Newbie to XP - help needed

alison74

Hello

I am totally new to windows XP and virus software etc since i have been running my old computer to it's death (windows 98 !)

Now, I have relevant virus software installed etc, but I keep on being told that I need to back up.

Could someone explain to me in simple terms why i need to back up and what program I use to do it ?

Treat me gently, my old computer was great and virus free but this new one is just daunting

T4i

Click Start Menu

Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore

Create a restore point. Call it what you want!

T4i

ooooh, thx Mr Skint.....I love you! :A

alison74

Thanks,

I have now made a restore point, but any clues on how to make a CD copy of everything on my hard drive ? I think thats what I was meaning to say in the first place, but the restore tip was great

T4i

You got Nero?

Nero BackItUp will do the trick......or get a ghost program.

alison74

Yes I have that, I think I will go away and see what I can manage myself first and come back here if I need help again

Thank you

Debt_Free_Chick

I have to say that backing up to DVD/CD is not the most reliable option.

Do you have a second hard drive? Or an external/USB drive? Give some more information on your PC and we can make some suggestions.

You are right to be concerned about a backup. It's better than any house contents insurance policy you can buy, as it can restore your PC to exactly the same position as it was, before the "crisis". Given that we all spend upwards of £150 p.a. on house contents insurance, I am always a little surprised when folk won't fork out a one-off payment of £50-100 for a good backup solution.

alison74

I have done system restore now, so if anything goes wrong, I have all the information on ym hard rive up till now right ?

I have a split hard drive, 40g for operating windows etc and 80g for for all my digital work, music etc

I have a usb pen which has some info on it that I wouldnt want to lose, is it best just to save really important documents to that ? But that is only 256mb

I have no idea about anything really, and was told that if I backed up all my files to dvd, that would be a good way.

I would appreciate any advice, thank you

Allexie

Might be useful to read this thread... lots of info...


http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=40297

VH

System Restore is a good idea, but if your hard drive goes kaput then you'll lose everything on it including the System Restore points as well.

You really need to think about backing up the critical files on your hard drive somewhere else as well.

Also if you do use System Restore, do a virus and spyware scan first, to make sure you're not putting anything dodgy on the restore point.

At the very least, back up onto a second hard drive in your PC. If one drive dies then you can at least recover files from the other.

If your files are extremely important, for example business related, then you should consider backing up to an external device and storing the backups off site. If you had a fire for instance, your PC, hard disks, and backups could all be destroyed in one go.

This of course is the extreme, but I've seen companies go out of business because they've lost all of their data.

As mentioned, some kind of external drive is a good idea for doing this.

wolfman

What's wrong with DVD/CD backup? It's a handy and cheap way of putting data on something that can be carried around/stored elsewhere easily. If you mean in terms of data being corrupted during the burn, with most cd creating applications you can verify the data after the burn has completed. This'll match what's on the hard drive to what you just burnt onto disc.

A second hard drive is a good idea but is a local solution. Ideally you want a local solution, such as a 2nd hard drive backing up on a regular basis. But then every so often take a backup onto dvd/cd (or similar, ie usb pen) and store it elsewhere.

What I'm currently looking into doing, is online storage. Highly encrpyting my files, then placing them online. Well not quite. I can upload my data to my brother (who's a couple of hundred miles away), and vice versa, then we both have backups of our stuff in case I get burgled etc...

The main thing with backups, please note, is to check that you can actually restore from the backup, otherwise it's a waste of time.