XPs system recovery

[pete hunter]

I have a question about XP's system recovery...it seems
simple enough, however, if my hard drive crashes how will
I recover any data...must I install the backup utility
and backup all data on a disk?

 

[Mike Kolitz]

System Restore isn't the same as doing a full backup of your system.
System Restore allows you to restore Windows to a earlier point in time when
something that is now broken used to work. It requires that Windows still
has a certain level of functionality to run it, so it's not a full backup
utility. Also, it only monitors files that Windows needs to run - it
doesn't back up ANY user data.

It's still recommended that you backup all of your sensitive data regularly.

 

[Ken Blake]

I have a question about XP's system recovery...it seems
simple enough, however, if my hard drive crashes how will
I recover any data...must I install the backup utility
and backup all data on a disk?

System Recovery is not a replacement for backup. Even if your
hard drive does *not* crash, it won't let you recover data. It
only lets you go back to an older version of the registry.

You should backup whatever you can't afford to lose. You can use
the backup program that comes with XP or any of the many other
third-party choices available.