This is the first post in a series I am planning on creating detailing how to perform a backup on different operating systems.
This post as you might tell from the title deals with making a backup of your data on a Windows XP machine.
There is a Backup utility that comes on the Windows XP installation CD. However you need to explicitly install it as its not installed by default. To check if you have the utility installed press the start button in the bottom left hand corner of your windows screen, then click run. In the field provided type ntbackup.exe then hit enter. If its installed it will start, other wise you will need to install this utility from your installation Windows XP CD.
Once you have got the utility started click the advanced mode option. Its possible the backup wizard may start in which case follow the onscreen dialogues. Other wise continue with this guide.
Click the backup tab. Then on the JOB menu click NEW.
You can now either select individual files and folders or an entire drive to backup by selecting the check box next to the item. You can increase and decrease the folder and files with the plus sign next to them.
Select the System State check box that is located under My Computer in the navigation pane.
Note If you want to back up system settings and data files, back up all the data on your computer and the System State data. The System State data includes the registry, the COM+ class registration database, files that are under Windows File Protection, boot files, and other system files.
The most common data files for a user, are in the Documents and Settings folder. Remember your email backup at this point. You may have to search or use google to locate the exact place you need to backup so you don’t lose any data.
If the Backup destination list is available, click the backup destination that you want to use.
Note If you selected File in this step, type the full path and file name for which you want to back up data in the Backup media or file name box.
You can specify a network share as a destination for the backup file. Typically, backup files have the .bkf file name extension. However, you can use any file name extension that you want i.e. Backup_<date>.bkf
Click Start Backup to open the Backup Job Information dialog box.
Under If the media already contains backups, do either of the following:
- If you want to append this backup file to previous backup files, click Append this backup to the media. This option adds the new backup to the existing backup file so that you can maintain all previous backups in one file. This option is useful if you ever want to restore a backup from a specific day. Be aware that the size of the backup file will grow with each new backup. You might want to monitor the file size to make sure that it does not fill up your hard disk over time. If the file becomes too large, you might consider saving the file to an external hard disk. Or, if you are concerned about the file using too much hard disk space, select Replace the data on the media with this backup instead.
- If you want to overwrite previous backup files with this backup file, click Replace the data on the media with this backup. This option is useful if you only want to maintain the current backup and do not care about keeping the previous backups. Or, use this option if you are concerned about the file using too much hard disk space on your computer.
Click Advanced.
Select the Verify data after backup check box.
In the Backup Type box, click the kind of backup that you want to create. For a description of each backup type, click the backup type and the description appears under “Description.” You can select any of the following backup types:
Normal
Copy
Incremental
Differential
Daily
Click OK, and then click Start Backup. A Backup Progress dialog box is displayed, and the backup starts.
When the backup is complete, click Close.
On the Job menu, click Exit.
This is all that required for a basic backup. It sounds a lot to do and a bit complicated. However I can assure you once you have done it once its very easy to do.
I would suggest a regular backup at least once every two months for a normal family computer. On a business system a more regular backup such as a weekly or bi-weekly would be fine.
To restore a backup its very easy. I will detail this process in a future posting. An important step is to regularly test a backup process to confirm a backup has been created successfully.
