Backup Applications to CD?

[azoomee]

Hi,
Is there some application out there that allows you to backup a particular application on a PC to a CD?

I have some apps that came on my computer but I don't have the disk for. I want to be able to back them up just in case of a HD failure.

Thanks 🙂

 

[Lord Evermore]

There's no way for a backup program to reliable backup every file that an installed application needs, and most applications these days require a proper installation routine to create Registry entries or specific files that can't just be copied, or place shared files into the right directories.

If you have a brand-name computer build, it should have come with a recovery CD which at the minimum images the original hard drive to a replacement drive in case of failure; better ones may come with a CD containing the actual installation files for all the applications as well.

One solution is to perform a real backup using CDs. WindowsXP does come with a marginally useful backup application; it can't backup directly to CDR natively, but if you run an application such as DirectCD that allows packet-writing, then you can use it to backup to a file on CD. To fit on one disc though (since it won't be able to span CDs) you would need to deselect non-essential items that you can easily reinstall, and preferably backup your own data files manually by writing them to CD, so that the real backup doesn't waste that space.

A real backup app that supports CDR is of course the best solution.

 

[foofoo]

hi,
if you can borrow or have another hd and can get a copy of ghost, you can make restore cds of whatever installation with apps that you have now. here's a link on how.
link
this will show you how to split the image up onto multiple cds so that you dont have to image a pared down system.
good luck

 

[Lord Evermore]

If you can get a LEGAL license for Ghost, of course. 🙂

 

[foofoo]

If you can get a LEGAL license for Ghost, of course. 🙂

i would never imply anything else 🙂

 

[tcsenter]

Is there some application out there that allows you to backup a particular application on a PC to a CD?

There used to be a utility that shipped with Norton Utilities called 'Installer Mover' or something like that, that allowed you to migrate applications to another computer or drive, provided that you 'logged' the installation of that application using the utility. But that won't work in your case.

I know that one used to be able to extract the application files from many OEM restore CDs. Many used a method where the applications were 'psuedo-installed' by a script file that performed a straight forward file copy from the CD to the HDD then invoked a .reg file that would merge the necessary registry entries and prompt you to restart. That's how I got Microsoft Works 4.5 a long time ago off a Packard Bell CD.

But I haven't messed around with one of those for a long time so they may have changed the method to some special ISO image vs. a simple file copy.