Full System Backup in W2K Pro

[Thomas M]

I'd like to create a backup set that will allow me to restore the system
to it's current state simply by restoring a backup. Ideally, when I do a
restore, the registry will be restored along with all my programs,
desktop and Start menu customizations, application customizations
(Toolbars, menus, macros, configurations, etc.), all my templates, etc.

Basically, anything that a user can customize in any application, plus
data files, should be restored.

I thought I had this a few weeks ago when I created a backup job that
backed up the registry, along with the Documents and Settings folder
(except the Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders), the Program Files
folder, the Winnt folder, the boot files, and some personal stuff like
downloaded drivers, batch files, etc. (My data files are in a separate
backup set). However, when I reinstalled W2K Pro and restored from the
backup, it pretty much hosed my system. So either I did the backup
wrong, or the restore operation did not work correctly.

I've done this before with Win98, and it works as I've described above.
But this is the first time I've tried to do the same thing in W2K, and
given that the first attempt was a complete failure, I thought that I
should seek advice on how to do this in W2K.

Will backing up the System State alone achieve my goal, or do I have to
backup the System State PLUS some other stuff too?

Any help that can be offered will be greately appreciated!

--Tom

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I'd like to create a backup set that will allow me to restore the system
to it's current state simply by restoring a backup. Ideally, when I do a
restore, the registry will be restored along with all my programs,
desktop and Start menu customizations, application customizations
(Toolbars, menus, macros, configurations, etc.), all my templates, etc.

Basically, anything that a user can customize in any application, plus
data files, should be restored.

I thought I had this a few weeks ago when I created a backup job that
backed up the registry, along with the Documents and Settings folder
(except the Temp and Temporary Internet Files folders), the Program Files
folder, the Winnt folder, the boot files, and some personal stuff like
downloaded drivers, batch files, etc. (My data files are in a separate
backup set). However, when I reinstalled W2K Pro and restored from the
backup, it pretty much hosed my system. So either I did the backup
wrong, or the restore operation did not work correctly.

I've done this before with Win98, and it works as I've described above.
But this is the first time I've tried to do the same thing in W2K, and
given that the first attempt was a complete failure, I thought that I
should seek advice on how to do this in W2K.

Will backing up the System State alone achieve my goal, or do I have to
backup the System State PLUS some other stuff too?

Any help that can be offered will be greately appreciated!

--Tom

The problem with your approach is that it won't work if
your disk becomes corrupted. You would have to install
a temporary version of Win2000 in some folder other than
c:\WinNT (which in itself is a bit of a challenge), then use
this temporary version to run ntbackup.

A much better and faster option goes like this:
- Introduce a strict separation between software and data.
All software (OS, Apps) goes on drive C:
All data goes on drive D:.
- Back up all data to tape, every day.
- Use an imaging program such as DriveImage or Ghost to
create an image file of drive C:.
- Update this image file every few months, and also
before and after you do major upgrades.
- Keep the two most recent image files.

This approach allows you to restore the OS and all your
apps to a blank disk in 15-45 minutes, depending on the
amount of data you have.

 

[Sparker9]

I'd recommend using a backup utility that creates an exact image of your partition rather than just a file-by file copy of its contents. By using a backup utility like Ghost, DriveImage, or BootIT NG, the whole partition can be backed-up or restored in less than an hour or two.

I use PowerQuest DriveImage 2002 (aka version 6). This utility runs in both Windows and DOS (no in-depth knowledge of DOS is required). It can create a full backup onto a separate partition, drive, or spanned onto CD discs (In order to do this, one must have a CDRW burner).

I originally configured mine to create 650MB image files in a separate partition of the main drive so that I could later burn these to CD-R discs as secondary resources ( used in case the hard drive fails completely ). I now create the backup onto a separate removable drive, which eliminates my need to burn secondary CD discs except in the case where the main drive fails.

This particular utility also can create & delete partitions and comes with its own Explorer that allows one to restore folders or files from the backup...nice features.