Creating a backup restore CD not floppy

[Guest]

I have repair and restore disks which came with my out of date computer quite
a long time ago. I updated to SP2 online, the OEM disks if used for repair
or recovery revert OS to SP1, which as of October this year will not be
supported. Once this happens now that Genuine Advantage Notifacations which
is installed and remains if a repair and not a recovery is done no longer has
the tools needed to verify software causing a Notification and blockage from
Updates to SP2 and a whole mess of other problems. The only thing that can
be done is a restore to factory specs whereafter there are endless hours of
configuring, downloading and uploading, installations, setup, etc. As of
October of this year I believe if I ever do a repair or recovery with the Oem
disks I will be stuck with unsupported SP1. I would like to avoid this as
well as the work described above by creating my own restore disk on CD-Rom.
I know there is a utility for restore disks in NT but as far as I know it
requires bootable floppies and this laptop has CD/DVD only. I can do regular
backup on a CD-R I believe of personal files and settings. I would like
advice as to whether I can create a bootable CD and use it to create a
restore solution in the future if I have a system failure which causes my
current OS not to boot fully which has happened to me once again. I'm not an
advanced user but am familiar with XP interface. I do not know if what I
want to do is possible, but if anyone does know how or can provide advice or
a place to start I would be truly grateful.

 

[Roberto]

I have repair and restore disks which came with my out of date computer
quite
a long time ago. I updated to SP2 online, the OEM disks if used for
repair
or recovery revert OS to SP1, which as of October this year will not be
supported. Once this happens now that Genuine Advantage Notifacations
which
is installed and remains if a repair and not a recovery is done no longer
has
the tools needed to verify software causing a Notification and blockage
from
Updates to SP2 and a whole mess of other problems. The only thing that
can
be done is a restore to factory specs whereafter there are endless hours
of
configuring, downloading and uploading, installations, setup, etc. As of
October of this year I believe if I ever do a repair or recovery with the
Oem
disks I will be stuck with unsupported SP1. I would like to avoid this as
well as the work described above by creating my own restore disk on
CD-Rom.
I know there is a utility for restore disks in NT but as far as I know it
requires bootable floppies and this laptop has CD/DVD only. I can do
regular
backup on a CD-R I believe of personal files and settings. I would like
advice as to whether I can create a bootable CD and use it to create a
restore solution in the future if I have a system failure which causes my
current OS not to boot fully which has happened to me once again. I'm not
an
advanced user but am familiar with XP interface. I do not know if what I
want to do is possible, but if anyone does know how or can provide advice
or
a place to start I would be truly grateful.

A third party program such as Norton Ghost or BootITNG will do what
you want, Norton is the easiest IMHO, it will allow you to create an
image of your current HDD and write it to bootable DVDs [providing your
writer is supported by Ghost].
I believe they have a list of supported optical drives on the
Symantec web site.

rgds
Roberto

 

[Guest]

Thank you Roberto I'll see if I can do this.

I have repair and restore disks which came with my out of date computer
quite
a long time ago. I updated to SP2 online, the OEM disks if used for
repair
or recovery revert OS to SP1, which as of October this year will not be
supported. Once this happens now that Genuine Advantage Notifacations
which
is installed and remains if a repair and not a recovery is done no longer
has
the tools needed to verify software causing a Notification and blockage
from
Updates to SP2 and a whole mess of other problems. The only thing that
can
be done is a restore to factory specs whereafter there are endless hours
of
configuring, downloading and uploading, installations, setup, etc. As of
October of this year I believe if I ever do a repair or recovery with the
Oem
disks I will be stuck with unsupported SP1. I would like to avoid this as
well as the work described above by creating my own restore disk on
CD-Rom.
I know there is a utility for restore disks in NT but as far as I know it
requires bootable floppies and this laptop has CD/DVD only. I can do
regular
backup on a CD-R I believe of personal files and settings. I would like
advice as to whether I can create a bootable CD and use it to create a
restore solution in the future if I have a system failure which causes my
current OS not to boot fully which has happened to me once again. I'm not
an
advanced user but am familiar with XP interface. I do not know if what I
want to do is possible, but if anyone does know how or can provide advice
or
a place to start I would be truly grateful.

A third party program such as Norton Ghost or BootITNG will do what
you want, Norton is the easiest IMHO, it will allow you to create an
image of your current HDD and write it to bootable DVDs [providing your
writer is supported by Ghost].
I believe they have a list of supported optical drives on the
Symantec web site.

rgds
Roberto

 

[Anna]

A third party program such as Norton Ghost or BootITNG will do
what
you want, Norton is the easiest IMHO, it will allow you to create
an
image of your current HDD and write it to bootable DVDs [providing
your
writer is supported by Ghost].
I believe they have a list of supported optical drives on the
Symantec web site.

rgds
Roberto

Thank you Roberto I'll see if I can do this.

Tania:
Let me add a bit to Roberto's suggestions...

His basic advice to use a disk imaging program is a good one. But rather
than using such a program (and I'll discuss other programs/versions if you
or others are interested in my suggested approach) to create disk images on
DVD media, consider using that type of program to directly "clone" the
contents of your working HD to another HD, preferably a USB (or Firewire)
external HD.

Before I get into some of the details of this process, I'm assuming that
your PC has USB 2.0 (not just USB 1.0 or 1.1) support. I see you've referred
to your computer as "out of date" so that may mean that you don't have USB
2.0 support. On the other hand you've mentioned that your computer is
equipped with a DVD optical drive so that leads me to believe you probably
do have USB 2.0 capability. I'll discuss this USB 1.1/2.0 business shortly.

So let's assume for the moment that you have USB 2.0 capability. The
advantage of directly cloning the contents of your working HD to a external
HD is that it's a bit less complicated and somewhat more straightforward
than creating disk images on DVDs. By creating this "clone" the HD recipient
(the "destination" drive) becomes, in effect, a bit-for-bit copy of your
"source" HD. Should, at a later time, your working HD become dysfunctional,
it's a relatively simple matter to "re:clone" the contents of the external
HD back to the internal HD for restoration purposes. And should the internal
HD become defective and unusable, you can use the cloned HD contained in its
USB enclosure and install it in your computer to replace the failed HD.

Now of course there will be an additional expense re this process and I
don't know if that would negate any interest on your part in this approach.
So let me cover that first.

You would need to purchase a USB external HD enclosure + a HD to install in
the enclosure the latter, of course, acting as recipient of the clone. While
you can purchase an integrated unit, I would recommend purchasing instead a
separate enclosure and HD, the advantage being that the HD is obviously
removable and could be used to install as an internal HD in your computer
should that need later arise. The integrated units ordinarily do not have
this capability. I should mention that the installation of the HD in its USB
external enclosure is generally a very simple process - just a couple of
internal connections - not difficult at all.

(Now the reason I asked above as to whether your computer had USB 2.0
capability is that if it does not - I would not recommend this approach as
it now stands. With USB 1.1 the data transfer rate from one HD to another HD
would be so abysmillaly slow that, in my view, this approach would not be
feasible. Now (assuming you have only USB 1.1 capability) there is a way to
get around this - you could purchase a USB 2.0 PCI card and install it in
your machine. But of course, that's an additional expense.)

In any event, USB enclosures can be purchased from online vendors for as
little as $40 or so. The cost of the HD would, of course, depend on its
capacity. And, of course, you would need to purchase a disk imaging program.

Using this approach you can maintain a systematic routine backup of your
entire system and accomplish this in a relatively simple & direct manner. On
the other hand you may feel more comfortable with using DVDs to store disk
images of your system. I suppose it's just a matter of personal preference.

I can go on about my recommendations is this area - they're slightly
different (or at least amplify) from Roberto's suggestions, but since I'm
unsure whether this alternate approach is of any interest to you I won't
comment any further. But if you (or any other interested party) is so
interested, please so indicate and I'll go on.
Anna

 

[Guest]

Anna,
Thank you for your response and it is tempting to look into further. I have
cancer and lupus and am extremely disabled and haven't worked in years. I
mention this because although your solution seems the simplest if I were to
ever experience the blue screen of death again, I do worry about cost, and
lack confidence being out of any professional environment for so long. Also,
I would have to ask a shopper who has never used a computer to purchase the
additional hardware. I would feel the most comfortable having a bootable
CD-R (several if neccessary for capacity) to restore my computer if needed
and if possible. I do have a USB 4port micro hub and was once advised to
look into flash storage devices which run only about $14. I welcome and will
consider any and all further advice with thanks.

I have repair and restore disks which came with my out of date computer
quite a long time ago. I updated to SP2 online, the OEM disks if used
for
repair or recovery revert OS to SP1, which as of October this year will
not be
supported. Once this happens now that Genuine Advantage Notifacations
which is installed and remains if a repair and not a recovery is done
no longer
has the tools needed to verify software causing a Notification and
blockage
from Updates to SP2 and a whole mess of other problems. The only thing
that
can be done is a restore to factory specs whereafter there are endless
hours
of configuring, downloading and uploading, installations, setup, etc.
As of
October of this year I believe if I ever do a repair or recovery with
the
Oem disks I will be stuck with unsupported SP1. I would like to avoid
this as
well as the work described above by creating my own restore disk on
CD-Rom. I know there is a utility for restore disks in NT but as far as
I know it
requires bootable floppies and this laptop has CD/DVD only. I can do
regular backup on a CD-R I believe of personal files and settings. I
would like
advice as to whether I can create a bootable CD and use it to create a
restore solution in the future if I have a system failure which causes
my
current OS not to boot fully which has happened to me once again. I'm
not
an advanced user but am familiar with XP interface. I do not know if
what I
want to do is possible, but if anyone does know how or can provide
advice
or a place to start I would be truly grateful.

A third party program such as Norton Ghost or BootITNG will do
what
you want, Norton is the easiest IMHO, it will allow you to create
an
image of your current HDD and write it to bootable DVDs [providing
your
writer is supported by Ghost].
I believe they have a list of supported optical drives on the
Symantec web site.

rgds
Roberto

Thank you Roberto I'll see if I can do this.

Tania:
Let me add a bit to Roberto's suggestions...

His basic advice to use a disk imaging program is a good one. But rather
than using such a program (and I'll discuss other programs/versions if you
or others are interested in my suggested approach) to create disk images on
DVD media, consider using that type of program to directly "clone" the
contents of your working HD to another HD, preferably a USB (or Firewire)
external HD.

Before I get into some of the details of this process, I'm assuming that
your PC has USB 2.0 (not just USB 1.0 or 1.1) support. I see you've referred
to your computer as "out of date" so that may mean that you don't have USB
2.0 support. On the other hand you've mentioned that your computer is
equipped with a DVD optical drive so that leads me to believe you probably
do have USB 2.0 capability. I'll discuss this USB 1.1/2.0 business shortly.

So let's assume for the moment that you have USB 2.0 capability. The
advantage of directly cloning the contents of your working HD to a external
HD is that it's a bit less complicated and somewhat more straightforward
than creating disk images on DVDs. By creating this "clone" the HD recipient
(the "destination" drive) becomes, in effect, a bit-for-bit copy of your
"source" HD. Should, at a later time, your working HD become dysfunctional,
it's a relatively simple matter to "re:clone" the contents of the external
HD back to the internal HD for restoration purposes. And should the internal
HD become defective and unusable, you can use the cloned HD contained in its
USB enclosure and install it in your computer to replace the failed HD.

Now of course there will be an additional expense re this process and I
don't know if that would negate any interest on your part in this approach.
So let me cover that first.

You would need to purchase a USB external HD enclosure + a HD to install in
the enclosure the latter, of course, acting as recipient of the clone. While
you can purchase an integrated unit, I would recommend purchasing instead a
separate enclosure and HD, the advantage being that the HD is obviously
removable and could be used to install as an internal HD in your computer
should that need later arise. The integrated units ordinarily do not have
this capability. I should mention that the installation of the HD in its USB
external enclosure is generally a very simple process - just a couple of
internal connections - not difficult at all.

(Now the reason I asked above as to whether your computer had USB 2.0
capability is that if it does not - I would not recommend this approach as
it now stands. With USB 1.1 the data transfer rate from one HD to another HD
would be so abysmillaly slow that, in my view, this approach would not be
feasible. Now (assuming you have only USB 1.1 capability) there is a way to
get around this - you could purchase a USB 2.0 PCI card and install it in
your machine. But of course, that's an additional expense.)

In any event, USB enclosures can be purchased from online vendors for as
little as $40 or so. The cost of the HD would, of course, depend on its
capacity. And, of course, you would need to purchase a disk imaging program.

Using this approach you can maintain a systematic routine backup of your
entire system and accomplish this in a relatively simple & direct manner. On
the other hand you may feel more comfortable with using DVDs to store disk
images of your system. I suppose it's just a matter of personal preference.

I can go on about my recommendations is this area - they're slightly
different (or at least amplify) from Roberto's suggestions, but since I'm
unsure whether this alternate approach is of any interest to you I won't
comment any further. But if you (or any other interested party) is so
interested, please so indicate and I'll go on.
Anna

 

[Anna]

I have repair and restore disks which came with my out of date
computer
quite a long time ago. I updated to SP2 online, the OEM disks if
used
for
repair or recovery revert OS to SP1, which as of October this year
will
not be
supported. Once this happens now that Genuine Advantage
Notifacations
which is installed and remains if a repair and not a recovery is
done
no longer
has the tools needed to verify software causing a Notification and
blockage
from Updates to SP2 and a whole mess of other problems. The only
thing
that
can be done is a restore to factory specs whereafter there are
endless
hours
of configuring, downloading and uploading, installations, setup,
etc.
As of
October of this year I believe if I ever do a repair or recovery
with
the
Oem disks I will be stuck with unsupported SP1. I would like to
avoid
this as
well as the work described above by creating my own restore disk on
CD-Rom. I know there is a utility for restore disks in NT but as far
as
I know it
requires bootable floppies and this laptop has CD/DVD only. I can
do
regular backup on a CD-R I believe of personal files and settings.
I
would like
advice as to whether I can create a bootable CD and use it to create
a
restore solution in the future if I have a system failure which
causes
my
current OS not to boot fully which has happened to me once again.
I'm
not
an advanced user but am familiar with XP interface. I do not know
if
what I
want to do is possible, but if anyone does know how or can provide
advice
or a place to start I would be truly grateful.

:
A third party program such as Norton Ghost or BootITNG will do
what
you want, Norton is the easiest IMHO, it will allow you to
create
an
image of your current HDD and write it to bootable DVDs [providing
your
writer is supported by Ghost].
I believe they have a list of supported optical drives on the
Symantec web site.

rgds
Roberto

Thank you Roberto I'll see if I can do this.

Tania:
Let me add a bit to Roberto's suggestions...

His basic advice to use a disk imaging program is a good one. But rather
than using such a program (and I'll discuss other programs/versions if
you
or others are interested in my suggested approach) to create disk images
on
DVD media, consider using that type of program to directly "clone" the
contents of your working HD to another HD, preferably a USB (or Firewire)
external HD.

Before I get into some of the details of this process, I'm assuming that
your PC has USB 2.0 (not just USB 1.0 or 1.1) support. I see you've
referred
to your computer as "out of date" so that may mean that you don't have
USB
2.0 support. On the other hand you've mentioned that your computer is
equipped with a DVD optical drive so that leads me to believe you
probably
do have USB 2.0 capability. I'll discuss this USB 1.1/2.0 business
shortly.

So let's assume for the moment that you have USB 2.0 capability. The
advantage of directly cloning the contents of your working HD to a
external
HD is that it's a bit less complicated and somewhat more straightforward
than creating disk images on DVDs. By creating this "clone" the HD
recipient
(the "destination" drive) becomes, in effect, a bit-for-bit copy of your
"source" HD. Should, at a later time, your working HD become
dysfunctional,
it's a relatively simple matter to "re:clone" the contents of the
external
HD back to the internal HD for restoration purposes. And should the
internal
HD become defective and unusable, you can use the cloned HD contained in
its
USB enclosure and install it in your computer to replace the failed HD.

Now of course there will be an additional expense re this process and I
don't know if that would negate any interest on your part in this
approach.
So let me cover that first.

You would need to purchase a USB external HD enclosure + a HD to install
in
the enclosure the latter, of course, acting as recipient of the clone.
While
you can purchase an integrated unit, I would recommend purchasing instead
a
separate enclosure and HD, the advantage being that the HD is obviously
removable and could be used to install as an internal HD in your computer
should that need later arise. The integrated units ordinarily do not have
this capability. I should mention that the installation of the HD in its
USB
external enclosure is generally a very simple process - just a couple of
internal connections - not difficult at all.

(Now the reason I asked above as to whether your computer had USB 2.0
capability is that if it does not - I would not recommend this approach
as
it now stands. With USB 1.1 the data transfer rate from one HD to another
HD
would be so abysmillaly slow that, in my view, this approach would not be
feasible. Now (assuming you have only USB 1.1 capability) there is a way
to
get around this - you could purchase a USB 2.0 PCI card and install it in
your machine. But of course, that's an additional expense.)

In any event, USB enclosures can be purchased from online vendors for as
little as $40 or so. The cost of the HD would, of course, depend on its
capacity. And, of course, you would need to purchase a disk imaging
program.

Using this approach you can maintain a systematic routine backup of your
entire system and accomplish this in a relatively simple & direct manner.
On
the other hand you may feel more comfortable with using DVDs to store
disk
images of your system. I suppose it's just a matter of personal
preference.

I can go on about my recommendations is this area - they're slightly
different (or at least amplify) from Roberto's suggestions, but since I'm
unsure whether this alternate approach is of any interest to you I won't
comment any further. But if you (or any other interested party) is so
interested, please so indicate and I'll go on.
Anna

Anna,
Thank you for your response and it is tempting to look into further. I
have
cancer and lupus and am extremely disabled and haven't worked in years. I
mention this because although your solution seems the simplest if I were
to
ever experience the blue screen of death again, I do worry about cost, and
lack confidence being out of any professional environment for so long.
Also,
I would have to ask a shopper who has never used a computer to purchase
the
additional hardware. I would feel the most comfortable having a bootable
CD-R (several if neccessary for capacity) to restore my computer if needed
and if possible. I do have a USB 4port micro hub and was once advised to
look into flash storage devices which run only about $14. I welcome and
will
consider any and all further advice with thanks.

Tania:
Well, under those circumstances perhaps the approach I recommended wouldn't
be practical at this time. But do file away my comments for perusal at a
later date. Perhaps it may be feasible at some future time.
Anna

 

[Roberto]

Anna,
Thank you for your response and it is tempting to look into further. I
have
cancer and lupus and am extremely disabled and haven't worked in years. I
mention this because although your solution seems the simplest if I were
to
ever experience the blue screen of death again, I do worry about cost, and
lack confidence being out of any professional environment for so long.
Also,
I would have to ask a shopper who has never used a computer to purchase
the
additional hardware. I would feel the most comfortable having a bootable
CD-R (several if neccessary for capacity) to restore my computer if needed
and if possible. I do have a USB 4port micro hub and was once advised to
look into flash storage devices which run only about $14. I welcome and
will
consider any and all further advice with thanks.

Regarding your situation, BootITNG or their Image for Windows would be
perfect for you, the price is almost giveaway compared to Norton Ghost.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/

good luck
rgds
Roberto

 

[Guest]

Regarding your situation, BootITNG or their Image for Windows would be
perfect for you, the price is almost giveaway compared to Norton Ghost.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/

good luck
rgds
Roberto

What about just downloading SP2 and burning it to optical disk? I'd say
that's the cheapest solution.