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just looking for easy,& free backup program


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Guest mamabadger
Posted

i am needing a backup program as I have to wipe the hard drive it has way too

many problems. also I'm looking for help in reinstalling all the moicrosoft

stuff. I have Windows XP and small business, and it's a dell computer. I s

there a backup program within windows xp? or do I have to download one? I

tthink that's all for now.

 

Thanks,

Lisa

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Guest Steve Freides
Posted

Re: just looking for easy,& free backup program

 

"mamabadger" <mamabadger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:B4CB0BE0-884C-4946-8635-55934FEF2BD5@microsoft.com...

>

>

> i am needing a backup program as I have to wipe the hard drive it has way

> too

> many problems. also I'm looking for help in reinstalling all the

> moicrosoft

> stuff. I have Windows XP and small business, and it's a dell computer. I

> s

> there a backup program within windows xp? or do I have to download one?

> I

> tthink that's all for now.

>

> Thanks,

> Lisa

 

On Dell's I have worked on, after you reinstall XP, you need to get Dell

tech support on the phone because you will have a lot of things that show as

yellow question marks in Device Manager. Typically there are half a dozen

or so drivers you must install, and Dell highly recommends you install them

in a very specific order. That done, your machine should work fine.

 

As to backups, before you give up completely, you might try the Repair

option of your WindowsXP installation CD's - it can sometimes fix problems.

Other than that, the easiest thing is to install another hard drive in the

machine, perhaps via the USB port using an external hard drive, and copy all

the files you wish to preserve. When you're back up and running again, copy

the files back from the external drive. The advantage of the Repair option

is that, unlike a complete reinstall, you may be spared having to reinstall

all your software.

 

Hope that helps some.

 

-S-

Guest Patrick Keenan
Posted

Re: just looking for easy,& free backup program

 

"mamabadger" <mamabadger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:B4CB0BE0-884C-4946-8635-55934FEF2BD5@microsoft.com...

>

>

> i am needing a backup program as I have to wipe the hard drive it has way

> too

> many problems. also I'm looking for help in reinstalling all the

> moicrosoft

> stuff. I have Windows XP and small business, and it's a dell computer. I

> s

> there a backup program within windows xp? or do I have to download one?

> I

> tthink that's all for now.

>

> Thanks,

> Lisa

 

Sometimes there is a backup program, but it isn't always included in OEM

distributions. You have to check yours.

 

And whatever you use, you absolutely must verify the backups before you

remove the originals. Restore the files to another folder and be *sure*

they work.

 

Another approach is to treat your current disk as the backup. This approach

has a few advantages - you don't have to worry about whether the backup

actually worked, and newer drives may be faster. And if you're having

system problems already, you won't have to wrestle with them to get the

backup to work. You can just bypass the problems.

 

And of course, you must consider that you have to back up to *something*

big enough to accept the file.. like another hard disk.

 

I see new 80-gig drives for under CDN$50, and 250-gig drives for CDN$75.

If your Dell came with XP reinstall CDs rather than a recovery partition,

simply remove the old drive, set the jumpers on the new one the same way.

Put the new drive in, and make your new XP and Office install. Then,

attach the old drive, either internally or via a USB2 drive case or adapter

(about $20 - $30), and simply copy the old files over. No worries about

reinstalling or configuring the backup program; you'll just have your data.

 

If you use the XP backup utility, note that if you choose the full system

backup, you have to have a floppy on hand, and the system must have a floppy

drive, something not all Dells do. And, you're going to need something

large to write the backup to... such as another hard disk. By default,

ntbackup can't write to CDs or DVDs.

 

HTH

-pk

Guest mamabadger
Posted

Re: just looking for easy,& free backup program

 

I don't have a spare hard drive, actually I just need to reinstall windows

system 32 as I got several pups on it and I think I have a few files missing.

I've worked with the support team but they can't seem to be able to help me,

 

Lisa

 

"Steve Freides" wrote:

> "mamabadger" <mamabadger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:B4CB0BE0-884C-4946-8635-55934FEF2BD5@microsoft.com...

> >

> >

> > i am needing a backup program as I have to wipe the hard drive it has way

> > too

> > many problems. also I'm looking for help in reinstalling all the

> > moicrosoft

> > stuff. I have Windows XP and small business, and it's a dell computer. I

> > s

> > there a backup program within windows xp? or do I have to download one?

> > I

> > tthink that's all for now.

> >

> > Thanks,

> > Lisa

>

> On Dell's I have worked on, after you reinstall XP, you need to get Dell

> tech support on the phone because you will have a lot of things that show as

> yellow question marks in Device Manager. Typically there are half a dozen

> or so drivers you must install, and Dell highly recommends you install them

> in a very specific order. That done, your machine should work fine.

>

> As to backups, before you give up completely, you might try the Repair

> option of your WindowsXP installation CD's - it can sometimes fix problems.

> Other than that, the easiest thing is to install another hard drive in the

> machine, perhaps via the USB port using an external hard drive, and copy all

> the files you wish to preserve. When you're back up and running again, copy

> the files back from the external drive. The advantage of the Repair option

> is that, unlike a complete reinstall, you may be spared having to reinstall

> all your software.

>

> Hope that helps some.

>

> -S-

>

>

>

Guest Patrick Keenan
Posted

Re: just looking for easy,& free backup program

 

"mamabadger" <mamabadger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:8A1AF12C-6A0E-4BE8-B007-420CFB04AD2D@microsoft.com...

>I don't have a spare hard drive, actually I just need to reinstall windows

> system 32

 

That can really only be done as part of a reinstall, either complete or

repair.

> as I got several pups

 

pups?

>. on it and I think I have a few files missing.

 

Have you tried sfc? This is the System File Checker, which will require

the install CD.

> I've worked with the support team but they can't seem to be able to help

> me,

>

> Lisa

 

You might consider a better support team who have physical access to your

system.

 

And if your data is of value and isn't otherwise backed up, and if you have

install CDs, consider the 2nd hard drive option. It's straightforward,

quick and very reliable. Compare the cost of the drive, perhaps a maximum

of $75, to the value of your time and your data.

 

Since it's a Dell, use the service tag number on the back of the PC to

identify any drivers you need to download, if you can't find the original

driver CD.

 

 

 

HTH

-pk

 

>

> "Steve Freides" wrote:

>

>> "mamabadger" <mamabadger@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

>> news:B4CB0BE0-884C-4946-8635-55934FEF2BD5@microsoft.com...

>> >

>> >

>> > i am needing a backup program as I have to wipe the hard drive it has

>> > way

>> > too

>> > many problems. also I'm looking for help in reinstalling all the

>> > moicrosoft

>> > stuff. I have Windows XP and small business, and it's a dell computer.

>> > I

>> > s

>> > there a backup program within windows xp? or do I have to download

>> > one?

>> > I

>> > tthink that's all for now.

>> >

>> > Thanks,

>> > Lisa

>>

>> On Dell's I have worked on, after you reinstall XP, you need to get Dell

>> tech support on the phone because you will have a lot of things that show

>> as

>> yellow question marks in Device Manager. Typically there are half a

>> dozen

>> or so drivers you must install, and Dell highly recommends you install

>> them

>> in a very specific order. That done, your machine should work fine.

>>

>> As to backups, before you give up completely, you might try the Repair

>> option of your WindowsXP installation CD's - it can sometimes fix

>> problems.

>> Other than that, the easiest thing is to install another hard drive in

>> the

>> machine, perhaps via the USB port using an external hard drive, and copy

>> all

>> the files you wish to preserve. When you're back up and running again,

>> copy

>> the files back from the external drive. The advantage of the Repair

>> option

>> is that, unlike a complete reinstall, you may be spared having to

>> reinstall

>> all your software.

>>

>> Hope that helps some.

>>

>> -S-

>>

>>

>>

Guest Plato
Posted

Re: just looking for easy,& free backup program

 

=?Utf-8?B?bWFtYWJhZGdlcg==?= wrote:

>

> i am needing a backup program as I have to wipe the hard drive it has way too

> many problems. also I'm looking for help in reinstalling all the moicrosoft

 

Have you already tried the many free anti-virus and anti-spyware

programs that can be downloaded and used for free?

 

--

http://www.bootdisk.com/


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