Clean Install and Windows Backup

[Guest]

I back up regularly to an external USB HD a considering a new HD for the pc.
Since that will be a clean install with xp pro sp2 will I still be able to
retrieve files from my backup and recover them such as photos, videos to the
new clean install HD. Also I am assuming I would have to reinstall any games
and not be able to recover the games in their entirity from the backup , but
could I recover the saved game fiiles and replace them with the new game
install saved game folders for example.

I hope that made sense.

Thanks

Thanks Chris

 

[R. McCarty]

Probably, what method or software did you use for creating the backup ?
One point about external drive backups, remember that you're still working
with magnetic media. So while you've lowered your risk to data loss, you
aren't fully protected. You still need to create a backup on some form of a
more permanent media (CD-R, DVD-R).
One thing to consider is segmenting your PC drive structure. Add a partition
to hold your Photos, Videos and do not allow them to reside on the volume
that holds XP. This segmentation also helps with backing up as you can save
your personal data separate from Windows.
Always double-check a backup. Make sure the data is accessible and you
are able to read/copy the data from it.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the tip, I use the Windows backup utility that comes with xp pro.