I have no option to back up my computer

I want to back up my computer, so I went to START ... ALL PROGRAMS ... ACCESSORIES ... SYSTEM TOOLS ... and there is no option for backup. I tried going to CONTROL PANEL ... PERFORMANCE AND MAINTENANCE ... and there was no option there either. Advice would be appreciated! Thanks!
 
I'd recommend using third party backup software.
And as a comment, don't put your backups in the same place as the computer you backed up.
 
I downloaded Cobian Backup, but am not sure how to use it. When I think of backing up files, I'm thinking of loading them onto a drive or CD or something. I don't really understand how Cobian works. I looked at the Help file, but couldn't seem to find the info I wanted. I just ran a task to backup my files, and it said it was finished ... where did it back it up???!!!
 
Well you really don't need a program to back up stuff. What are you wanting to back up? Photos, videos, music, bookmarks, etc? If I where you, I would get a external hard drive and back all those files to the external drive. It's all just a drag and drop process. You can also back up all those things on CD or DVD, mind you, you might end up using a lot of them... Well depends on how much stuff there is to back up. Hope that helps, not entirely sure how that Cobian program works...
 
Me too. I would recommend to back it up on an external hard drive or write it on CD's or DVD's. Actually, that's my way of backing up my files.
 
I downloaded Cobian Backup, but am not sure how to use it. When I think of backing up files, I'm thinking of loading them onto a drive or CD or something. I don't really understand how Cobian works. I looked at the Help file, but couldn't seem to find the info I wanted. I just ran a task to backup my files, and it said it was finished ... where did it back it up???!!!

With all backup programs you need to set the destination for the files. When you're creating a backup task one of the options should be the destination. This type of program is typically used to backup to another drive, internal or external.

If you only have a directory or two to backup, simply drag and drop to the backup drive using Windows Explorer.

If you just want to burn CDs or DVDs then you can use something like Nero, XP Burner, IMGBurn, etc.

My backup strategy really only involves pictures and music as everything else is easily replaceable. All photos and music are copied to another PC once a week. Once a month all photos and music are copied to an external drive which is stored in a fireproof safe. At any time I have 2 or 3 copies of my important files. You also want anything important in two different places to try and avoid a disaster.
 
Just an added note here. It depends on which operating system you have as to whether or not you have the option to back-up. Windows Xp Pro comes standard with the back-up installed. On the contrary, Windows Xp Home does not. However, it can be installed using the method below.

If you use Windows XP Home Edition, you'll need to follow these steps to install the utility:

1. Insert your Windows XP CD into the drive and, if necessary, double-click the CD icon in My Computer.

2.. On the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen, click Perform Additional Tasks.

3. Click Browse this CD.

4. In Windows Explorer, double-click the ValueAdd folder, then Msft, and then Ntbackup.

5. Double-click Ntbackup.msi to install the Backup utility.

More information can be obtained on the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx
 
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