System backup

[vhawk]

my laptop as a sort of backup system for the preinstalled Windows XP, etc i have to put cds or dvds in it to do it


And I was wondering if I could do the same sort of thing for my PC, I can't afford another hard drive or anything very expensive

Moreover, in my rather vague way, I was wondering if a restore point could be stored on a CD as many of my restore points seem to disappear

 

[kimsland]

It is a bit vague, not sure what you want answered exactly?

Clear system restore points

• 
  Clear your existing system restore points and establish a new clean restore point:
  • Go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore
  • Select Create a restore point, and Ok it.
  • Next, go to Start > Run and type in cleanmgr
  • Select the More options tab
  • Choose the option to clean up system restore and OK it.
  This will remove all restore points except the new one you just created.

 

[vhawk]

are very sorry. I was so vague,my overall aim is to protect myself against disasters

Firstly, I want to set restore points that cannot just disappear as mine tend to
secondly, I wanted to know if there was something analogous to what is built-in. To my laptop, to enable me to restore the system software, which I could use on my PC -- some sort of rescue C. D.

 

[kimsland]

I believe you may be after an imaging software, such as:
Norton Ghost (I use this one)
Acronis True Image (most users like this one)
Drive Image (Basically an alternative)
DriveImage XML (This one is free!)

Imaging: Backs up your entire system, including Windows and data, plus your partition as well. The image can be stored on removable media, such as DVD. And usually takes under an hour (depending on size of image) to fully recover from a blank HardDrive.

 

[vhawk]

thank you - how do i do imaging?

 

[kimsland]

You know the easiest way is to take it to a computer repair shop, and get it imaged onto DVD.
But that won't help when you do another full image again (and again)

You could Download the Trial of Acronis True Image and in 15 days learn how this backup option works.
Acronis is ideal for incremental backups (backups on backups of only new changes) And many swear by it. It has saved many users and businesses from the disaster recovery issue.

It all depends on your needs. You may just want to use Windows itself to backup only your data to a disc (or any external device ie Flash drive; external Hard Drive) and then re-install Windows (if need be) from your Windows disc.

Many Windows users are turning to the imaging option. Similar to a recovery CD sold with many new computers these days. Recovery discs usually restore Windows + applications (Office; Antivirus etc) and also all the device drivers (Sound; modem etc) And therefore the Windows Operating Sytem disc, is not being seen as often any longer.

 

[vhawk]

one of the fun things about my life, is that I am crippled after a stroke and am stuck in a wheelchair, and only have the use of one hand- but that's just my bad luck, and I will have to live with it. I had assumed, stupidly, that these software in the laptop might be independently available, such that I could use something similar on my PC, but it looks as if that is a forlorn hope

 

[gtppopzz]

You can use NTbackup if you have xp which will create an image and also a floppy which is used to boot from in order to start the restore process. I know its just a simple windows backup utility but it does work and if you dont want to spend money for a true image software its probably the best way to go. You can create the image onto a different partition or onto a dvd or cd.

Start --> Run --> ntbackup

 

[vhawk]

he laptop thing took about 5cds maybe more - what annoys me is my restore points keep disappearing

 

[kimsland]

Can be :

System Restore program is corrupt. You could use sfc /scannow (from start-->run) to confirm all is ok

Spyware programs are removing them. Some users reported that AntiSpyware programs would actually remove their infected restore points. The answer here, is to create a clean restore point (after doing extensive scanning first)

There's a MS article here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926185 concerning problems associated with dual booting Windows, and restore points being lost.
In Xp you could go to start–>run–>gpedit.msc—->user configuration > Administrative Templates > windows components > windows explorer > “Prevent access to drives from My Computer” Which may help both Windows versions stopping eachother from creating restore points.

 

[DelJo63]

Restore Points automatically AGE and get deleted --- not by age itself, but by the
fact that the space allowed for R.P's gets exceeded, thus the oldest gets tossed to
create another.

RPs get created:

1. once per 24 hrs if you run w/o reboot
2. once per boot
3. once per MS Hotfix or update

If you create a manual RP (I've done this sequence) and then expect it to be there
weeks later -- too bad -- it gets tossed just like the Auto RPs.

An RP is only 'so good' as a means to protect your system, eg: they work great as
long as there is NO major hardware change AND all the programs still reside on the
HD, as the primarily protect only Drivers and Registry.

The worst case condition would be an HD crash, replace the device, and then
attempt to use an RP (assuming you had a copy somewhere) to recover --
That's not the intent of an RP -- you need a backup tool, strategy and media to
create backups