Hi, Just wanted to ask a quick question. What is the easiest way to back up all of the information on my computer. I know there is a backup utility on XP Pro, but I don't know much about it. Will it backup everything or are there more efficient ways to do this because I know this utility takes quite a long time to finish and the file it creates is extraoridnarily large. I also have Nero and it has an option to back up your hard drive, but it requires many discs to do so. So, I was just wondering what would be the best way for me to back up my hard drive because if there is something better than these two utilities, I am unaware of it. I really apreciate the responses as I have foolishly lost data before on a hard drive failure because I did not back up my data. Also, I really appreciate everybody who takes the time to give ideas to problems on this site because I love reading through the problems and solutions. It really teaches me a lot, being a person who is just starting to get into the field and am in my second year in college trying to learn all this. Kevin

Get a secondary harddrive and create an image of the primary drive on it, or create multiple partitions and save the images on these partitions. Hardrives are very cheap these days. There are two classes of people in the world. Those that can count, those that cannot; and those that do not know the difference between the two.

Thanks for the idea, but how do you create an image and can this be done on a network drive? Sorry for the newb questions, but like I said, I'm tryin to learn! Kevin

Kevin ... The Backup tool in Windows XP is actually very effective, BUT another STORAGE DEVICE, such as a hard disk or a tape, is required. IN Win XP Pro, you can find it here: Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup NOTE to all Win XP Home Edition users: The Backup utility is not included in the default installation of Windows XP Home Edition. It must be installed MANUALLY from your WinXP Home Edition CD-ROM To manually install Backup: Double-click the Ntbackup.msi file in the following location on the Windows XP Home Edition CD-ROM to start a wizard that installs Backup: CD-ROM Drive:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP When the wizard is complete, click Finish. You will now find Backup located as above: Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Backup The Backup tool in Windows XP helps you protect your data in case your hard disk fails or files are accidentally erased. By using Backup, you can create a DUPLICATE COPY of ALL of the data on your hard disk and then archive it on the aforementioned "OTHER STORAGE DEVICE", If the original data on your hard disk is accidentally erased or overwritten, or becomes inaccessible because of a hard-disk malfunction, you can easily restore the data from the disk or archived copy by using the Restore Wizard or Automated System Recovery Wizard. (ASR) XP Home Edition users should go to the following URL for complete instructions and for instructions on using ASR (Automatic System Recovery) as well: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q302894&ID=KB;EN-US;Q302894 Sorry for the long post, but I just thought that the WIN XP Home Edition folks would like to know that info . Good luck Kevin

Thanks for the info surmona, I'm probably going to start the long process of backing up with the backup tool in XP shortly. Thanks for the info on how to access the tool from xp home too as I have a computer with home installed downstairs.

One of the biggests faults people make with backup systems is they never test the restore facilities to make sure they work properly. Whatever you decide for a backup solution (and wow are there lots!) keep in mind some basic principles: 1. Does the restore allow me to recover my data in whole or in part if necessary? 2. Does my backup plan (software) allow for full backups on a regualar basis and a incremental backup more often or on demand? 3. Does the restoral work the way I expect? Does it need special boot disks or special startup if the system gets hosed. (Don't think about this when recovery time comes!) 4. Do I get status reports after a backup to see if everything got backed up properly? (I have fixed many systems where for years the companies thought 'all' the files were being backed up except one super huge database since it took too long...guess what happened one day?) 5. Audit your backups regularily by restoring them to a test system and ensuring they work after restoral. Just some pointers about the backup, since really it's more important than what software you use...of course good software helps alot, but here is where I don't mind spending a bit of money for a working solution. J.

We'd suggest that you take one of two approaches. If you change your system frequently or add many programs then you should side with a full system image and an additional disk. If you don't change your PC much and use it primarily for writing papers and doing research then only backing up your data (e.g. The My Documents folder) should be sufficient. Retrospect is a great tool for performing disk images. We'd also suggest that you keep a copy of your disk image offsite either through CD-R or through an online service like www.easiestfilesystem.com :) If you only need to backup your data then using XP's backup is a great solution. Keep in mind that XP's backup will not backup your system files because they're already in use by XP (that's where a disk imaging solution is superior through capturing all of your data). Finally, you can read all about backup strategies through our free backup guide published off of our homepage. Good luck and keep that data safe!!!