win xp backup on laptop

[oupei]

hey everybody,

i got a laptop and i wanna back up the whole system by using the backup thing in win xp. i have a usb floppy drive, so I can do the whole backup everything thing.

the question is, since the restore would be done by completely wiping out the hard drive, where can i put the backup so that I can access it during the windows install?

I have a desktop on the network and I also have a 2.5in usb external enclosure. I doubt I can access the network during a windows installation, what about moving the hard drive from the laptop into an external enclosure and try to install windows on it on my desktop?

 

[spherrod]

I think you'd be better of using something like Ghost to take an image of your system that can be easily and quickly restored when the time comes

 

[bacillus]

yup, use ghost or acronis true image 8!

 

[corkyg]

Bacillus has it - clone your drive using TI 8's simple cloning function. It duplicates your HDD bit by bit and then needs no restoration. Just swap drives. I do it every week or so on three systems including my laptop. After cloning, I swap the drives and that insures a valid ready replacement.

 

[oupei]

yeah, thanks for the recommendations. but I'd prefer to do it without spending money

so does anyone know if external hard drives can be accessed when installing windows?

else, i guess i'll have to go buy some software. so with both TI and ghost, do I have to put the laptop HD in the external enclosure and use my desktop to restore a backup?

 

[corkyg]

Some drive makers provide cloning software free. The way I do it is simple. Once I have my laptop all up to date, I connect the external drive with a duplicate size HD. Then I boot with TI-8's bootable CD (it boots to a Linux variant) and simply go through the CLONE routine (manual, delete partitions on target, save data on source) and in about 20 minutes or so, it is all done.

I then disconnect the external drive and put it away - or . . . I swap it with the laptop's internal drive and reboot. No restoration necessary - it is a mechanical swap.

 

[Pirotech]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Some drive makers provide cloning software free. The way I do it is simple. Once I have my laptop all up to date, I connect the external drive with a duplicate size HD. Then I boot with TI-8's bootable CD (it boots to a Linux variant) and simply go through the CLONE routine (manual, delete partitions on target, save data on source) and in about 20 minutes or so, it is all done.

I then disconnect the external drive and put it away - or . . . I swap it with the laptop's internal drive and reboot. No restoration necessary - it is a mechanical swap.

Hey, I always do the same way to backup my OS!
I use True ImageTrue Image too, and I think it's the best backup software I've ever seen.
It's so easy and convenient program, but at the same time very reliable.
I do every day incremental backup, due to built-in schedule task.
So I could restore my system anytime, even when start up PC push F11, and it'll restore last image automatically!
I just love this software, because now I don't worry about my data.