Backup, What is a Backup, Make a Backup, Backup

[Chris]

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What is a Backup?

A Backup is a copy (or copies) of a folder or file.

Why should I Backup?

A backup is important because it allows you to store a copy of a folder or file in another location. For example a picture file [*.jpeg] whilst the original file will remain on your computer's hard disk, the backup (the copy) will be stored, for example on a CD-R or another hard disk.

If your computer’s hard disk fails and all of your folders and files are lost, you can then rely upon your backup to restore all of your work.

Backup to…

You can make a backup to:

1) Floppy disk

2) CD-R/RW and DVD formats

3) USB flash/Pen drive

4) A Second Internal Hard disk

5) USB External Hard Disk

Advantages and Disadvantages:

Floppy Disk:

Advantages: Inexpensive, ease of use.

Disadvantages: You are limited to only 1.44MB of Data.

CD-R/RW:

Advantages: You can store up to 700MB of Data, inexpensive when bought in bulk. CD-RW can be written to, many times.

Disadvantages: CD-R can only be written to, the one time; CD-RW has a reputation for the data to become unrecognisable by Windows.

DVD Formats:

Advantages: You can store up to 4.7GB of Data.

Disadvantages: Expensive Media. (At present)

USB flash/Pen drive:

Advantages: Quick installation (Windows XP), Inexpensive (depending upon size), Fast and reliable.

Disadvantages: Need USB 2.0 hardware to transfer data at higher speeds, limited to 1GB of data, Expensive (depending upon size)

A Second Internal Hard disk:

Advantages: You can store up 250GB of data, no special software needed, just use it like your currently installed drive, fast transfer of data (depending on type and speed of the hard drive).

Disadvantages: Can be expensive, need to be competent in connecting

a hard drive, Need to know of BIOS settings and how to format although formatting is relatively easy in Windows XP.

USB External Hard Disk:

Advantages: Plug and play installation using a USB OR FIREWIRE port, ease of use.

Disadvantages: Expensive, Need to have USB2.0 or Firewire port to take advantage of higher data transfers.

Note: There are other forms of medium that can be used to store a backup, for example a Tape drive. But this would be considered a little over the top for the average home user so it will not be discussed here.

Using Windows Explorer to make the simplest of Backups

The Windows Explorer is the simplest way to make a backup. I’ll assume you have a Floppy drive for this example.

Open the Windows Explorer: Start, Programs, Accessories, Windows Explorer.

Create a file: Right click (white open space), New, Text Document.

Send To: Right click on the file: New Text Document, Send To and click 3½ Floppy (A:).

You must have a floppy in the drive and the New Text Document will be sent to the floppy disk.

You have just made your first backup. The example file could have been anything. However you are limited to 1.44MB of storage.

Using Windows XP to write to a CD

Windows XP users can take advantage of its (limited) CD burning capabilities.

Open the Windows Explorer: Start, Programs, Accessories, Windows Explorer.

Create a file: Right click (white open space), New, Text Document.

Send To: Right click on the file: New Text Document, Send To and click CD-RW Drive (X:)*.

* Where X: is the letter of your CD-RW Drive.

You should now SEE a balloon tip appear.

Click the balloon tip to open the CD writing folder. You should now see the file that is going to be written to the CD. Click Write these files to CD [top left] and this will open up the CD writing Wizard.

By default the CD name is the current Date but you change it if you wish. You can write to a CD-RW or CD-R disk and it must be in the drive before we proceed.

Click Next when there is a CD-R/RW in the drive and the writing will start.

You are shown how many minutes are left and the writing wizard will close and the CD will be ejected when finished.

You have just made a backup to CD, and you can have 700MB of storage to use for your backups.

Backwards thinking

You have just seen an example of making a simple backup with one file. You can of course backup more files and folders and you can use as many floppy disk or CD’s as you like. (Windows XP cannot write to one of the many DVD formats). If you have one or two files then this would be a good way to backup your files. However if you have many files and folders that are all located throughout your hard disk, it may be time consuming to “Send To” on them all so you would better to look at an alternative backup solution.

Windows Backup

Windows has its own backup program that you can use. You can find it in, Start, Programs, Tools, Backup.

It’s best to consult the help files on how to use this tool but be aware that the backup file has a *.bkf file extension so to restore your backup you must use the restore feature of the backup tool. Windows XP Home users may find that Backup is not available; this is because by default it is not installed. But it can be installed from Windows XP Installation CD.

HOW TO: Install Backup from the CD-ROM in Windows XP Home Edition

CD Burning Software

CD Burning Software has many, many different purposes to creating a Video CD or an Audio CD. But they can also be used to create a backup.

The major players in this have to be Nero and Roxio.

For this example I’ll be using Nero 5.5 to create a backup of a few files and folders.

Open up Nero Burning ROM.

Click File, New; select CD ROM (ISO).

Multisession: No Multisession

Label: If you want to give the CD a name then enter the name in the box next to Volume name:

Burn: Check Write and Finalize CD (No further writing possible!)

Now click New.

The files that will be written to the CD will be shown on the left side and the files that are on your computer are on the right side. Navigate on the right side to your files that you wish to backup. Highlight them and right click and choose Copy to compilation.

When you are ready to burn the CD, click File, Write CD .

When the writing has finished you will have your backup.

Note: The Multisession options are to do with the option of continuing to write to the CD after the CD has been written to. If you wish to write more data later on then check Start Mulitsession disk.

“Using a CD-RW like a floppy disc”

It is possible to use a CD-RW like a floppy disk using DirectCD or InCD. They in simple terms are the same thing. The CD-RW will be formatted in a way that allows files to be dragged and dropped to the CD. As a CD-RW has to be used, you can also delete files from the disk. This can be used to make a very simple backup. However it would be a good idea to make 2 backup disks as I have said before as a disadvantage of CD-RW is that CD-RW has a reputation for the data to become unrecognisable by Windows.

Full System Backup

What if there was way to make a full system backup of your hard drive? All of you documents, settings, applications all backed up in one go. Software such as Drive Image 7 allows you to do just that. It allows you to create an “Image” of a hard drive. This image is your backup and as the image can be big in size, especially with modern machines, you will need a suitable storage that can hold AT LEAST 10GB or more of the image. An example would be a second hard disk. You keep the image on the second hard disk. If disaster strikes you restore the image and when the restoration has completed you will have your computer back to way it was when you took the image.

An example: 80GB hard drive to which there is 95% free space. You create an image and the image file will be 3GB. Approximately it has taken seven minutes to create this image. Now if something does go wrong you can restore the image, it takes approximately seven minutes to restore the image. If you compare this with the hours it would take you to reinstall windows, applications, tune the settings to your liking…Its clear that Drive Image has a significant advantage. If you accidentally delete a file you can browse your image to restore the file that you deleted.

The size of the image will depend upon the hard disks usage. The time it takes, to take an image will depend upon the specification of your computer. You can also use compression to make the image file smaller. With Drive Image 7 you can also backup to CD and DVD, USB drive and across a network.

IMPORTANT: Second (physical) Hard Disk

If you are planning to make a backup, then DO NOT keep this backup on the same hard disk as the original file.

Why…

If the hard disk fails and you cannot gain access to your folders and files then you can also not gain access to your backup as it is on the same hard disk. So in case of a hard disk failure it makes the backup useless as you cannot gain access to it.

A partitioned hard disk

Whilst windows “sees” two separate drives with a partitioned hard disk; there is only one physical hard disk. If you keep your backups to the second partition then you can keep them separate to the original folder and files locations. If something does go wrong, i.e. a corrupt installation that will need Windows to be reinstalled then your backups will be safe as you could reinstall windows and then restore your work from the second partition. However if the whole disk fails then you have lost everything.

Thinking…

There is nothing wrong in making a backup to a hard disk, but to be safe, it is best to make the backup to a second hard disk. A hard disk failure is likely but two hard disks failing is very unlikely.

Windows ME and XP System Restore

IMPORTANT: System Restore DOES NOT backup your personal folders so do not rely upon system restore. System Restore will keep the current files for example in MY DOCCUMENTS when you use System Restore to restore your computer to an earlier state. But System Restore cannot restore your personal files so please do not use it as a backup device.

When to make a Backup

This will depend upon how often you use your computer and how often changes to files are made. If you are regularly making changes to files then a backup everyday would be good practice.

If you only make a few changes to files once a week then a backup once a week would be good practice.

However there is no definite answer as to when a backup should be made, it is all down to you the individual as to how you value your work. For example if you just typed the next three chapters in your soon to be released novel, it would be wise to make a backup because if anything should happen you can rely upon your backup to restore the three chapters as apposed to retyping them.

If you are going to install some new hardware or install a piece of new software, make a backup prior to the installation. 99.99% of the time, everything will run smoothly but if something does go wrong you will have your backup.

How long to keep your backups

If you make a backup everyday then there is no need to keep the backups that you made the week before. If you make a backup once a week then there is no need to keep the backup that you made several weeks before.

How long you keep your backups is for you to decide. As long as you have a backup then you’ll be OK.

At the end of the day

As long as you have a backup of your work or your entire system then you will be safe if something does go wrong.

The “trick” is to get into the routine of making a backup and sticking to it. If you make a backup on the Monday then make a backup every Monday.

“Things” to remember

• There is no point in making just one backup; you have to get into the routine of making a backup regularly. A backup that that is several months old will be next to useless.
  
  
• Choose suitable storage for backups, look at the advantages and disadvantages above and decide where you are going to place your backup.
  
  
• If you are planning to keep your backup on a hard drive then at least partition the hard drive and keep your backup on the second partition. Ideally you should have a second hard drive as I have said one hard drive failing is likely but two hard drives failing is unlikely.
  
  
• If you have made a backup to external media for example a CD-R, then keep the CD-R away from the computer. If there is an intruder in the night then having the computer and the backup sitting together would make your backup useless.
  

CD Burning Software:

Nero (Also Includes InCD)

Easy CD & DVD Creator™ 6 (Also includes Direct CD)

Full System Backup:

PowerQuest Drive Image

Acronis True Image 7.0

Norton Ghost™ 2003

Special thanks to -pops- who helped in the making of this feature :)

[Tony]

Hi

Powerless, i admire your dedication, and commitment to this forum, your various walk throughs are excellent.

A BIG WELL DONE MATE

god knows how much time this one took you to do.

All the best

Tony

[bvw]

Superb post, well done.

[bluesman821]

Excellent post Powerless,I will bookmark this post for those who have questions on backups.Thank you :P

[Guest Shirley_Crabtree]

All I can add is to make sure that any back-ups are tested for virus'

The main reason people reformat is because of manifestations...you really wouldn't want to reintroduce these buggers after a reformat from a cdr...would you???!!!

Shirl.

[djohn]

Excellent piece of work! :)

The forum should promote you to a moderator. :P

[andsome]

Excellent post with great tips. I have however just one reservation. I used the Windows XP wizard for making several C.D's, some were OK but others failed. Sometimes the wizard told me that the burn had failed but in fact it had not, and the CD was readable. I now use only Nero with 100 % success. My tip would be if you have Nero use it in preference to Microsoft.

[-pops-]

Living in the back of beyond, we get frequent power cuts. This morning just after booting up the power went off.

OK, fine, wait for it to come back and start again.

The power came back. Rebooted and had just reached the Windows welcome screen (i.e. mid bootup) and the power went off again.

OK, fine, wait for it to come back and start again.

The power came back. Rebooted. The welcome screen appeared and the whole thing shut down and booted itself again and again and again - - - - -.

I shut down, got the DriveImage disk out and here I am back again having loaded my last Friday full system backup and all my work from that time to now from my daily backup. Took about 25 minutes in all.

Slight problem with my mouse though. I think a power surge has fused the PS2 socket. Plugged it into USB and all back to as it was.

Anyone on any doubt about the value of an up-to-date backup, take note.

[Damo]

Another excellent tutorial powerless!!

[Andy-2004]

if i was to partition the drive into 2 then do u have to install windows on the second partition?

(sorry for any spelling mistakes)

[-pops-]

No. You have one version of Windows only and the backup which you use to restore your original Windows and programs etc. in the event of a disaster.

See my reply to your other thread :)

[fishbox]

I'm a PC novice-an old dog trying to learn new tricks.This is exactly the clear exposition that I look for but rarely find.Thanks for your input."Powerless" seems too modest for your username!

I have WinMe and Norton Utilities 2002 installed.Do the rescue disks I've made (and regularly update) give me adequate backup for system and data?I also have Norton Antivirus,AntiSpam and Personal Firewall running,if this has any relevance.

[-pops-]

Hello fishbox and :welcome: to the forum.

You need more than what you say you have to form a backup. You need an image or copy (usually compressed) of your hard drive if you want to have a system backup (highly recommended) or a backup of all important files and data at the very least.

As far as I know, Norton Utilities does not provide this and you should use something like DriveImage or Acronis to make the image for you.

I'm a user of DriveImage, have been for many years and always found it does as it's supposed to. As you're on ME you require DI 2002 which can be obtained very cheaply, I think, now as the latest DI is DI 7 for XP only.

On a more general note, you say you're an old dog. Well, there's a number of us here and some young puppies as well and we all seem to get on together (most of the time).

There is also a lot of knowledge amongst the membership and whilst you may not get answers to queries as quickly as some larger forums, the chances are that some member will be able to help if you give a little time.

Enjoy it here and come back often. :)

[Besty]

Good guide powerless

[andsome]

As POPS says, a very helpful bunch here. Even the blonde's have the occasional flash of sense, you can't ask more than that.

[fishbox]

Hello pops

Many thanks for the welcome and the advice.

[andsome]

Hello pops

Many thanks for the welcome and the advice.

Welcome from me too. Are you a kipper box, or some other sort?

[fishbox]

Hello andsome

Thanks for the welcome.The fishbox was the name given to a school of wooden construction, but I have packed kippers into boxes many years ago.

It seems that I've joined a forum where it pays to have a sense of humour and where at least one member is prepared to live dangerously (reference the blondes).

Hello again pops- Drive Image 2002 only seems to be available as part of DI7 with but a penny change from thirty pounds.Does this seem a reasonable price?

I've been looking at customer reviews and also at the chat from several forums on DI, Acronis and Ghost.No other software topic seems to attract such a diversity of opinion with comments on each ranging from glowing praise to damning criticism.Difficult to make a choice.

[fishbox]

RE: my previous post.I decided on DriveImage 2002 and eventually found it online.In case anyone else is interested, I ordered from www.worthydeal.co.uk at about £20 inc. VAT & p&p.I'll let you know how I get on!

[-pops-]

Glad you're fixed up.

Now, make sure you that you copy all the required floppy boot disks and things as per the intructions with DI. I've known people just install the software and leave it at that expecting it to do everything for them. I'm not suggesting that you would do that, just reminding you that there are a few things to do to get it going correctly.

Another important thing is that DI 2002 works from DOS so don't have heart failure when your computer reboots itself and goes into some strange dull green, low resolution image. All is OK so just let it do its thing :)

[Chris]

If you were wondering why there was a:

...

In the first post, err my mistake.

Now fixed!

[fishbox]

Sorry this has taken so long.Drive Image was easy to install and floppies and copies to CD made ( despite my monitor failing part way through,but that's another story!).Thanks for the encouragement,Pops.

[-pops-]

Good!! :)

Now let's hope you will never have to use it - but the chances are you will and then you'll be forever grateful wou have a backup.

[n1ghts]

Nice Guide! Thanks for the effort writing it all out powerless!

[D4\/!d]

I like to backup/copy all my music files to an external hard drive. When the files are updated or there are new ones, what do you suggest is a practical method of copying just updated and new files to the ext HHD. Drag'n drop wants to replace all the existing files, and there are too many to overwrite every time. What do you recommend? :huh: :(