Backing up Operatiing System ??

[Barry Haley]

I recently installed a second Hard Drive. My purpose was to back up my
wife's photo images. But I also want to back up my operating system (XP
Home Service Pack 1) so that when the primary hard drive fails I can boot to
the new drive. I have Nero BackItUp and the wizard walks one through the
process ok but one still needs to know which folders to back up. I can
choose the simple stuff like my address book etc. This may be a dumb
question but which folders do I back up to ensure I back up the operating
system?

 

[Guest]

Actually the best back-up for xp is the file transfer wizard,as recommende
by microsoft techs.Set the computer as old,transfer data to a folder you creat
on desktop,when the transfer is thru,then transfer to a cd.The saved data ca
be personalized,in default,all youre settings,files,folders,jpegs,even music are saved
Then if xp crashed,youd simply install xp,update xp,then run file-transfer,a grea
utility.

 

[Cerridwen]

Actually the best back-up for xp is the file transfer wizard,as
recommended by microsoft techs.Set the computer as old,transfer data
to a folder you create on desktop,when the transfer is thru,then
transfer to a cd.The saved data can be personalized,in default,all
youre settings,files,folders,jpegs,even music are saved. Then if xp
crashed,youd simply install xp,update xp,then run file-transfer,a
great utility.

Andrew, were you born stupid, or have you taken Stupidity 101?! You *CANNOT*
transfer the entire OS from one drive to another using the FAST wizard. The
FAST wizard *CANNOT* be used to clone a drive.

The only reason I've refrained from kill-filing you is that I want to be
able to stop you from completely screwing up someone's system (like your
advice would do if anyone followed it).

I have yet to see you post anything that

a) Made any sense

and

b) Was actually correct

Please refrain from posting until you have researched what you are about to
post.

 

[Cerridwen]

I recently installed a second Hard Drive. My purpose was to back up
my wife's photo images. But I also want to back up my operating
system (XP Home Service Pack 1) so that when the primary hard drive
fails I can boot to the new drive. I have Nero BackItUp and the
wizard walks one through the process ok but one still needs to know
which folders to back up. I can choose the simple stuff like my
address book etc. This may be a dumb question but which folders do I
back up to ensure I back up the operating system?

Nero Back It Up does exactly what it says on the tin - it backs up certain
files and folders, it cannot be used to 'clone' a drive. For this I
recommend obtaining Drive Image 7 which is very easy to use and images can
be stored anywhere. Then, when one drive fails, all you need do is boot from
the DI disc, insert the media containing the image, and restore the image to
the new drive. Images can be heavily compressed (up to five times, so that a
45GB partition will fit on only two DVDs).

If you don't have a DVD burner, I suggest you avail yourself of one, as they
are quite cheap these days (my OEM Pioneer 107D only set me back £75).

Amazon are currently offering a very good deal on a Drive Image and
Partition Magic bundle.

You should update your image when you make significant changes to your
system (install a new app, for example).