Re: Reconfig WindowsBackup so doesn't require diskette for Restore

"Poprivet" wrote:

> Hmm, somewhere we've disconnected in what we mean. What specifically are
> you referring to by a "restore disk" being required? All that's required
> for a restore operation is the source of the backed up files.
>
> I guess basically we need to decide what you consider a "restore" disk.
> I also don't understand hte problem with the drive A issue: perhaps a
> step-by-step of what you do would show something up under analysis. It
> won't matter whether you use the Wizard, choose a single file or all files;
> it all works the same. I just fired it up to be certain what I'm telling
> you works, and it's fine here on my XP Pro SP2+. In my case it's
> ntbackup.exe; I understand on some OEM systems that it's simply backup.exe.
>
> Just kind of rambling here:
> -- One file or all files shouldn't make any difference. All you need for a
> backup is
> -- ntbackup or backup.exe, whichever one came with your system, and
> -- if it's your system drive you're backiing up, to have the Shadow Copy
> service running so it can backup in-use files.
> -- For the backed up files to be accessible. Which it sounds like they
> would be on your external hard drive.
>
> You MIGHT be thinking about a complete catastrophe where the C drive has
> gone belly up? So you cannot boot to USE the backups you have?
> In this case, you do a full install from the XP CD, and before you even
> connect to the 'net or set anything else up, you will now have backup.exe
> available, which you can now use to restore all your files from the backup
> disk.
>
> There really isn't any "restore" disk with XP backup processes. Perhaps
> you're remembering back to win98 or something. They did have floppy startup
> disks.
>
> Since you have no A drive, you could replace that with a bootable CD though.
> There ARE some places around that have a minimal XP installations in order
> to get you going enough to run the Restore but personally I don't recommend
> them for a variety of reasons; ymmv of course. Instructions on how to
> create one for yourself might be OK though; I've never done it that way.
> Is this where you might be coming from?
>
> If you want elegance and perceived reliability in backing up, an imaging
> program is your best bet. The major three are Norton Ghost, Acronis TI, and
> BootItNG; those will help you make a restore disk for catastrophic failures
> and allow recovery in essentially one step as long as the back up files are
> available. Personally I'm using Ghost 10 right now and am quite happy with
> it. Like anything else it's a "ymmv" situation though.
>
> Any of that help anything? Let us know; lots of knowledgeable people here.
> Anyone makes a mistake, they get corrected pretty quickly <g>.
>
> HTH
> Pop`
>
> lewisma9 wrote:
> > Hi again Pop:
> > There's a problem with your strategy of using a small file as a test
> > backup. I guess it only requires the final A: diskette/floppy when I
> > do a total backup -- because in this test, no Restore disk was
> > required. Plan B?
> >
> >> lewisma9 wrote:
> >>> Hello:
> >>> I am getting desperate. I can't find this information anywhere. I
> >>> want to use Windows Backup Utility [NTBACKUP] but I keep stumbling
> >>> over the last required step: After completing the backup to my
> >>> Firelite SmartDrive USB external harddrive, Windows requires a
> >>> diskette in the A: drive for copying the Restore utility files. But
> >>> my laptop doesn't have a diskette drive, and Windows won't accept
> >>> any alternatives! I've tried to get it to copy the Restore files
> >>> to a CD, and then to a USB diskette drive. But it doesn't allow me
> >>> any other options than its default to an A: diskette drive. I
> >>> have Windows XP Pro SP2 on an HP Compaq Presario V2000 laptop.
> >>> Please don't repeat the saw that Windows Backup is useless etc etc -
> >>> I'm tired of this kind of unhelpful response. Those who know how to
> >>> use it say it works just great, and I want to make up my own mind by
> >>> trying it. I will greatly appreciate your help with this. Thanks.
> >>
> >> I'm not looking at the program, so if I've not made sense when you
> >> try it, post back; I'll do a step by step.
> >> A very intelligent attitude, BTW about figuring it out for
> >> yourself on the worthiness; EXCAXTLY the right thing to do!
> >>
> >> It's defaulted to a floppy, and, you cannot use ntbackup to write to
> >> CDs. So:
> >>
> >> 1. Back up to the hard drive. Then COPY the files over to a CD or
> >> DVD.
> >>
> >> 2. From the Wizard;
> >> When you're presented with the A: Drive option, there is a drop down
> >> and a Browse button, I either one gets the same results: Using
> >> either one will tell you it's going to back up to Drive A. Try it:
> >> It'll then give you an error message, and put up an Explorer like
> >> window that will let you choose any drive that exists on your
> >> computer. Choose a drive and a folder, and go from there; you'll be
> >> done. Personally, I'd experiment by telling it to let YOU decide
> >> what to back
> >> up, and choose only one file so you can test it quickly, including
> >> test out restoring that same file.
> >>
> >> IFF you have a good packet-writing software for your CD/DVD drive,
> >> you -might- be able to back up directly to the CD/DVD, but until
> >> you've tested it, I wouldn't. There are many temporary files
> >> created during a backup, and unless the writing software is smart
> >> enough to handle it, the CD/DVD will quickly fill up with those
> >> temporary files and you'll run out of room quickly on the DVD! Not
> >> all packet-writing software is created equal, so unless you know for
> >> sure, TEST first! IFF you're using the XP's basic DVD writing
> >> app, you definitely can NOT backup straight to the DVD; you must
> >> backup to a hard drive and then copy it to the DVD. Or CD.
> >> XP's backup will also not compress files - which can be a problem
> >> if you're worried about the number of DVDs and all that. It'll only
> >> compress if writing to a tape drive. If you have a 3rd party
> >> writing app though, you may be able to compress. Personally I like
> >> it that it's not compressable; fewer chances for error, and the
> >> files, even without the backup app, can be recovered by simply
> >> copying them from the backup media and renaming them to get rid of
> >> the .bkf TLD.
> >>
> >> HTH
> >> Pop`
>
>
>
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