Backing up XP How?

[Wendy]

How do I back up the entire computer. I'm installing a new hard drive.
Thanks. Wendy

 

[Malke]

How do I back up the entire computer. I'm installing a new hard drive.
Thanks. Wendy

If what you are really asking is: how do I copy my existing Windows
installation on the old hard drive to the new hard drive - the new hard
drive will come with a utility to do just that. If you didn't buy the
new drive retail and/or it doesn't come with the utility, the hard
drive mftr.'s website will have it.

Malke

 

[Wendy]

Malke: Thanks. So the new hardware from Dell should come with the software?

Wendy

 

[Wendy]

Malke: Thanks. So the new hardware from Dell should come with the

 

[Thomas Wendell]

Not necessarily, but it's usually avalable at the HD mfg's website...


--
Tumppi
=================================
Most learned on these newsgroups
Helsinki, FINLAND
(translations from/to FI not always accurate
=================================

 

[Mike Hall - MS MVP Windows Shell/User]

Contact Dell for a means by which you can recover your system.. in the
meantime, if you have a CD burner, you might want to save important stuff to
CD (keeping it in a safe place afterwards) as the Dell recovery process
essentially wipes the drive clean and starts afresh..

--
Mike Hall
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

 

[JS]

If you ordered the new drive from Dell they may send you what is called an
OEM version of the drive. This means it may not come with the item usually
found in a retail version, such a cable(s), CD with software utilities, Etc.
When the new drive arrives see who the manufacture and what the model is,
then go to the manufacturer's web site and download the software you need.

Example for Western Digital:
http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?cxml=n&pid=999&swid=1
Maxtor: http://tinyurl.com/n9q66

JS

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Malke: Thanks. So the new hardware from Dell should come with the
software?

Wendy

I think you misinderstand - Dell does not manufacture hard disks. If Dell
sent you a hard disk, you will see the manufacturer's name on the drive
label.

Many hard disk manufacturers, like Maxtor, Seagate, Samsung, Western
Digital - have disk cloning utilities available on their websites that work
with drives they've made.

Alternately, you can use a 3rd party cloning utility, such as Acronis True
Image, for which there is a free trial version. Install this on your
system, attach the new drive, and use TrueImage to make a copy of the
current drive to the new disk. This is quick and easy.

HTH
-pk

 

[Wendy]

Patrick:

Not sure how to do this. This is a Inspiron Lap Top. How can I connect both
drives at the same time?

Wendy

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Patrick:

Not sure how to do this. This is a Inspiron Lap Top. How can I connect
both
drives at the same time?

Wendy

If you get an external 2.5" USB2 drive case, you can connect the new drive
to it and clone the existing install to it very quickly. These can be
around $15 - $30 or so.

Some examples:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=2214

You can get these cases at most computer shops.

One thing is that these come with a special three-headed USB cable, because
USB ports do not provide enough power to run a hard disk. You have to use
two USB ports, and the special cable allows this.

The other thing is that Dell often uses a little adapter on the drive's
connector pins that must be removed for the USB2 drive case, and
reinstalled before the drive is installed in the laptop. It's easy to pry
off and is keyed so it only goes on one way.

If you download the trial version of Acronis TrueImage home edition, this
task is quick and easy.
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/
click on the link on the right for the 15-day trial. Once you're done, the
cloned drive will have the cloning software installed on it, so you'll need
to uninstall it if you're not planning on cloning other drives.


HTH
-pk