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curtis
regular
Reg'd: Sat
Posts: 68
Loc: Wiltshire
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In Webuser issue 129, there was an article on Windows backup.
I have tried to use this and if I select "my documents & settings" it works fine.
If I select "all information in this computer" I get an error message saying "The files for the recovery diskette could not be created. The operation was aborted".
I have formatted and re-tried various diskettes but still no joy. Any suggestions?
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Madeline
regular
Reg'd: Wed
Posts: 14604
Loc: Wales
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Have a look at this Microsoft KB article. I don't know which browser you're using but this is best viewed in Internet Explorer. With Firefox, use IE Tab or the page doesn't display fully.
Madeline. 
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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton, 1887.
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curtis
regular
Reg'd: Sat
Posts: 68
Loc: Wiltshire
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Thanks for the suggestion Madeline
Internet Explorer v6 is the browser I'm using.
I did visit the Microsoft site and found that "ASR does not function and is not supported on Windows XP Home edition". I tried by following their possible solution of selecting the "advanced" option when calling up the Ntbackup but it still doesn't work. I should point out that the backup will work on "my folder" but will not save the system data to a floppy.
Can you recommend a good freebie backup tool?
Curtis.
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PhilH
regular
Reg'd: Wed
Posts: 74
Loc: Walsall, UK
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Try CNET's www.download.com and search for backup programs. At the bottom of the screen you can filter out only those that are free.
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greysts
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 17425
Loc: Colchester
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I would imagine it doesn't work because it's not designed to use floppy disks. One floppy can hold 1.2mb of data. You've asked to backup the complete hard disk to floppy. Let's assume you have around 20gb of data on the PC. That's the equivalent of around 900 floppy disks! A significant number of single files will be greater in size that one floppy disk. If you want to back up to external media you need to be thinking about rewritable DVDs or an external hard disk.
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Do you know that we're all in line for succession to the throne? Really?
Well, if forty-eight million, two hundred thousand, seven hundred and one people died I'd be Queen.
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Madeline
regular
Reg'd: Wed
Posts: 14604
Loc: Wales
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You could try WinBackup 1.86. It's free and looks good. I use Windows backup, but I've only ever backed up "Everybody's Documents and Settings" to an external HD. I might try doing the whole thing one day and see what happens.
Madeline.
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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton, 1887.
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curtis
regular
Reg'd: Sat
Posts: 68
Loc: Wiltshire
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Thanks for the input everyone.
greysts - I didn't make myself too clear. I'm trying to backup on a 40Gb external drive. However, during the installation process it ask you to insert a floppy to make a boot disk.
PhilH - I will try www.download.com after I have looked at Madeline's suggestion.
Madeline - You say you use the Windows backup. Does this mean you are using
Windows Pro?
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greysts
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 17425
Loc: Colchester
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Can we go back a stage. Have you actually double clicked on the file Ntbackup.msi in your XP Home CD and installed the programme? If you have, then you can use the programme by going to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup. When you run the programme for the first time, remove the tick in the box about using the wizard click OK then close it down. Now reopen it and you will get the Backup Utility menu displayed. You cannot use the wizard because ASR (Automated System Recovery) is not supported in XPHome. The wizard will fail at the point when it asks you to insert a floppy disk.
When you see the Backup Utility, click on the Backup tab. Here you can decide what you want to backup. Then at the bottom of that screen you need to change the backup location. This cannot be a CD or DVD drive but it can be your external hard disk.
Should you want to restore your data, again you cannot use ASR becasue it's not supported in XPHome. All you can do is open Backup and then select the files you want to restore.
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Do you know that we're all in line for succession to the throne? Really?
Well, if forty-eight million, two hundred thousand, seven hundred and one people died I'd be Queen.
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Madeline
regular
Reg'd: Wed
Posts: 14604
Loc: Wales
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Quote:
Does this mean you are using Windows Pro?
No, XP Home. I installed the Backup program from my XP CD. You can untick "Always start in wizard mode" even if it's not the first time you've started the program.
greysts, does the method you describe mean that you can back up "all information on this computer"?
Madeline.
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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton, 1887.
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greysts
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 17425
Loc: Colchester
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Hi Madeline
Yes it does but with some exceptions. With the Backup Utility open click on Tools, Options. Choose the Exclude Files tab and you will see certain file types that are not normally included in the backup process. Some you don't want anyway like the pagefile.sys but others you might want to include. Once you've sorted that out go back to the Backup tab and put a tick in the box against the C: drive. That will then backup all the files on the entire disk. Even then I don't think it will back up the Registry. To do this I think you need to run Regedit, do the backup from there and then run the utility which will back up your backup so to speak.
Although the Microsoft Backup Utility is quite good it isn't designed for XPHome and I certainly wouldn't rely on it as your only backup source. If you are looking for something that takes a complete replica of the hard disk so that you can restore it in it's entirety you need to look for something like Ghost or Drive Image.
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Do you know that we're all in line for succession to the throne? Really?
Well, if forty-eight million, two hundred thousand, seven hundred and one people died I'd be Queen.
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Madeline
regular
Reg'd: Wed
Posts: 14604
Loc: Wales
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Thanks for the information, greysts. I was more curious than anything. I use Windows Backup for "Everyone's Documents and Settings" only. Since I've got all my program installation disks, I think this is adequate. What do you think? Should I do more? I had to reinstall everything after a big problem last year and everything's been OK since then. It took a little while to update all the programs, but that's all.
Madeline.
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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton, 1887.
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greysts
regular
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 17425
Loc: Colchester
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I only have one user account and I only backup the Documents and Settings folder for that user. Like you I have all the CDs for the other stuff and in some ways starting from scratch is probably better as it gets rid of all the accumulated rubbish and tidies the hard disk up at the same time.
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Do you know that we're all in line for succession to the throne? Really?
Well, if forty-eight million, two hundred thousand, seven hundred and one people died I'd be Queen.
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Madeline
regular
Reg'd: Wed
Posts: 14604
Loc: Wales
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I agree that starting from scratch is a good idea. Since our reinstallation late last year, the PC's run better than it did before. Not something I want to make a habit of though. I'll leave my backup arrangements how they are; they seem adequate. Thanks for all the information, I've noted it all!
Madeline.
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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton, 1887.
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curtis
regular
Reg'd: Sat
Posts: 68
Loc: Wiltshire
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Madeline and greysts.
Thanks to both of you. It's now sorted - backup successful.
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Madeline
regular
Reg'd: Wed
Posts: 14604
Loc: Wales
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That's great news! I've learned a lot on this thread too, so I'm glad you posted your question.
Madeline.
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"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton, 1887.
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COHighCountry
new user
Reg'd: Thu
Posts: 1
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am new here. but here goes.
what i want to do seems simple but finding real world examples and recommendations is difficult. here is what i want to do:
1. backup my entire PC to a portable drive. system, data, everything.
2. repeat the backup, imcremental or full, about every other week.
3. store portable drive in secure area.
in the event of a failure of my hard drive (again, sheesh!) i want to boot the
system from my saved portable drive, restore entire system to a newly installed
hard drive and then boot from the new drive there after.
i am not talking about a lot of data - system or user. maybe 10-12 GBs max.
anyone know of a good solution to this problem? this is for my home PC used
mostly by the kids and my significant other. at work i've got other, much larger
problems but this one i don't have time to do days of research.
tnx.
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Fusion
regular
Reg'd: Mon
Posts: 3149
Loc: Darlington UK
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. . . . .> Bounceback Professional < . . . .
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Paradox Images
Always ask the right question to the right person and always get the right answer!
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