| "Carol" <
[email protected]>
| Message | I purchased an external hard drive and want to back up my
| laptop to it, but the Windows XP Backup requires a floppy
| disk in order to access the backed up files. My laptop
| does not have a floppy drive. Is there a way to make the
| recover disk using a CD?
It sounds like you are describing the new Wizard found in the Backup Utility
(ntbackup.exe) named the Automated System Recovery Wizard. It is the Wizard
that helps you create a two-part backup of your system: media [a backup
(*.bkf) file] and a floppy disk that saves your system settings. The ASR
feature replaces the Emergency Repair Disk found in Windows 2000 and
Windows NT 4.0.
If this is what you are talking about, then...
For Microsoft Windows XP Professional and Server 2003
users, to quote the following Microsoft Server 2003 Enterprise
Edition Documentation on the subject of ASR and the
need to have a floppy disk that stores system settings:
Microsoft Server 2003 Enterprise Edition Documentation
Disks and Data | Backing Up and Recovering Data | Backing
Up and Restoring Data: Troubleshooting
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...enterprise/proddocs/en-us/sag_BACKtrouble.asp
----- Begin Quote -----
I want to do an Automated System Recovery (ASR) backup,
but my computer does not have a floppy drive.
Cause: When you restore your system files in an ASR restore,
Backup requires that you insert a floppy disk containing the
ASR backup files.
Solution: Perform an ASR backup on the computer without the
floppy drive. Copy the asr.sif and asrpnp.sif files located in the
%systemroot%\repair directory to another computer with a
floppy drive, then copy those files onto a floppy disk.
Important
a. Before running the ASR restore, you must attach a floppy
drive to your computer.
----- End Quote -----
Additionally, the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article
describes how to create an Automated System Recovery (ASR)
floppy disk from the media that stores the ASR backup, in the
event that the ASR floppy disk is not available (or was not
created during the preparation procedure):
KB299526 - HOW TO: Re-Create a Missing Automated
System Recovery Floppy Disk in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?Product=winxp&scid=kb;en-us;299526
NOTE: ASR does not function and is not supported on Windows XP Home edition.
For more information see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base
article that also explains the recovery process for Windows XP
Home Edition if catastrophic malfunctions result in the need for
total data recovery:
KB302700 - An Error Message Is Displayed When You
Attempt to Use the Automated System Recovery Wizard
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?Product=winxp&scid=kb;en-us;302700