The best way to backup all data on an XP PC 2

[DotNetter]

I have all users' data located under the "Documents and Settings" folder.

I'm aware of three backup methods:

1) "File and Settings Transfer Wizard" located in the All Programs/Accessories/System Tools menu.
2) "NTBACKUP" (in the same place)
3) ERUNT (did I remember that acronym correctly?)

I realize ERUNT is a registry backup. Which is the best (i.e. free and easiest of these three, a combination of them, or other (free) programs - to use to backup all the data on my computer in the event I want to retrieve a file or many files?

Thanks so much,
Dot

 

[bcastner]

Could you tell us all where you would backup the data?

It sounds like you have a single hard disk, and it is unclear what or where a backup could be done to a second or other media choice in you instance.

 

[DotNetter]

An external USB HD.

I was thinking it would be "safer" to leave it disconnected except for the times that I was actually backing up to it - in order to keep it less vulnurable to viruses. (Does that make any sense at all?) By doing that, of course, I could schedule an automatic backup. Please tell me if that idea is altogether crazy - I just would like to know that my backups are truly safe.

Thanks so much,
Dot

 

[bcastner]

An image would not be affected by a virus.

Look at Acronis True Image, which I use. Or Symantec Ghost Version 9.x.

 

[barneszz]

bcastner:
Is the Backup Utility in XP [Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup], selecting Advanced and backing up all Programs & Files a "poor" alternative, or not of any use?

This would be for an external HD/USB setup like "DotNetter's".

Thanks in advance,
barneszz

 

[bcastner]

For all the fun made of the native XP backup utility, it does work.

What it does not work well with are images larger than 4gb, external devices such as you are suggesting, and situations in which you want to selectively restore a single file.

Honestly, the third-party companies fill in these gaps nicely. I personaly use Acronis, I like Symantec Ghost 9.x but not previous versions.

And, as I suggested above, there are freeware imaging tools you could schedule to an alternative drive.

My biggest concern with using external USB devices is that you have to be damned clever to get them recognized in the case you need to do a "bare metal" installation of your system stored on an external drive.

The commercial alternatives can handle this. The freeware ones cannont, including the native NTBackup utility.

 

[FWPIII]

Another good imaging tool which allows for a free trial is BootIT, it has both windows and dos versions, the full product does partioning, etc, offers a lot for a good value

 

[DTSMAN]

I use imaging for backup. I use partition magic to partition off the last 5gig of my hdd, and I create an image there. When my computer fails, I just slave the HDD into another machine and restore the image from that drive to the c drive.

Bo

Kentucky phone support-
"Mash the Kentrol key and hit scape."

 

[DotNetter]

bCastner,

Regarding that which you wrote in red (coloring added by me):

For all the fun made of the native XP backup utility, it does work. What it does not work well with are images larger than 4gb, external devices such as you are suggesting, and situations in which you want to selectively restore a single file.

Question:

Since I converted my external HDD to NTFS, I tried the native XP backup utility. The 4GB issue seems to be moot - and it worked just fine with the external drive. Am I missing something here? If it seemed to back up successfully, is it a valid backup even though it's bigger than 4GB, or is it not reliable?

Thanks,
Dot

 

[micker377]

I use Acronis, on the b/u to my slave drive (Fat 32), I get four files (3.99 gig) per image. On my external (NTFS), I get one 14 gig file.

 

[bcastner]

The 4gb "limit" is part of a FAT32 limitation, but also a limitation in my honest opinion with the QIC database format chosen for this backup schema. The direct answer to your question is that the 4gb limit should not matter for NTFS formatted volumes.

Forum member wolluf, for one, will tell you that under NTFS he has reliably done even bare metal restorations using NTBACKUP, and this with images larger than 4gb.

My honest position is: fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, find a different backup software. My position is that NTBACKUP is cranky, and not reliable for images larger than 4gb.