I know this is a DUMB question. I've just bought an external hard drive to back up my laptop, among other reasons. Last time I looked (a few years ago) there was a backup / restore utility in Windows. I can't find anything like that now. Am I going nuts or just blind? Please help.
Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations Rhinorhino on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
How do I back up my C: drive. 3
- Thread starter Pyrrhus
- Start date
-
1
- #2
Trevatwork
IS-IT--Management
- Nov 30, 2006
- 309
Hi
Should be a backup option in start, programs, accessories, system tools.
Or
Click start then run type ntbackup and it should launch the wizard.
Trevor
Should be a backup option in start, programs, accessories, system tools.
Or
Click start then run type ntbackup and it should launch the wizard.
Trevor
-
1
- #3
Go to Start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools, and click on backup.
Alternatively you could try going into the Windows/system32 folder, and look for ntbackup.exe.
However I'm not sure if XP Home had this app.
But you can always download one of the myriad of backup applications in the web.
Google for Hard Drive Backup Software:
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.
Alternatively you could try going into the Windows/system32 folder, and look for ntbackup.exe.
However I'm not sure if XP Home had this app.
But you can always download one of the myriad of backup applications in the web.
Google for Hard Drive Backup Software:
----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.
- Thread starter
- #4
Thank you both for your suggestions. My accessories / system tools list has a restore but no backup. Also, ntbackup or ntbackup.exe will not "run". Curioser and curioser.
You are right, there IS a myriad of downloadable backup / restore options. Could spend a week sorting them out. Does anybody out there know of a free (preferably) downloadable solution which they have used or know works. My main requirements are normal backup / restore, after a crash, of course, and also easy transfer to a new laptop which I plan to get soon. Selective regular backup of only active files would also be nice.
Thanks again.
You are right, there IS a myriad of downloadable backup / restore options. Could spend a week sorting them out. Does anybody out there know of a free (preferably) downloadable solution which they have used or know works. My main requirements are normal backup / restore, after a crash, of course, and also easy transfer to a new laptop which I plan to get soon. Selective regular backup of only active files would also be nice.
Thanks again.
Trevatwork
IS-IT--Management
- Nov 30, 2006
- 309
Hi
This is pretty good free imaging software, an image is a great way to backup.
Trevor
This is pretty good free imaging software, an image is a great way to backup.
Trevor
- Thread starter
- #6
-
1
- #7
HughLerwill
Programmer
Also try;
My Computer - Right click on C: drive - Properties option - Local Disk (C
Properties dialog - Tools tab - Backup Now button
My Computer - Right click on C: drive - Properties option - Local Disk (C
Properties dialog - Tools tab - Backup Now button- Thread starter
- #8
- Thread starter
- #9
One last question to Trevor:
Downloaded the DriveImageXML software and did a successful backup, thanks for the tip.
Backup is saved in 14 files with names like Drive_C.009 , plus a .dat and .xml file.
Looks to me like the next backup will keep these file names and overwrite these files. Is this right?
In which case, how do I keep a copy of the original backup (which I want to keep permanently bc I am going to delete a number of "old" folders from my C: drive - and I may want to go back to them at some time in the future), and then father / son backups, on the same external hard drive (the father / son in case the backup itself crashes and destroys both source and destination files - call me neurotic).
Thanks.
Downloaded the DriveImageXML software and did a successful backup, thanks for the tip.
Backup is saved in 14 files with names like Drive_C.009 , plus a .dat and .xml file.
Looks to me like the next backup will keep these file names and overwrite these files. Is this right?
In which case, how do I keep a copy of the original backup (which I want to keep permanently bc I am going to delete a number of "old" folders from my C: drive - and I may want to go back to them at some time in the future), and then father / son backups, on the same external hard drive (the father / son in case the backup itself crashes and destroys both source and destination files - call me neurotic).
Thanks.
- Status