problem backing up system state

[Guest]

When I try to backup the sytem state on an external USB disk using ntbackup
the USB disk became unavailable, the backup fail and I have to disconnect and
reconnect USB disk to access it.
If I try to backup the system state on the 2nd disk, ATA disk, the system
hangs and I have to restart it using reset button.

I have no problem to backup system diectory (c:\windows\) or any data files.

The system is Windows XP Pro SP2, patched with the latest patches available
on windows update site.

I hope anyone can help me, thanks in advance.

 

[Mike Lowery]

Ntbackups is a pathetic excuse for a backup solution. Use something more
robust. Personally I use DriveImage XML.

 

[Guest]

I agree with you, but I choose ntbackup because I've only one partition on
the system disk (160GB) and it's almost full, but I want to backup only the
system the rest of the disk is composed of temporary files or data that I can
loose without problems.
If I use DriveImage I need at least 120GB to backup the disk, but the system
is less then 20GB.
Do you know a software that can replace ntbackup?
I don't want repartinon my disk in system and data partition, but if I don't
find a better solution I'll do it and I'll use a drive imaging software.

 

[Mike Lowery]

It all depends on what kind of backup you need. If you need to restore your
entire system to the way it was, a partition backup is probably the best. If
you just need to backup specific files, there are many backup programs capable
of this. Here are some to consider:
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm
http://clonezilla.sourceforge.net/
http://www.backup.comodo.com/