Backing up whole computer
I know, I know....I should have been doing this all along but never have partly due to fear and this question... So when I back up the total computer to CDs (I don't have an extra modem & am not ge...
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Don't try to use Windows BackUp - especailly in XP. You will be backing up for ever and use more CD discs than it is worth. No matter what you are going to need to invest a little in this. Get Acronis True Image and you will get a restorable backup even without Windows running on the computer after a full drive crash. Just make the universal restore disk that the software will prompt you to make - you only need this once and that disk is good for any PC with any version of Windows. You are still going to use a lot of disks (not as many as Win BkUp) but the software will prompt you to insert a new disk. Acronis will also let you create separate backups for each drive - so you can backup C and not D, etc. OR all if you want. Plus you can restore one file or everything.
I understand that money is tight for most of us these days, but investing in a portable USB hard drive is a worthwhile investment. You really want to keep updating the backup for anything that you continue to put on your computer so a backup is only as good as how recent it is. You will spend far more in CDs than you will for a USB hard drive.
I just had to restore an XP desktop after a Windows crash - no access to Windows, no access to safe mode - nothing. I plugged in the USB hard drive with the backups. Booted the PC with the universal recovery disk which holds Acronis software as well as a temporary OS to run it from, selected the backup folder and files of my most recent backup and restored the entire C drive. It all took about two hours to be up and running again with all software installed and everything where it should be.
I understand that money is tight for most of us these days, but investing in a portable USB hard drive is a worthwhile investment. You really want to keep updating the backup for anything that you continue to put on your computer so a backup is only as good as how recent it is. You will spend far more in CDs than you will for a USB hard drive.
I just had to restore an XP desktop after a Windows crash - no access to Windows, no access to safe mode - nothing. I plugged in the USB hard drive with the backups. Booted the PC with the universal recovery disk which holds Acronis software as well as a temporary OS to run it from, selected the backup folder and files of my most recent backup and restored the entire C drive. It all took about two hours to be up and running again with all software installed and everything where it should be.
