Hi,
I have reviewed the online posts, and it doesn't seem like this is
possible
from my interpretation, but I would like to know for sure.
Can I use the backup Wizard in Windows XP Home Edition to create a
complete
backup, including system state on my hard disk, and then copy this file to
multiple DVD-RW? Will it prompt me for new disks, or do I have to buy a
program like Norton Ghost?
Thanks in advance,
Literalgar
Hi,
That sounds messy and a lot of extra (unnecessary) work. Backing up
directly onto DVD-RW's makes more sense.
From what you wrote, it sould like what you are after is just a means to
make an occassional complete backup onto DVD-RW's?
(You aren't looking to do "incremental" backups of files that changed since
the last backup?)
If this is the case, which usually is the case for most people (including
myself), then a third-party backup program is really what you are after.
Acronis TruImage is reportedly pretty good, although I haven't yet tried it
out. I'm still using Norton Ghost 2002. It has worked fine for me for
years, so don't really have an incentive for anything else (yet).
Advantage of using Norton Ghost, or TruImage (I believe it also does this),
is that not only can you backup directly to DVD-RW's but they are also
bootable afterwards. To restore, you just stick the first DVD in the series
in and boot. Thats it.
Regarding Norton: Look for Norton Ghost 2002. Don't get any version newer
than Norton Ghost 2002. Norton Ghost 2002 includes a DOS version, which is
all you need to do the above. (Not only does the DOS version work with
CD/DVD-RW's, but also external USB hard drives, over a network, etc.) After
you install Norton Ghost 2002, you can use it to make a boot media (floppy
or CD/DVD) that contains the DOS version along with any necessary drivers
(CD/DVD-RW, USB, network, etc). Once you have a boot media, you can
uninstall Norton Ghost 2002 on Windows as it is no longer needed (unless you
want to be able to look into backups and pull individual files from them
occassionaly). To do a backup, you simply boot of the boot media created by
Norton and go from there. The advantage of backing up from a DOS
environment is that it is outside of running Windows -- so files aren't
changing while you are backing up. If you backed up to DVD's, to restore
you don't need to use the boot media. The first DVD in the backup series
will self boot. If you backup to USB media, a network drive, etc, then you
use the boot media to begin a restore.
It is pretty straightforward and simple..
