backing up settings

[Jo-Anne]

I'm about to install Acronis True Image 11 on my new laptop computer running
Windows XP SP2. Before I do that, is there any way to back up my current
settings? I've tweaked a number of things and don't want to lose what I've
done if something goes wrong in the installation. (I don't have a floppy
drive.) I also plan to create a Restore Point before installing the program,
so I suppose that would protect everything.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

[Bill in Co.]

Creating a System Restore point before you do it sounds good, if you have no
other already previously installed backup imagining or cloning software to
use. Or you could also use ERUNT, but ERUNT only backs up the system
registry and its associated files, so it's not as complete, of course.

 

[Jo-Anne]

Thank you, Bill! I guess System Restore is my best bet.

Jo-Anne

 

[Stephen Harris]

I'm about to install Acronis True Image 11 on my new laptop computer running
Windows XP SP2. Before I do that, is there any way to back up my current
settings? I've tweaked a number of things and don't want to lose what I've
done if something goes wrong in the installation. (I don't have a floppy
drive.) I also plan to create a Restore Point before installing the program,
so I suppose that would protect everything.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

Installing Acronis True Image 11 has little risk.
It is the next step which introduces some risk.
If you don't have your hard drive pretty full,
say 17 gigs of used space, you can do your backup
to 4 dvds; more than 4 becomes confusing later.

Then you can make a backup to a hidden partition
on your hard drive called Acronis Secure Zone (SZ).
Many of the new laptops have a hidden partition
used for the OS and drivers restore. If the F11 key
is used to access this hidden partition then *do not*
activate "Acronis Startup Recovery Manager", because
it also wants to use the F11 key. Instead, also under
Tools, create a bootable rescue media. This lets you
boot to SZ and not use F11 saving F11 for the laptop
hidden partition, if it has one.

To see how big your hard drive is, click on My Computer
and look at C: your local drive. Suppose you have an
160 gig hard drive. Open a command prompt by going to
Start -> Run and then type cmd <enter>. That will open
up a command prompt; then type dir <enter>
C:\>dir <enter>
This will generate a report, and at the bottom will say
34 Dir(s) 29,524,869,120 bytes free

This is an example, not the exact number you should see.

So suppose I had a 40 gig hard drive. Subtracting the
29,524,869,120 bytes free would mean I was actually
using about 10.5 gigs, which would take about 3 dvds
to backup or you could use 12-15 gigs to create a SZ.
The SZ is another hidden partition on the disk and it
takes up space even if you don't see it reported.
This SZ method will work quite well with a new laptop
that hasn't used up lots of space and has a pretty
large hard drive. There is not much risk to making a
backup to dvds, other than the backup might get corrupted
so you would need to validate it. There is some risk in
making a SZ because the partition is resized, but it
nearly always works well.

 

[Bill in Co.]

To add to this - I recommend that you do NOT install or use the Acronis
Secure Zone feature, but, instead, always backup *to another disk*, and NOT
the one the operating system is on! If you do that, you will not suffer
from any of the potential pitfalls of using the Acronis Secure Zone
(including the boot up modifications that can result, if using the Secure
Zone)

 

[Bill in Co.]

I think so, but only with the caveat I gave in the other post (of avoiding
setting up and using the Acronis Secure Zone, but instead, storing ALL
backups on a separate HD).

 

[Anteaus]

The other option is to create a bootable CD with the Acronis imaging
software. This then involves NO software installation, you boot into the CD,
which loads DOS and the Acronis software directly.

On a laptop, whatever method is used, the issue is always where to store the
backup. A USB hard-disk is possible as most of these will work under DOS,
however it may be rather slow.

 

[M.I.5¾]

The other option is to create a bootable CD with the Acronis imaging
software. This then involves NO software installation, you boot into the
CD,
which loads DOS and the Acronis software directly.

No it doesn't. It loads Linux.

On a laptop, whatever method is used, the issue is always where to store
the
backup. A USB hard-disk is possible as most of these will work under DOS,
however it may be rather slow.

It is slower than when done through XP, but it isn't that much slower.
Better would be a firewire drive (if the PC has a firewire port). In any
event, you can always let the whole thing do its stuff while you are doing
something else.

 

[Jo-Anne]

Thank you, Bill, Stephen, and Anteaus! I should have mentioned that I do use
Acronis on my old computer. I bought a new copy for the new laptop because
Acronis licenses its software for only one computer. What I wanted to do was
back up my antivirus program and all the changes I've made in various
settings before trying to install the Acronis program--and if I can't do
that, then System Restore should be helpful.

Once I install the Acronis software, I'll be backing up/imaging to two
external hard drives. I did manage to create a bootable CD with Acronis on
my old computer, and I used it to boot into the Acronis program and validate
one of my backups--just to make sure it would work that way.

After Acronis is working on my new computer, I'll be able to back up
everything with it and will then be ready to install SP3 and all the other
Microsoft updates and then the rest of my programs.

I'm slowly getting acquainted with the new computer.

Thanks again!

Jo-Anne

 

[Kayman]

I'm about to install Acronis True Image 11 on my new laptop computer running
Windows XP SP2. Before I do that, is there any way to back up my current
settings? I've tweaked a number of things and don't want to lose what I've
done if something goes wrong in the installation. (I don't have a floppy
drive.) I also plan to create a Restore Point before installing the program,
so I suppose that would protect everything.

Why don't you upgrade to SP3 first?

 

[Jo-Anne]

Well, I've read in the updates newsgroup that sometimes a bad installation
of SP3 (and other updates) can make a mess. I figured that if I had already
imaged the drive, I could always restore from the image. Although Microsoft
is supposed to create a Restore Point before installing SP3, I worry about
the possibility of not being able to even boot the computer. And since I'm
still quite new at dealing with anything beyond word processing, databases,
email, and the web, I want to use whatever safeguards I can.

Jo-Anne

 

[Jo-Anne]

No it doesn't. It loads Linux.


It is slower than when done through XP, but it isn't that much slower.
Better would be a firewire drive (if the PC has a firewire port). In any
event, you can always let the whole thing do its stuff while you are doing
something else.

My external drives aren't firewire, but as you said, I start the backup and
do something else while it's working. The one area of backing up with
Acronis that is really slow is validation. It's slow even with one backup;
but I've read that where there are multiple backups on a drive, it
re-validates the old ones as well as the new one, which can take many hours.
A friend of mine starts his Acronis full backup every night before going to
bed, and that way it's done when he's ready to work on the computer the next
day.

I'll check into whether I have a firewire port on the new computer. I know I
don't on the old one.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

[Bill in Co.]

Sounds good.
(Besides which, SP3 is *optional* - and, thanks, but no thanks, pour moi)

 

[smlunatick]

Sounds good.
(Besides which, SP3 is *optional* - and, thanks, but no thanks, pour moi)

Unfortunately, at the end of August, Microsoft has placed SP3 as an
automatic security update. They have now made not an optional
download and it will install when Automatic Update is enabled.

 

[Bill in Co.]

Unfortunately, at the end of August, Microsoft has placed SP3 as an
automatic security update. They have now made not an optional
download and it will install when Automatic Update is enabled.

Well, that won't affect me, as I have that automatic update crap disabled
(as in, I wasn't born yesterday

 

[Daave]

(Besides which, SP3 is *optional* - and, thanks, but no thanks, pour
moi)

What's the big deal? Surely you've been hanging around this newsgroup
long enough to know the "best practices" way to install SP3. You already
image your hard drive. So image your hard drive and install SP3. There
is a 99% chance you will have no problems at all. If you do have
problems, simply restore your image that has SP2.

If you intend on keeping XP, you will more than likely need to
eventually upgrade to SP3 anyway to stay current with security updates
and possibly for future software or hardware compatibility.

 

[M.I.5¾]

My external drives aren't firewire, but as you said, I start the backup
and do something else while it's working.

What I meant was doing something else, like watching telly or going down the
pub. Doing something else on the same PC is a very bad idea as it means
that some files are changing while the backup is being made.

The one area of backing up with Acronis that is really slow is validation.
It's slow even with one backup; but I've read that where there are
multiple backups on a drive, it re-validates the old ones as well as the
new one, which can take many hours. A friend of mine starts his Acronis
full backup every night before going to bed, and that way it's done when
he's ready to work on the computer the next day.

I use a father/grandfather backup system and take the risk that the backup
is OK. The odds of two failing are very low. I take it that you have
actually checked that you can restore a backup in anger? You would be
surprised on how many don't and discover the point they've overlooked when
they have to.

 

[smlunatick]

Well, that won't affect me, as I have that automatic update crap disabled
(as in, I wasn't born yesterday  

But was there published acticles which mentioned that Microsoft can
"force" updates even with Automatic updates turned off (or with "just
notify") ??

 

[Bill in Co.]

But was there published acticles which mentioned that Microsoft can
"force" updates even with Automatic updates turned off (or with "just
notify") ??

Ain't happening over here. I'm on dial-up, so trust me, I'd know if it
attempts it (since any such incoming disk activity would be painfully
obvious on dial-up). I've disabled all of it.