Backup Question

[Pete]

I just finished a complete restore after a mysterious
meltdown and of course hadn't backed up everything I
should have. Learning a lesson the hard way, someone told
me to put ALL of my apps and files in one folder which I
could "easily" just back up the folder without having to
spend the time searching for everything I need/want to
copy. This sounds great, but what if I put "Office" in
this folder. Does it make sense to backup the entire
application? Can I save my Outlook Address Book, Outlook
settings, Noton Anti-Virus settings and the hundreds of
other little "tweaks" that one spends countless hours
setting up only to lose them as I did. What's the
best/easiest way to do this? Is the Backup that comes
with XP Pro sufficent or should I use my CD burning
software or a specific backup program? Your input is
greatly appreciated!

 

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

I just finished a complete restore after a mysterious
meltdown and of course hadn't backed up everything I
should have. Learning a lesson the hard way, someone told
me to put ALL of my apps and files in one folder which I
could "easily" just back up the folder without having to
spend the time searching for everything I need/want to
copy. This sounds great, but what if I put "Office" in
this folder. Does it make sense to backup the entire
application? Can I save my Outlook Address Book, Outlook
settings, Noton Anti-Virus settings and the hundreds of
other little "tweaks" that one spends countless hours
setting up only to lose them as I did. What's the
best/easiest way to do this? Is the Backup that comes
with XP Pro sufficent or should I use my CD burning
software or a specific backup program? Your input is
greatly appreciated!

If your wanting to restore files and settings/configurations, then it sounds
like you need a disk imaging program. There several good programs to choose
from Like Drive Image, Ghost.

Drive Image
http://powerquest.com

Ghost
http://symantec.com

--
Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

Please reply to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.

 

[Pete]

Thanks for the info. In doing some quick checking on
Norton Ghost and Dive Image, the reviews for both products
are marginal at best. Any other recommendations? Any other
(easy) way to save the important stuff without a snapshot
of the entire drive or system?

-----Original Message-----


If your wanting to restore files and

settings/configurations, then it sounds

 

[mrtee]

Iomega Automatic Backup; www.iomega.com will back up specific folders to wherever you want them. I use it to backup My Documents (which are on a 2nd HDD) to a 3rd HDD. After the initial copy, it will only copy changed items.

I use True Image; www.acronis.com to image my system drive (XP and all programs).

--
Just my ¢ worth
Jeff
__________in response to__________
| Thanks for the info. In doing some quick checking on
| Norton Ghost and Dive Image, the reviews for both products
| are marginal at best. Any other recommendations? Any other
| (easy) way to save the important stuff without a snapshot
| of the entire drive or system?