How exactly does the Windows XP Pro Backup facility work?

[Goenitz196]

Okay I'm talking about the Backup feature NOT System Restore. Backup is found in Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Backup.
This is NOT in XP Home Edition by the way.

Okay I have 2 drives, C and D (2 hard drives). C = 40GB and D = 80GB. The C drive is used to hold all the Windows and program files, and the D drive is used entirely to hold my personal stuff. Now I will go to Backup and create a backup file of the WHOLE C drive, which compresses the whole C drive data into a single 3GB file. I will now place this backup file into the D drive, so if anything goes wrong with the C drive I still have the backup on the D drive (obviously). Okay so if something DOES go wrong with the C drive (virus for example) and it needs a Format C, how would I restore the backup file from the D drive back to the C drive? Do I need a floppy disk of some sort, or do I need to set up a basic Windows XP Pro on the C drive first before the backup can be restored?

Any help will be most appriciated. Thanks.

 

[bcastner]

It is restored by pressing F2 early in the Setup process of XP:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q818903

Note: XP Pro installs Ntbackup by default, XP Home includes NTbackup, it just does not do the default installation:

Insert the XP Home CD-ROM.
Navigate to the VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP folder.
Double-click the ntbackup.msi file to install NTBackup.