Windows XP [Electronic resources] : Visual Quickstart Guide, Second Edition نسخه متنی

Backing up Your Files

The love that you shower on your hard drive isn't requited. Eventually it will betray you and fail catastrophically, taking your data with it. Avoid the heartbreak by making regular backup copies of your work. Backups also protect you against accidental deletions and let you archive finished projects for remote storage.

Windows' Backup program lets you back up an entire hard disk or specified files and folders periodically. You can back up to a second local drive, a shared network folder, or a high-capacity storage device such as an external USB or tape drive. Never back up to a different partition on the same physical hard drive, because if the drive fails, all partitions go with it. The Backup or Restore Wizard walks you through the process of backing up your files or restoring backed-up files when disaster strikes.

Tips

If you store your files on a network server at work, you don't have to back up your work. Your network administrator does it for you.

Backup won't write directly to CD recorders, but you can create a backup file and burn it on a CD.

Floppy Disks

If you use USB flash drives or CD-RWs, or if your PC is connected to a network or the internet, you probably have little use for floppy disks. They're still useful for backing up or transporting small files, however, and some programs use them to create setup or emergency disks. Most floppies come preformatted and ready for use, but you can format one manually (or erase an already-formatted one):

1. Insert a floppy into its drive.

2. In Windows Explorer or My Computer, right-click the drive's icon, labeled 3 1/2 Floppy (A:); then choose Format.

3. Choose a size from the Capacity list (usually, 1.44 MB).

4. Click Start.

To copy a floppy disk, follow the preceding steps, but choose Copy Disk from the shortcut menu in step 2; then choose where you want the copy to be made.

Backup is installed by default on XP Pro edition PCs but not on Home edition PCs.

To install Backup on a Windows XP Home edition computer:

1. Insert the Windows XP Home CD.

2. When the Welcome screen appears, click Exit.

3. Choose Start > My Computer.

4. In the My Computer window, right-click the CD drive icon; then choose Explore.

5. In the Explorer window, navigate to the folder \VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP; then double-click NTBACKUP.MSI (Figure 19.24 ).

6. Click Finish when the wizard completes the installation.

To back up files:

1. Exit all programs (because Backup can't back up open files).

2. Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup.

The Backup or Restore Wizard starts.

3. Click Next to skip the Welcome page.

4. On the Backup or Restore page, select Back up Files and Settings; then click Next (Figure 19.25 ).

5. On the What to Back Up page, specify the items to back up; then click Next.

My Documents and Settings. Backs up your entire user profile (see "Managing User Profiles" in Chapter 16), including your My Documents folder and your desktop contents and settings.

Everyone's Documents and Settings. Backs up everyone's user profilein other words, the entire Documents and Settings folder.

All Information on This Computer. Creates a monster backup of every file on the PCincluding Windows XP itself, which is largely pointless for system disks, because you have those files on the Windows CD.

Let Me Choose What to Back Up. Displays

Figure 19.26 when you click Next, letting you pick specific folders and files to back up.

6. Specify a location and name for the backup; then click Next (Figure 19.27 ).

Unless you have an XP-compatible tape drive, the Backup Type option is File; you have no other choices.

7. Click Finish to begin the backup immediately (skip to step 11), or click Advanced to choose the additional options.

8. If you clicked Advanced in the preceding step, select one of the backup types listed in

Table 19.2 ; then click Next.

9. Work your way through the rest of the wizard, selecting the desired options (described in each window).

10. On the last page, review your settings; then click Finish to start the backup.

The process takes minutes or hours, depending on the backup size and type.

11. Click Close in the Backup Progress dialog box when the backup completes.

Backup creates a .bkf file, using the name and location you specified in step 6.

Scheduling Tasks" later in this chapter.

To restore backed-up files:

1. Choose Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup.

The Backup or Restore Wizard starts.

2. Click Next to skip the Welcome page.

3. Select Restore Files and Settings; then click Next (refer to Figure 19.25).

4. Select the files and folders that you want to restore; then click Next (Figure 19.28 ).

5. Click Finish to begin the restore immediately (skip to step 9), or click Advanced to choose additional options.

6. If you clicked Advanced in the preceding step, specify where to restore your backed-up files and folders; then click Next.

Select

Original Location if you're restoring damaged or lost files.

Select

Alternate Location and specify a location if you need some old files but don't want to overwrite any of the current files or folders on your disk.

Select

Single Folder and specify a folder if you're searching for a file and don't know its location. (This option doesn't retain the structure of the backed-up folders and files.)

7. Specify whether you want Backup to overwrite existing files; then click Next.

Leave Existing Files (Recommended), the safest method, won't overwrite files already on your hard disk.

Replace Existing Files If They Are Older Than the Backup File ensures that you won't lose any changes that you've made to files since you last backed up your data.

Replace Existing Files restores

every backed-up file on your hard drive. You'll lose any changes made to those files since your last backup.

8. Accept the default settings in the next screen (the options are quite technical); then click Next.

9. On the last page, review your settings; then click Finish to start the restore.

10. Click Close in the Restore Progress dialog box when the restore completes.

Tips

To back up and restore without the Backup and Restore Wizard, click Advanced Mode in the wizard's opening page to make

Figure 19.29 appear.

If an error message appears, click Report in the Restore Progress dialog box for a record of what went wrong.

It's wise to restore backups regularly to a test folder to confirm that they're working properly.

Real-Life Backups

Managing Device Drivers" in Chapter 8, for example.)

You can find backup software information and reviews on the web. For starters, read "Choosing Backup Software" at