Vista backup and Restore

[Guest]

Hi: I've been re-installing Windows Vista and tested the Backup and Restore
functions built into the OS, without much success. Thankfully I backed up
files through the good old copy > paste on my external drive. But if it
worked, I would use the Vista tools. Two questions:

1/ I did a complete PC backup to my external drive. When restoring I could
not get Windows to recognize the external drive even after trying to load the
driver for the drive. ?? Should I use 20 CDs instead? Doesn't sound practical
at all.

2/ I also tried to restore from a files backup through Vista's restore
function, the computer cranked for 20 minutes and none of the files showed up
after the restore as if I did nothing. ??

Have you guys seen this? Is the Vista Backup & Restore useful (and usable)?

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

Hi: I've been re-installing Windows Vista and tested the Backup and
Restore functions built into the OS, without much success. Thankfully
I backed up files through the good old copy > paste on my external
drive. But if it worked, I would use the Vista tools. Two questions:

1/ I did a complete PC backup to my external drive. When restoring I
could not get Windows to recognize the external drive even after
trying to load the driver for the drive. ?? Should I use 20 CDs
instead? Doesn't sound practical at all.

2/ I also tried to restore from a files backup through Vista's restore
function, the computer cranked for 20 minutes and none of the files
showed up after the restore as if I did nothing. ??

Have you guys seen this? Is the Vista Backup & Restore useful (and
usable)?

You might want to read the post I just made, entitled 'Free Acronis
Trueimage'.

ss.

 

[Iain]

Hi: I've been re-installing Windows Vista and tested the Backup and Restore
functions built into the OS, without much success. Thankfully I backed up
files through the good old copy > paste on my external drive. But if it
worked, I would use the Vista tools. Two questions:

1/ I did a complete PC backup to my external drive. When restoring I could
not get Windows to recognize the external drive even after trying to load the
driver for the drive. ?? Should I use 20 CDs instead? Doesn't sound practical
at all.

2/ I also tried to restore from a files backup through Vista's restore
function, the computer cranked for 20 minutes and none of the files showed up
after the restore as if I did nothing. ??

Have you guys seen this? Is the Vista Backup & Restore useful (and usable)?

Personally, I find Vista's Backup and Restore on Home Premium pathetic.
It's the main reason I'm upgrading to Ultimate and it's "Complete PC
Backup and Restore" programme.

Last months issue of Technet had an excellent article on Vista backup
and restore technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/issues/2007/09/Backup/default.aspx

Of note in that article, is a paragraph that may apply to your situation:
"Complete PC Restore

Now imagine that one sunny afternoon, I decide to use my laptop while
sitting by the pool. I slip on some wet tiles and my laptop dives into
the pool. It's beyond repair and I have no choice but to buy a new one.
Since I used the Complete PC Backup tool, I can restore my system to the
new laptop—I don't have to spend a lot of time manually reinstalling
each application and reconfiguring them with my personal settings.
Performing a Complete PC Restore is straightforward. At startup, I use
the Windows Vista installation disk to boot into the Windows Recovery
Environment. Here, I am prompted to attach the device that contains the
system image. I choose the appropriate image, and then the restore
process begins."