of my backup package; now or ever!
>>> Just had a nightmare with IT this past weekend. Had various problems
>>> with my computer because of a failed installation. Thought the easy way
>>> out would be to restore from a image I made with IT. Wrong. IT gets have
>>> way through the restore when it decides to tell me that the image is
>>> corrupt. I was than left with a computer without a operating system and
>>> no backup. I than tried to restore via a backup that I made with IT. It
>>> wouldn't/couldn't even read the file!
>>> I am now looking for a good program that I can rely on for my regular
>>> backups. I have tried the free version of "DriveImage XML" and I have
>>> purchased "Backup Plus". From now on; I will be using two programs to
>>> backup and I will periodically test them to make sure they are working!
>>>
>>> One man's opinion! ( from experience )
>>
>>
> Thanks for the info. I will check it out. What I like about these freeware
> versions; is that they are so easy to use and everything/progress is
> displayed up front.

On Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:10:30 -0800, "W. eWatson"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some regularly
>scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got lots of disk space.
>Do I dare use it, or are there other fine choices?

I use Second Copy after trying several others. The setup is flexible
but intricate, e.g. you must know exactly which folders you want to
back up, etc and I don't remember if it's free or not (you didn't
specify that requirement).

www.secondcopy.com

"Theslaz" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Daave wrote:
>> "W. eWatson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:K2Tcl.9080$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> It may be time for me to start backing up important files in some
>>> regularly scheduled way. I'm sure MS XP has a facility. I've got
>>> lots of disk space. Do I dare use it, or are there other fine
>>> choices?
>>
>> Windows XP has a backup program (ntbackup), but it is limited. But if
>> the only thing you want to do is back up data, ntbackup may suit your
>> needs.
>>
>> What do you intend to use for your destination backup medium?
>>
>> If you have an external hard drive, you should look into regularly
>> imaging your hard drive (you could also make periodic backups of just
>> data, too). Acronis True Image would do both nicely. That way if you
>> run into a major problem with your system, all you need to do is
>> restore the most recent image of your hard drive. Then you will have
>> a stable system once more.
> Acronis True Image will NOT be part of my backup package; now or ever!
> Just had a nightmare with IT this past weekend. Had various problems
> with my computer because of a failed installation. Thought the easy
> way out would be to restore from a image I made with IT. Wrong. IT
> gets have way through the restore when it decides to tell me that the
> image is corrupt.

Ouch. After you had created the image, did you validate the backup
archive? That's something I *always* do. Which version did you use?