Making a copy of ones HD with all the updates included

[Guest]

I have repeatedly formated my HD and I would like to know how "Exactly what
files & folders one selects" to make a fresh copy of the HD.

I now have Windows XP Home Edition for the OS and I would like to re-install
Windows Live One Care but I first want make a copy of the HD with all the
updates included.
I do have both, a CD RW burner and A DVD RW burner on my system.

I just to not have the knowledge of how, one makes a copy of ones HD drive.
If you would be so kind and patient to explain to me exactly what files and
folders one has to select to make a copy of ones HD and should the copy be
made on a Bootable CD/DVD?

 

[Malke]

I have repeatedly formated my HD and I would like to know how "Exactly what
files & folders one selects" to make a fresh copy of the HD.

I now have Windows XP Home Edition for the OS and I would like to re-install
Windows Live One Care but I first want make a copy of the HD with all the
updates included.
I do have both, a CD RW burner and A DVD RW burner on my system.

I just to not have the knowledge of how, one makes a copy of ones HD drive.
If you would be so kind and patient to explain to me exactly what files and
folders one has to select to make a copy of ones HD and should the copy be
made on a Bootable CD/DVD?

Purchase an imaging program and an external hard drive. My preference is
for Acronis True Image. Along with the imaging, it will do incremental
backups. Usage is to install True Image and use its Bootable Media
Creator to create a bootable CD which will have True Image on it. Then
use True Image to make an image of your hard drive and store it on the
external hard drive. If you ever need to restore your installation, boot
with the True Image CD you made and point it to the image on the
external drive. Go to www.acronis.com to read more details.


Malke

 

[Guest]

Malke, thanks for the prompt reply. I do have a program from Roxio called
Easy CD & DVD burning. I think it is Roxio 6 Some prgram I purchased at a
WalMart which I will never do again!!!
I was hoping to avoid spending any further money buying stuff that does not
work anyhow. Thanks again for your time. I will keep a record of your advice

 

[Malke]

Malke, thanks for the prompt reply. I do have a program from Roxio called
Easy CD & DVD burning. I think it is Roxio 6 Some prgram I purchased at a
WalMart which I will never do again!!!
I was hoping to avoid spending any further money buying stuff that does not
work anyhow. Thanks again for your time. I will keep a record of your advice

Roxio is not an image creator like Acronis or Norton Ghost.


Malke

 

[Mike Lowery]

I recommend an external USB HD and one of the following programs:
http://www.runtime.org/dixml.htm
http://clonezilla.sourceforge.net/

 

[HeyBub]

Malke, thanks for the prompt reply. I do have a program from Roxio
called Easy CD & DVD burning. I think it is Roxio 6 Some prgram I
purchased at a WalMart which I will never do again!!!
I was hoping to avoid spending any further money buying stuff that
does not work anyhow. Thanks again for your time. I will keep a
record of your advice

The contents of your hard disk will not fit on a CD or a DVD. Not even
close.

A SMALL hard disk (say, 40 GB) contains more than 60 times the data of an
average CD. If you have a 120GB hard drive, that's 180 CDs or 30 DVDs.

I suppose you COULD burn 50-60 CDs....

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have repeatedly formated my HD and I would like to know how "Exactly what
files & folders one selects" to make a fresh copy of the HD.

Sorry, that idea does not work. You cannot recreate a bootable drive this
way.

I now have Windows XP Home Edition for the OS and I would like to
re-install
Windows Live One Care but I first want make a copy of the HD with all the
updates included.
I do have both, a CD RW burner and A DVD RW burner on my system.

I just to not have the knowledge of how, one makes a copy of ones HD
drive.
If you would be so kind and patient to explain to me exactly what files
and
folders one has to select to make a copy of ones HD and should the copy be
made on a Bootable CD/DVD?

The process you describe will save your data, but you'll still have to
reinstall everything if things go wrong. You won't be able to just copy
files back and have it work.

You want to use an imaging program, as mentioned, and copy the image off to
DVD. Some imaging programs will write directly to DVD *and* create them as
bootable; Acronis TrueImage Home (about $50) will also automatically break a
larger image up into DVD-sized sections.

HTH
-pk

 

[Paul Knudsen]

Malke, thanks for the prompt reply. I do have a program from Roxio called
Easy CD & DVD burning. I think it is Roxio 6 Some prgram I purchased at a
WalMart which I will never do again!!!
I was hoping to avoid spending any further money buying stuff that does not
work anyhow. Thanks again for your time. I will keep a record of your advice

Well, that is unfortunate, but you'll be able to use Roxio to actually
burn CD's and DVD's.

You need to do research to ensure what you buy will do what you need.
A visit to the vendors web site should suffice, followed by a Google
search for reviews.