XP Backup Utility.....HELP!!!

[Guest]

I have 3 PC's in the house.........2 XP Pro, 1 XP Home.
The XP Home machine has no apparent Backup Utility.
The XP Pros have Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup.
This is a shortcut referring to C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\NTBACKUP.EXE
There is no such directory in the XP Home machine.

Question:
Does XP Home have this functionality?
If so, how do you enable/access it?
If not, what is the easiest utility to use for backing up data in XP Home?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi Chuck,

Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Chuck

The best way for the average home user to back up (save) files is to use CD
writing software and a CD burner..

 

[Guest]

Thanks Ramesh.......I now have the utility but the README file has me
concerned about the ability to restore a backup in XP Home.
Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated........
From the README.txt file:
NTBackup Backup/Restore and ASR release notes
Backup/Restore
ASR
1. ASR is not supported on home edition.
IF you install NtBackup from the CD to the Home Edition, ASR functionality
will appear to work fine during
the backup session. Since the setup does not support ASR in the home
edition, there is no way to initiate
the ASR restore in case of a disaster. If you need to restore from this
session, install Windows XP manually
and then restore from the ASR media.
2. Backup to CDRW
If you decide to backup to a CDRW, you cannot target that device directly.
You must create a backup set of
650MB or less and backup to a file. After the file is complete, copy the
file to the CDRW.

Please refer to the readme for XP home edition for additional notes.

Hi Chuck,

Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894

 

[Guest]

Thanks Mike.
Too mcuh data for a 650 MB Disc. Too much data for a DVD even.
Have installed the NTBACKUP utility from the XP CD.
Now trying to figure out how to restore a backup if necessary. The README
file implies that XP Home will not allow me to restore a backup, but maybe I
am just reading it worg.......
Any ideas you may have woulkd be great! Thanks again for the reply.

From the README file:
NTBackup Backup/Restore and ASR release notes
Backup/Restore
ASR
1. ASR is not supported on home edition.

IF you install NtBackup from the CD to the Home Edition, ASR functionality
will appear to work fine during
the backup session. Since the setup does not support ASR in the home
edition, there is no way to initiate
the ASR restore in case of a disaster. If you need to restore from this
session, install Windows XP manually
and then restore from the ASR media.
2. Backup to CDRW
If you decide to backup to a CDRW, you cannot target that device directly.
You must create a backup set of
650MB or less and backup to a file. After the file is complete, copy the
file to the CDRW.

Please refer to the readme for XP home edition for additional notes.

Chuck

The best way for the average home user to back up (save) files is to use CD
writing software and a CD burner..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Chuck,

You should be able to restore data from a backup file. But, ASR is
different. Read more about it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...sxp/home/using/productdoc/en/asr_overview.asp

--
Ramesh, Microsoft MVP
Windows XP Shell/User
http://windowsxp.mvps.org

Thanks Ramesh.......I now have the utility but the README file has me
concerned about the ability to restore a backup in XP Home.
Any light you could shed on this would be greatly appreciated........
From the README.txt file:
NTBackup Backup/Restore and ASR release notes
Backup/Restore
ASR
1. ASR is not supported on home edition.
IF you install NtBackup from the CD to the Home Edition, ASR functionality
will appear to work fine during
the backup session. Since the setup does not support ASR in the home
edition, there is no way to initiate
the ASR restore in case of a disaster. If you need to restore from this
session, install Windows XP manually
and then restore from the ASR media.
2. Backup to CDRW
If you decide to backup to a CDRW, you cannot target that device directly.
You must create a backup set of
650MB or less and backup to a file. After the file is complete, copy the
file to the CDRW.

Please refer to the readme for XP home edition for additional notes.

Hi Chuck,

Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894

 

[Harry Ohrn]

The NTBackup program is designed to be used with tape drives or second hard
drives. It is less than useless when it comes to using it with CD/DVD
drives. To be fair it is less and useless for most purposes. If your data is
important as well as saving time quit messing around with NTBackup and
purchase a decent third party program. If you must use NTBackup you might
want to switch to it's full featured parent Backup MyPC. It will burn to
CD/DVD and will also work with any backups you've currently made. However I
much prefer Acronis TrueImage which does an excellent job.

--

Harry Ohrn MS-MVP [Shell/User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp

Thanks Mike.
Too mcuh data for a 650 MB Disc. Too much data for a DVD even.
Have installed the NTBACKUP utility from the XP CD.
Now trying to figure out how to restore a backup if necessary. The README
file implies that XP Home will not allow me to restore a backup, but maybe I
am just reading it worg.......
Any ideas you may have woulkd be great! Thanks again for the reply.

From the README file:
NTBackup Backup/Restore and ASR release notes
Backup/Restore
ASR
1. ASR is not supported on home edition.

IF you install NtBackup from the CD to the Home Edition, ASR functionality
will appear to work fine during
the backup session. Since the setup does not support ASR in the home
edition, there is no way to initiate
the ASR restore in case of a disaster. If you need to restore from this
session, install Windows XP manually
and then restore from the ASR media.
2. Backup to CDRW
If you decide to backup to a CDRW, you cannot target that device directly.
You must create a backup set of
650MB or less and backup to a file. After the file is complete, copy the
file to the CDRW.

Please refer to the readme for XP home edition for additional notes.

Chuck

The best way for the average home user to back up (save) files is to use CD
writing software and a CD burner..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Chuck

There is more than enough space on a CD or DVD for files backed up with MS
Backup.. I say this because the primary purpose of MS Backup is to back up
DATA files, not entire operating systems..

A link to something more appropriate for your requirements..

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/progImaging-c.html


--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

Thanks Mike.
Too mcuh data for a 650 MB Disc. Too much data for a DVD even.
Have installed the NTBACKUP utility from the XP CD.
Now trying to figure out how to restore a backup if necessary. The README
file implies that XP Home will not allow me to restore a backup, but maybe
I
am just reading it worg.......
Any ideas you may have woulkd be great! Thanks again for the reply.

From the README file:
NTBackup Backup/Restore and ASR release notes
Backup/Restore
ASR
1. ASR is not supported on home edition.

IF you install NtBackup from the CD to the Home Edition, ASR functionality
will appear to work fine during
the backup session. Since the setup does not support ASR in the home
edition, there is no way to initiate
the ASR restore in case of a disaster. If you need to restore from this
session, install Windows XP manually
and then restore from the ASR media.
2. Backup to CDRW
If you decide to backup to a CDRW, you cannot target that device directly.
You must create a backup set of
650MB or less and backup to a file. After the file is complete, copy the
file to the CDRW.

Please refer to the readme for XP home edition for additional notes.

Chuck

The best way for the average home user to back up (save) files is to use
CD
writing software and a CD burner..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If you are wanting to back up more than just data or a lot of data such as
videos to cd or dvd you should consider purchasing a third party backup
program. BackUpMyPC (Stomp) is the big brother of the Backup program in XP
and is very adept with optical media. You can download a 30-day trial
version at
http://www.stompsoft.com/downloads.html (the trial is for 5.0 and the link
is "Try".

If you buy an external usb hard drive (I like the portabliltiy between
computers) make sure you get one that includes backup software on the cd.
This is actually the best deal.

--
Colin Barnhorst [MVP Windows - Virtual Machine]
(Reply to the group only unless otherwise requested)

Thanks Mike.
Too mcuh data for a 650 MB Disc. Too much data for a DVD even.
Have installed the NTBACKUP utility from the XP CD.
Now trying to figure out how to restore a backup if necessary. The README
file implies that XP Home will not allow me to restore a backup, but maybe
I
am just reading it worg.......
Any ideas you may have woulkd be great! Thanks again for the reply.

From the README file:
NTBackup Backup/Restore and ASR release notes
Backup/Restore
ASR
1. ASR is not supported on home edition.

IF you install NtBackup from the CD to the Home Edition, ASR functionality
will appear to work fine during
the backup session. Since the setup does not support ASR in the home
edition, there is no way to initiate
the ASR restore in case of a disaster. If you need to restore from this
session, install Windows XP manually
and then restore from the ASR media.
2. Backup to CDRW
If you decide to backup to a CDRW, you cannot target that device directly.
You must create a backup set of
650MB or less and backup to a file. After the file is complete, copy the
file to the CDRW.

Please refer to the readme for XP home edition for additional notes.

Chuck

The best way for the average home user to back up (save) files is to use
CD
writing software and a CD burner..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/user

 

[=?iso-8859-1?B?uyBtcnRlZSCr?=]

Mike, have you used ASR? I have.

The ASR wizard copies EVERYTHING from the system drive except the OS. When pressing F2 to run ASR from boot, the partition is formatted, the OS installed and finally the .bkf is restored. This is for XP pro, not home - home is not supported.

ASR takes too long, I now use TrueImage from www.acronis.com, with it I can create an image of my entire system drive (14 Gig used) in less than 20 minutes when written to HDD and restore it in about 16 minutes. Data is kept on a separate drive.

--
Just my 2¢ worth,
Jeff
__________In response to__________
| Chuck
|
| There is more than enough space on a CD or DVD for files backed up with MS
| Backup.. I say this because the primary purpose of MS Backup is to back up
| DATA files, not entire operating systems..
|
| A link to something more appropriate for your requirements..
|
| http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/file/progImaging-c.html
|
|
| --
| Mike Hall
| MVP - Windows Shell/user