I have a four-year-old IBM desktop with XP Pro. It has a hidden
partition containing a copy of XP Pro and what is called the "Product
Recovery Program". I guess it is common nowadays that the vendor
provides a partition like that (instead of a Windows CD) for getting the
system software back to the factory-new state. I have used it once to
wipe and reinstall the system, and it worked fine.

The computer is out of warranty, so it seems that if the hard drive were
to go bad, I would lose the only copy of the OS and would have to pay
who knows how much for a Windows CD.

So I would like to set up a spare hard drive with a copy of that hidden
recovery partition. Can I do that with ordinary methods (disk
partitioning, file copying)? Is there a howto somewhere for this, or
can somebody offer some advice on the details?

"Anna" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Matt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:bLJ_j.325$(E-Mail Removed)...
> >I have a four-year-old IBM desktop with XP Pro. It has a hidden
partition
> >containing a copy of XP Pro and what is called the "Product Recovery
> >Program". I guess it is common nowadays that the vendor provides a
> >partition like that (instead of a Windows CD) for getting the system
> >software back to the factory-new state. I have used it once to wipe and
> >reinstall the system, and it worked fine.
> >
> > The computer is out of warranty, so it seems that if the hard drive were
> > to go bad, I would lose the only copy of the OS and would have to pay
who
> > knows how much for a Windows CD.
> >
> > So I would like to set up a spare hard drive with a copy of that hidden
> > recovery partition. Can I do that with ordinary methods (disk
> > partitioning, file copying)? Is there a howto somewhere for this, or
can
> > somebody offer some advice on the details?
>
>
> Matt:
> Not only would you "lost the only copy of the OS" should your HDD "go
bad",
> but also all your programs & user-created data as well.
>
> I'm sure you're aware of this but I mention it only to emphasize that what
> you should give serious consideration to is establishing & maintaining a
> backup system that you would employ on a routine basis; a backup system
that
> would be comprehensive in scope, i.e., one that would back up the *entire*
> contents of your HDD, not just the "recovery partition". So that your
> operating system, all programs & applications, all user-created data - in
> short, *everything* that's on your day-to-day working HDD would be backed
> up.
>
> You can accomplish this rather easily with a disk-to-disk cloning or
> disk-imaging program. One method is to use a USB external HDD as the
> recipient of the clone, i.e., the "destination" HDD. So that in the event
of
> catastrophic failure of your internal HDD you would have at hand a "clone"
> of that HDD and could use the clone to resurrect your system by cloning
the
> contents of the external HDD back to a new internal HDD. The process is
> relatively simple & straightforward and would similarly be available
should
> your internal HDD, though not defective, become unbootable/dysfunctional
> because of corruption of the OS.
>
> We all have our preferences as to which program we prefer. I'm sure others
> will indicate their favorites.
> Anna

Anna, I dont have a computer with "Recovery program" but my daughter does
and I fix her computer when anything is wrong, and also if I get another
computer, it seems that all manufacturers are now only providing "Recovery
backups". I was wondering can you not copy the entire contents of your
computer onto another internal hard drive which has nothing on it, rather
than an external hard drive. I have an extra IDE hard drive which I don't
use. (My present computer only uses IDE connectors, I have no SATA drives).
I have never done any complete backups and wouldn't know how to do it, but
this thread has made me think. Is there any free backup programs that are
simple to use to transfer all information on a hard drive to an empty hard
drive?. I use Win 98 but have Win XP on a separate partition for when I need
it. I like Win 98 as its not as cluttered as Win XP, and Vista is something
far into my future I hope.

Mary

"Mary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

....

Somehow I think Matt already has a backup copy of important files.

> Is there any free backup programs that are
> simple to use to transfer all information on a hard drive to an
> empty hard drive?.

The most important folder is probably My Documents. Not sure about
Vista, but that is the folder of interest in most versions of
Windows. So copy My Documents to some removable media or another
hard drive. There might be other user produced data that should be
copied, so try to identify the location of and copy that too. I use
a partition D called KEEP. That's where I put the pictures I've
taken and edited, lots of configuration files, my personal
documents, and whatever other stuff of value like purchased
software. And that's what I regularly copy to removable media.

Good luck.

"Dr.Hal0nf1r£$" <femail nospam.kustomkomputa.co.uk.invalid> wrote:

> Matt wrote:
>> I have a four-year-old IBM desktop with XP Pro. It has a hidden
>> partition containing a copy of XP Pro and what is called the
>> "Product Recovery Program". I guess it is common nowadays that
>> the vendor provides a partition like that (instead of a Windows
>> CD) for getting the system software back to the factory-new
>> state. I have used it once to wipe and reinstall the system, and
>> it worked fine.
>>
>> The computer is out of warranty, so it seems that if the hard
>> drive were to go bad, I would lose the only copy of the OS and
>> would have to pay who knows how much for a Windows CD.
>>
>> So I would like to set up a spare hard drive with a copy of that
>> hidden recovery partition. Can I do that with ordinary methods
>> (disk partitioning, file copying)? Is there a howto somewhere
>> for this, or can somebody offer some advice on the details?
>
> Another one with backup-phobia I note!

The problem isn't with backup, the problem is having to buy a copy
of Windows XP if his hard drive fails.

















>
> Use Acronis True Image or Windows Backup and back up to an external hard
> drive.
>
> --
> http://www.kustomkomputa.co.uk
> Personalised Desktop Computers
>
>
>
>
> Path: nlpi102-int.nbdc.sbc.com!nlpi062.nbdc.sbc.com!prodigy.com!nlpi057.nbdc.sbc.com!prodigy.net!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!local02.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.bt.com!news.bt.com.POSTED!not-for-mail
> NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 21:19:57 -0500
> From: "Dr.Hal0nf1rœ$" <femail nospam.kustomkomputa.co.uk.invalid>
> Newsgroups: alt.os.windows-xp,alt.windows-xp,alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
> References: <bLJ_j.325$PD1.116 fe107.usenetserver.com>
> Subject: Re: copying the hidden XP recovery partition
> Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 03:08:01 +0100
> X-Priority: 3
> X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3138
> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3198
> X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Response
> Message-ID: <rI2dnVugw5pQ8qbVnZ2dnUVZ8srinZ2d bt.com>
> Lines: 27
> X-Usenet-Provider: http://www.giganews.com
> X-AuthenticatedUsername: NoAuthUser
> X-Trace: sv3-wb6Pnx0l+rhjuMZRqDw4gZqS8azmgKwH+WffliGKJosrRlpBTPKcZdwrG4BId5ZOkBF1Em7CGt2K19z!mc2npnT4WhjgooMKjqcUnkj0JpI+liYYm2iPzgIYsT0lrIqkMyaI5TWBZ7o//kQayBsx08tFow==
> X-Complaints-To: abuse btinternet.com
> X-DMCA-Complaints-To: abuse btinternet.com
> X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers
> X-Abuse-and-DMCA-Info: Otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly
> X-Postfilter: 1.3.38
> Bytes: 2338
> Xref: prodigy.net alt.os.windows-xp:531951 alt.windows-xp:77355 alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:506833
> X-Received-Date: Mon, 26 May 2008 22:19:58 EDT (nlpi102-int.nbdc.sbc.com)
>

"John Doe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:y7L_j.545$(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Mary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> ...
>
> Somehow I think Matt already has a backup copy of important files.
>
> > Is there any free backup programs that are
> > simple to use to transfer all information on a hard drive to an
> > empty hard drive?.
>
> The most important folder is probably My Documents. Not sure about
> Vista, but that is the folder of interest in most versions of
> Windows. So copy My Documents to some removable media or another
> hard drive. There might be other user produced data that should be
> copied, so try to identify the location of and copy that too. I use
> a partition D called KEEP. That's where I put the pictures I've
> taken and edited, lots of configuration files, my personal
> documents, and whatever other stuff of value like purchased
> software. And that's what I regularly copy to removable media.
>
> Good luck.

I was thinking also along the lines of what John Doe said in another message
when he said:

"The problem isn't with backup, the problem is having to buy a copy
of Windows XP if his hard drive fails."

And like Matt, I was wondering how you can copy the hidden Recovery disk
information onto another drive.
How can you access the hidden Recovery disk information?
When my daughter got her computer, it was ready made and I only added a
video card. I also created Recovery disks.
I thought, though maybe I am wrong, that Recovery disks could be used if
somehow your files got corrupted and you could use the Recovery disks as if
they were a backup and be able to put Win XP back in your system as it if
was a complete WinXP install only its a backup image. I wonder if Matt made
CDR's or DVD copies of the Recovery partition.

Mary

"Mary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> "John Doe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message

>> "Mary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>>
>> ...
>>
>> Somehow I think Matt already has a backup copy of important
>> files.
>>
>> > Is there any free backup programs that are
>> > simple to use to transfer all information on a hard drive to an
>> > empty hard drive?.
>>
>> The most important folder is probably My Documents. Not sure
>> about Vista, but that is the folder of interest in most versions
>> of Windows. So copy My Documents to some removable media or
>> another hard drive. There might be other user produced data that
>> should be copied, so try to identify the location of and copy
>> that too. I use a partition D called KEEP. That's where I put the
>> pictures I've taken and edited, lots of configuration files, my
>> personal documents, and whatever other stuff of value like
>> purchased software. And that's what I regularly copy to removable
>> media.

> I was thinking also along the lines of what John Doe said in
> another message when he said:
>
> "The problem isn't with backup, the problem is having to buy a
> copy of Windows XP if his hard drive fails."
>
> And like Matt, I was wondering how you can copy the hidden
> Recovery disk information onto another drive.

I was trying to answer the simpler question, that appeared in this
branch.

There are hard drive cloning programs that might work, but I'm not
familiar with OEM operating system recovery methods and good cloning
programs are not free.

I have a copy of Windows XP and a disk manager (currently Disk
Director) that is used to make hidden copies of the Windows
installation. Besides having a separate copy of important files, I
use that hidden copy whenever Windows needs fixing and I'd like to
quickly restore it. But that method requires the user to know where
important files are so he (or she) can copy them before deleting
Windows and putting the good copy in its place. It also requires
Windows and a disk manager.

Good luck.















> How can you access the hidden Recovery disk information?
> When my daughter got her computer, it was ready made and I only added a
> video card. I also created Recovery disks.
> I thought, though maybe I am wrong, that Recovery disks could be used if
> somehow your files got corrupted and you could use the Recovery disks as if
> they were a backup and be able to put Win XP back in your system as it if
> was a complete WinXP install only its a backup image. I wonder if Matt made
> CDR's or DVD copies of the Recovery partition.
>
> Mary
>

"John Doe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:_8M_j.4751$(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Mary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > "John Doe" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>
> >> "Mary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> >>
> >> ...
> >>
> >> Somehow I think Matt already has a backup copy of important
> >> files.
> >>
> >> > Is there any free backup programs that are
> >> > simple to use to transfer all information on a hard drive to an
> >> > empty hard drive?.
> >>
> >> The most important folder is probably My Documents. Not sure
> >> about Vista, but that is the folder of interest in most versions
> >> of Windows. So copy My Documents to some removable media or
> >> another hard drive. There might be other user produced data that
> >> should be copied, so try to identify the location of and copy
> >> that too. I use a partition D called KEEP. That's where I put the
> >> pictures I've taken and edited, lots of configuration files, my
> >> personal documents, and whatever other stuff of value like
> >> purchased software. And that's what I regularly copy to removable
> >> media.
>
> > I was thinking also along the lines of what John Doe said in
> > another message when he said:
> >
> > "The problem isn't with backup, the problem is having to buy a
> > copy of Windows XP if his hard drive fails."
> >
> > And like Matt, I was wondering how you can copy the hidden
> > Recovery disk information onto another drive.
>
> I was trying to answer the simpler question, that appeared in this
> branch.
>
> There are hard drive cloning programs that might work, but I'm not
> familiar with OEM operating system recovery methods and good cloning
> programs are not free.
>
> I have a copy of Windows XP and a disk manager (currently Disk
> Director) that is used to make hidden copies of the Windows
> installation. Besides having a separate copy of important files, I
> use that hidden copy whenever Windows needs fixing and I'd like to
> quickly restore it. But that method requires the user to know where
> important files are so he (or she) can copy them before deleting
> Windows and putting the good copy in its place. It also requires
> Windows and a disk manager.

These are the things I wondered about. I am not going to be doing anything
about it for now till I know exactly what I am doing and right now, I don't.
I was under the impression that if you make Recovery disks when you get the
new computer by copying the image onto CD's or DVD's as in the instructions
that if you have a problem, you can use the Recovery program CDR's/DVD's to
fix the problem. I thought it also could mean that you could install the
Recovery discs as if they were a backup of your whole system. If you don't
make Recovery disks, you would have to find the hidden OS image on your hard
drive and that sounds tricky. Since I first heard about Recovery disks a
couple of years ago, more and more manufacturers do not give you original OS
CD's - just tell you to make CDR's from the hidden partition on the computer
hard drive (in the cases where you buy a ready made computer or laptop). I
guess it saves the manufactuers money.

> Good luck.

Thanks but I won't be reckless yet.

Mary

"tpow" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>
> Acronis True Image will do the job.

Acronis is a suberb program, but it seems that it may have caused an
exception error in WinXP 'rundll32.exe shell32.dll, Control_RunDLL
hotplug.dd', which comes forth when the 'safely remove hardware' is clicked
and thus invalidates it. I have not, however, uninstalled the Acronis, but
have not used the named icon at all.
--UN

Anna" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

<snip>

> "Mary" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:g1fspk$7sb$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Anna, I dont have a computer with "Recovery program" but my daughter
does
> > and I fix her computer when anything is wrong, and also if I get another
> > computer, it seems that all manufacturers are now only providing
"Recovery
> > backups". I was wondering can you not copy the entire contents of your
> > computer onto another internal hard drive which has nothing on it,
rather
> > than an external hard drive. I have an extra IDE hard drive which I
don't
> > use. (My present computer only uses IDE connectors, I have no SATA
> > drives).
> > I have never done any complete backups and wouldn't know how to do it,
but
> > this thread has made me think. Is there any free backup programs that
are
> > simple to use to transfer all information on a hard drive to an empty
hard
> > drive?. I use Win 98 but have Win XP on a separate partition for when I
> > need
> > it. I like Win 98 as its not as cluttered as Win XP, and Vista is
> > something
> > far into my future I hope.
> >
> >
> > I was thinking also along the lines of what John Doe said in another
> > message
> > when he said:
> >
> > "The problem isn't with backup, the problem is having to buy a copy
> > of Windows XP if his hard drive fails."
> >
> > And like Matt, I was wondering how you can copy the hidden Recovery disk
> > information onto another drive.
> > How can you access the hidden Recovery disk information?
> > When my daughter got her computer, it was ready made and I only added a
> > video card. I also created Recovery disks.
> > I thought, though maybe I am wrong, that Recovery disks could be used if
> > somehow your files got corrupted and you could use the Recovery disks as
> > if
> > they were a backup and be able to put Win XP back in your system as it
if
> > was a complete WinXP install only its a backup image. I wonder if Matt
> > made
> > CDR's or DVD copies of the Recovery partition.
> >
> >
> > These are the things I wondered about. I am not going to be doing
anything
> > about it for now till I know exactly what I am doing and right now, I
> > don't.
> > I was under the impression that if you make Recovery disks when you get
> > the
> > new computer by copying the image onto CD's or DVD's as in the
> > instructions that if you have a problem, you can use the Recovery
program
> > CDR's/DVD's to fix the problem. I thought it also could mean that you
> > could > install the Recovery discs as if they were a backup of your
whole
> > system. If you don't make Recovery disks, you would have to find the
> > hidden OS image > on your hard drive and that sounds tricky. Since I
first
> > heard about Recovery > disks a couple of years ago, more and more
> > manufacturers do not give you original OS CD's - just tell you to make
> > CDR's from the hidden partition on > the computer hard drive (in the
cases
> > where you buy a ready made computer or laptop). I guess it saves the
> > manufactuers money.
> > Mary
>
>
> Mary:
> First of all...
>
> If your exclusive interest is in a "free backup program" as you indicated
in
> your original post, then stop reading right now and look no further re the
> following comments I'm about to make. I really don't know of any free
> comprehensive and truly useful (easy-to-understand, reasonably quick in
> operation, & consistently reliable) backup programs that I would recommend
> to you or anyone.

Anna, thanks a lot for your comments/suggestions. I am always open to
comments/suggestions and learning new things about computers/programs. You
seem to know a lot about the subject under discussion. It will take me time
to digest your informatioin, so I will save your message and study it later.

Mary




> But if you would not be averse toward purchasing the kind of comprehensive
> backup program that I'm about to describe, then continue reading...
>
> Let me say at the outset that you could use another internal HDD as the
> "destination" drive, i.e., the HDD that would serve as the recipient of
the
> cloned contents of your daughter's internal day-to-day working HDD. I'm
> assuming you're working with a desktop PC, right?
>
> The following is predicated on the basis that a user is seeking a reliable
> program to backup his or her *entire* day-to-day booting HDD, including
the
> XP OS, all the user's programs & applications, as well as user-created
data,
> in short - *everything* that's on one's "source" HDD. And wants an
effective
> simple-to-use program to do this on a systematic routine basis and do so
> reasonably quickly. So that if & when the day comes when the user's
primary
> HDD fails to boot or otherwise becomes dysfunctional because of a
corrupted
> OS or becomes physically/electronically defective the user will be able to
> easily and reasonably quickly restore his or her system.
>
> This type of comprehensive backup system can be achieved through the use
of
> a disk-cloning (or disk-imaging program). A backup program that one could
> use on a daily basis should the user want. A program that will create a
> precise copy of one's day-to-day HDD so that should that HDD fail or the
> system becomes unbootable because of a corrupt operating system or become
> dysfunctional for any other reason, the user would have the wherewithal to
> restore his/her system to a bootable, functional state with a minimum of
> fuss. What better backup system can one have?
>
> The disk-to-disk cloning program we greatly prefer is the Casper 4
program -
> see http://www.fssdev.com
>
> I note a number of responders to your query and that of Matt's similar
query
> have recommended the Acronis True Image program (which is both a
> disk-cloning and disk-imaging program). While ATI is a fine program and
you
> should consider it (there's a trial version available at Acronis's site),
we
> believe based on our extensive experience with both programs (as well as a
> number of other disk-cloning disk-imaging programs) that the Casper 4
> program is superior for most users.
>
> The Casper 4 program is extremely simple to use even for an inexperienced
> user, reasonably quick in operation, and quite effective. There's
virtually
> no
> learning curve in undertaking the disk cloning process as one navigates
> through the few easy-to-understand screens with a final mouse-click on the
> button on the screen which will trigger the disk-cloning process. After
> undertaking one or two disk-cloning operations it should take the user no
> more than 15 - 20 seconds or so to get to that point.
>
> But the truly significant advantage of the Casper 4.0 disk cloning program
> compared with other disk cloning programs that we're familiar with, e.g.,
> Acronis True Image, is its ability to create *incremental* disk clones
> following the creation of the original (first) disk clone. Employing what
> Casper calls its "SmartClone" technology the program can create subsequent
> disk clones of the source HDD usually at a fraction of the time it takes
to
> create a "full" disk clone. This results in a decided incentive for the
user
> to undertake frequent complete backups of his or her system knowing that
> they can create "incremental" disk clones in a relatively short period of
> time. Understand that this "incremental disk clone" is a *complete* clone
> (copy) of the "source" HDD.
>
> Bear in mind that the recipient of the clone - the "destination" HDD
> (internal or external) - would contain the *complete* contents of one's
> internal HDD (presumably the boot drive). Since that destination drive
would
> be a copy of the source HDD, its contents would be immediately accessible
> and potentially bootable. Naturally its contents could be cloned back to a
> internal HDD should a restoration of the system be necessary. Again, what
> better backup system can one have? And again - because the Casper 4
> disk-cloning operation takes a relatively short period of time to complete
> its disk-cloning operations there's a strong incentive for the user to
more
> frequently keep their backups up-to-date than they might otherwise do.
>
> Again, I want to emphasize that the main advantage of the Casper 4 program
> in comparison with other disk-cloning programs is its rather remarkable
> ability to *routinely* clone the contents of one HDD to another HDD
> (following the initial disk-cloning process) in a fraction of the time it
> generally takes for other disk-cloning (as well as disk-imaging) programs
to
> complete the process. In my experience this is a strong incentive for the
> user to back up their systems on a frequent basis - perhaps even once a
day
> or two or three times a week - knowing that the disk-cloning operation
will
> take only a few short minutes to complete the process. And at the end of
> that process the user will have at hand a "perfect copy" of their
day-to-day
> working HDD. I ask again - what better backup system can one have? And
have
> it in a relatively short time?
>
> The Casper 4.0 program is also capable of scheduling the disk-cloning
> process on a daily, weekly, or other time period selected by the user so
> that should the user prefer he or she could arrange for automatic backups
at
> pre-determined times.
>
> There's a trial version available at
> http://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/trial/ although it's somewhat
crippled
> it should give one a good idea as to how the program works.
>
> The downside to the Casper 4 program as compared with the Acronis and
most
> other disk-cloning programs is the cost of the program which comes to
$49.95
> for the program + $9.95 for the "Casper Startup Disk" (the program to
create
> the bootable CD containing the Casper program - needed to access the
program
> in the event of a failed HDD). So it's more expensive than the others.
But
> in our view, well worth the additional cost considering its overall
> effectiveness and the fact that one will be using the program many, many
> times over the weeks & months ahead. We've introduced the program to many
> users (including former ATI users) and I can't recall a single person who
> regretted his/her purchase. AFAIK, the program is available only through
> download from the developer.
>
> Another possible downside to the Casper 4 program (depending upon one's
> interests) is that it's really not designed to create "generational"
copies
> of one's system. Some users like to maintain complete copies of their
system
> at various points in time. In other words, for example, a user might want
to
> retain (for one reason or another) a complete copy of his or her system as
> it existed on May 30 and June 2 and June 5, etc., etc. To that end a
> disk-imaging program (such as the Acronis one) is more practical since to
> accomplish that objective using a disk-cloning program such as Casper 4
the
> user would obviously need a fair number of HDDs to serve as the recipients
> of the clones at those various points in time. But based on our experience
I
> would say that the vast number of users are simply interested in
maintaining
> only a current up-to-date copy of their system and have little or no
> interest in maintaining "generational" copies of such. But that capability
> may be a consideration for some users.
>
> So I would recommend that you or any user who is interested in a
> comprehensive backup program should try the Casper 4 program to determine
if
> that program meets their needs.
> Anna
>
>

"relic" <bogus.relic2 cjb.net> wrote:

> John Doe wrote:
>> "Dr.Hal0nf1rœ$" <femail nospam.kustomkomputa.co.uk.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> Matt wrote:
>>>> I have a four-year-old IBM desktop with XP Pro. It has a hidden
>>>> partition containing a copy of XP Pro and what is called the
>>>> "Product Recovery Program". I guess it is common nowadays that
>>>> the vendor provides a partition like that (instead of a Windows
>>>> CD) for getting the system software back to the factory-new
>>>> state. I have used it once to wipe and reinstall the system, and
>>>> it worked fine.
>>>>
>>>> The computer is out of warranty, so it seems that if the hard
>>>> drive were to go bad, I would lose the only copy of the OS and
>>>> would have to pay who knows how much for a Windows CD.
>>>>
>>>> So I would like to set up a spare hard drive with a copy of that
>>>> hidden recovery partition. Can I do that with ordinary methods
>>>> (disk partitioning, file copying)? Is there a howto somewhere
>>>> for this, or can somebody offer some advice on the details?
>>>
>>> Another one with backup-phobia I note!
>>
>> The problem isn't with backup, the problem is having to buy a copy
>> of Windows XP if his hard drive fails.
>
> <shakes head>

What part of that don't you understand.













>
>
>
>
> Path: nlpi102-int.nbdc.sbc.com!nlpi062.nbdc.sbc.com!prodigy.com!nlpi057.nbdc.sbc.com!prodigy.net!nx01.iad01.newshosting.com!newshosting.com!69.16.185.51.MISMATCH!tmp-post01.iad!news.highwinds-media.com!roadrunner.com!not-for-mail
> From: "relic" <bogus.relic2 cjb.net>
> Newsgroups: alt.os.windows-xp,alt.windows-xp,alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt
> References: <bLJ_j.325$PD1.116 fe107.usenetserver.com> <rI2dnVugw5pQ8qbVnZ2dnUVZ8srinZ2d bt.com> <F9L_j.547$89.377 nlpi069.nbdc.sbc.com>
> Subject: Re: copying the hidden XP recovery partition
> Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 10:04:51 -0700
> X-Priority: 3
> X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
> X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.5512
> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.5512
> X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Original
> Lines: 29
> Message-ID: <483c3f2e$0$3366$4c368faf roadrunner.com>
> Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com
> NNTP-Posting-Host: 66.75.251.75
> X-Complaints-To: abuse rr.com
> Xref: prodigy.net alt.os.windows-xp:531978 alt.windows-xp:77364 alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt:506871
> X-Received-Date: Tue, 27 May 2008 13:04:50 EDT (nlpi102-int.nbdc.sbc.com)
>