System restore vs Backup

[Norman Schwartz]

The system restore function is not operating properly, i.e. will not
automatically schedule nor restore. The culprit may be IE7 as the problem
began shortly after its installation. I am not attempting to solve the
restore problem at this time as I intend to upgrade to Vista when it is
available. I do, however, want to have a backup ability in the interim and
want to use the backup utility from Windows which is I have downloaded. My
uncertainty is what files and/or folders should I backup to achieve the same
effect of a system restore point. I do not wish to backup my entire
harddisk, only that which would be needed to return (i.e. restore) to an
earlier time.

N. Schwartz

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi Norman,

Before you give up on System Restore, try disabling then enabling it.

How to Disable and Enable System Restore:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/disablesr.html

Then test System Restore.
Tips Fixes & FAQs - How can I test System Restore’s functionality?
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/tips.html

As far as backing up the OS, third party imaging software is the best way to go.
But if you are going to upgrade to Vista, there a utility built-in to do this.

ERUNT: The Emergency Recovery Utility NT - Registry Backup and Restore for
Windows NT/2000/2003/XP is an excellent free tool for backing up the Windows
registry. This may be enough to hold you over until Vista is available in late
January.
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

In

The system restore function is not operating properly, i.e. will not
automatically schedule nor restore. The culprit may be IE7 as the
problem began shortly after its installation. I am not attempting to
solve the restore problem at this time as I intend to upgrade to
Vista when it is available. I do, however, want to have a backup
ability in the interim and want to use the backup utility from
Windows which is I have downloaded. My uncertainty is what files
and/or folders should I backup to achieve the same effect of a system
restore point. I do not wish to backup my entire harddisk, only that
which would be needed to return (i.e. restore) to an earlier time.

N. Schwartz

For a regular file-system backup, you would indeed need to back up your
entire system partition & system state.
I think you might want to look into imaging software, rather than a backup
utility for this....check out Acronis.

 

[Gordon]

The system restore function is not operating properly, i.e. will not
automatically schedule nor restore. The culprit may be IE7 as the problem
began shortly after its installation. I am not attempting to solve the
restore problem at this time as I intend to upgrade to Vista when it is
available. I do, however, want to have a backup ability in the interim and
want to use the backup utility from Windows which is I have downloaded. My
uncertainty is what files and/or folders should I backup to achieve the same
effect of a system restore point. I do not wish to backup my entire
harddisk, only that which would be needed to return (i.e. restore) to an
earlier time.

N. Schwartz

the answer is simple - System restore does NOT and I repeat NOT restore
any user-generated files. i.e. documents, email store, favourites.

 

[Ayush]

Use NTBACKUP (Preinstalled on WinXP Pro).
1.Run it by Start - Run - Type ntbackup.exe
2. If the wizard opens, Ok. If not start it by Clicking the "Backup Wizard"
button.
3. Click Next
4. Choose "Only backup the System State"
5. Choose a location by clicking Browse
6. Click Next > Finish

??? What is System State ???
- Click Start > RUn
- Type the following line :
hh ms-its:C:\WINDOWS\Help\ntbackup.chm::/ntbackup_system_state.htm
- Click OK

 

[Rock]

The system restore function is not operating properly, i.e. will not
automatically schedule nor restore. The culprit may be IE7 as the problem
began shortly after its installation. I am not attempting to solve the
restore problem at this time as I intend to upgrade to Vista when it is
available. I do, however, want to have a backup ability in the interim and
want to use the backup utility from Windows which is I have downloaded. My
uncertainty is what files and/or folders should I backup to achieve the
same effect of a system restore point. I do not wish to backup my entire
harddisk, only that which would be needed to return (i.e. restore) to an
earlier time.

You have a misunderstanding of what system restore does. It does not backup
user generated files. It backs up the registry, and certain monitored
system files on the drives you specify. It is not a backup program and
cannot be substituted for one. It's main purpose is to recover from a
botched software or driver install. SR has it's place but it is not a
backup program.

 

[Norman Schwartz]

I understand this. Perhaps my question was not artfully put. Can I backup
(rather than restore) specific systems files (including but perhaps not
limited to the registry) that will permit a return to a former condition
using the backup application? If so, what files are required?

N. Schwartz

 

[Rock]

I understand this. Perhaps my question was not artfully put. Can I backup
(rather than restore) specific systems files (including but perhaps not
limited to the registry) that will permit a return to a former condition
using the backup application? If so, what files are required?

N. Schwartz

The best option is to use a disk imaging or cloning program such as Acronis
True Image, Norton Ghost or Terabyte Unlimited's Image for Windows. There
are some good traditional backup programs available too. I don't use them
so I can't recommend any.

For backing up the registry I recommend ERUNT. It can be set to run
automatically as a scheduled task to backup the registry daily. If
something hoses the registry it can be restored from the recovery console -
accessed by booting the XP installation CD.

ERUNT
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/erunt.txt

Installing and Using ERUNT
http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_eruntuse.html
http://www.winxptutor.com/regback.htm