XP - Backup Advice

[Gotalife]

Hi, just pick up on this thread and have the same concerns, I have a Ei-System Windows XP Service pack 3 with 70GB hard drive, I have a Buffalo DriveStation external USB 2.0 Hard Drive 500GB which auto backs up as I go, as it backs up as I go will I need to do anything more to save updates?:confused:

[Plastic Nev]

Hi Gotalife, if the auto backup is set up to backup the entire system including WindowsXP operating system, then it is all you need, however if all it does is back up Data and not the operating system, then it needs changing so that it does.

 

Nev.

[Gotalife]

Hi Nev, knew it would be to easy, it backs up data as it goes.

 

Now the hard bit, how and when should I backup the entire system if it runs out on the 8th April,

in easy to understand terms please.

 

Norm

[KenB]

These posts hijacked the other thread - I have moved them to the XP forum ........they are better here :)

[Plastic Nev]

Thanks for the move Ken as I am waiting for a reply from GeordieLad, and if that progresses will move that down to this XP forum too.

 

Now then Norm, firstly for now it isn't that much longer to the final support finishing date so for now and providing all updates are already up to date and still coming in till that date it is possibly best to actually do nothing till then as your backups on the external will be OK till then as well.

 

What I will suggest though now is to have a look at the advice I gave to GeordieLad and have a think about creating a clone drive. Being on a separate hard drive that can be slotted in the minute anything goes wrong with the current drive, I rate it as the best possible backup you can have. All it needs is a screwdriver and about half an hour or less to swap the drives round.

 

The down side is a one off purchase of a spare hard drive and some means to connect the spare drive to a USB port.

 

I assume with this being an older computer with a small 70GB hard drive it will be of the older IDE type, these are now very cheap and have found a good make at £12-99 on Amazon here :-

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Western-Digital-WD1600AAJB-160GB-Drive/dp/B006Z4IRT6/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1396545604&sr=1-1

 

A USB to IDE adapter at £14-95 to connect the hard drive ready for cloning here :-

 

http://www.usbnow.co.uk/Adapters_&_Connectors-USB_to_IDE_Adapters/c42_46/index.html

 

After that, all you need is the free software to actually create the clone onto the spare hard drive.

The software and how to use it I can describe if you are interested and wish to look into doing it.

 

I personally have two different clones on two different hard drives these days and I feel they are more reliable than ordinary data backups or even the older idea of images stored on external drives.

 

Nev.

[Gotalife]

Thanks Nev for your time and advice, but, it’s way over my head, but may well help some other better able member with the same problem.

Thanks again. Norm:D

[Plastic Nev]

Hi Norm,

It may at first look difficult, but it actually isn't too difficult for making the clone. If at some later date it requires the clone fitting into the computer and not of a mechanical enough nature to fit it yourself, any technician would do it for you reasonably cheaply.

 

To set up the clone, all it needs is to buy a spare hard drive, and an enclosure to put it in. The enclosure then will connect to a USB port or socket. I recently found that an enclosure is cheaper than any other method of connection, plus it puts the spare hard drive in a safe container till required.

 

Once that is done, I recently wrote a tutorial for how to make a clone which is in our magazine here :-

 

http://magazine.freepchelp.uk/making-a-cloned-hard-drive-using-macrium-reflect/

 

Nev.