Windows XP forum: How to backup entire &quot;hard disk&quot; with OS on a bootable disk?

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

Acronis is not free!

by ambrish56 - 8/1/12 8:55 PM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

Yes, Acronis can boot and restore HD from the image it created. But, it is not free.

Thanks for replying.

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You have not until now ...

by Edward ODaniel - 8/1/12 9:44 PM

In Reply to: Acronis is not free! by ambrish56

indicated that your bootable image MUST BE FREE.

Acronis is EXCELLENT for what you want and you can find specials on it where you can get it for $25.00

If it MUST be free try Macrium Reflect:
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

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I apologise for

by ambrish56 - 8/4/12 1:50 PM

In Reply to: You have not until now ... by Edward ODaniel

having not indicated that I am looking for Free software.

As suggested I'm going for the Macrium Reflect and will post my feedback ASAP.

Thanks for pointing out the blunder in my text.

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But it does what you ask.

by R. Proffitt - 8/2/12 9:37 AM

In Reply to: Acronis is not free! by ambrish56

There are other solutions that almost meet your "spec". Isn't Acronis worth it if it does the job?

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

Slipstreaming?

by MarkFlax - 6/25/12 4:52 AM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

Look up in Google or your favored search engine, Slipstream XP.

For example http://lifehacker.com/386526/slipstream-service-pack-3-into-your-windows-xp-installation-cd . The article is dated 2008, but the principle and method is the same.

Note though, that they talk about CD and not DVD. I am not sure many older XP systems were able to boot from DVD drives.

Other than that you can do what others here do. Use something like Acronis True Image to create an image file of this fresh install and store that onto some external hard drive, then create a bootable Acronis CD to use to restore the image to a hard drive if needed.

That's what I use for my Windows 7 and I found it very easy. I was fortunate though in that my hard drive maker, Seagate, offers a free download of a licensed version of Acronis True Image which works very well for me.

If you are interested in a command line utility, look up Clonezilla.

Mark

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Slipstreamed XP Takes a 45 Minutes

by ambrish56 - 7/8/12 5:11 AM

In Reply to: Slipstreaming? by MarkFlax

Thank you MarkLax and R. Proffitt for the suggestion.

I understand that slipstreamed XP takes 45 minutes to set up the system hard disk.

Some years ago, I saw one PC Engineer booted with XP Installation CD and ran a software from pendrive to restore system from the DVD. His process took less than 20 minutes.

I wish I could use free utilities like "Partition Manager" or "ToDo Backup" from EaseUS to do the same job.

If no other option works, I'll go for slipstream XP.

Thanks for your suggestion.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

Nod to first answer.

by R. Proffitt - 6/25/12 10:12 AM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

"Acronis True Image to create an image file of this fresh install and store that onto some external hard drive, then create a bootable Acronis CD to use to restore the image to a hard drive if needed."

That's it!

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

Another option.

by Kees_B - 6/25/12 10:37 AM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

xxclone from http://www.xxclone.com/idwnload.htm

I use their xxcopy product, and it's excellent. Moreover, with the personal version being free, all you can lose is some time, no money.

Kees

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

Will Read More on XXCLONE

by ambrish56 - 7/8/12 4:58 AM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

Thank you, Kees_B.

I will read on XXCLONE to know if it can create a system restore bootable DVD as I have in mind.

Thanks again.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

Another opetion

by Ginsberrose879 - 7/25/12 8:12 PM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

If you want to backup the entire Windows XP "hard disk" with OS on a USB drive, I know some software may help. I'm using Hopedot VOS to backup all my personal PC stuffs, including applications, data and the whole OS. It's actually a virtual OS similar to Windows OS. But it can be installed on a USB drive. And you can access to your personal PC environment on any computers after the USB is plugged in. Hope my answer help.

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Not Just Backup

by ambrish56 - 8/1/12 8:52 PM

In Reply to: Another opetion by Ginsberrose879

Thanks for your reply.

Backing up is not what I am looking for. The back up I am seeking must boot and restore the OS as it was originally. It means I'll have the OS as if I installed from a scratch.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

I use Acronis

by Steven Haninger - 7/26/12 5:53 AM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

I can create images on the media of my choice. Your 4 GB will reside on one blank DVD. Acronis can do that but your used disk space will grow with time but Acronis can span disks. Figure roughly 50% compression with Acronis and some other imaging software. It's not a bad idea to keep a first image but I'd also make additional images as I acquire new software, updates, etc. An extra internal HD and and external as an additional backup source is a good idea. With about 50 gb on my main system (OS and software...not much stored data) Acronis will image the drive in under 10 minutes and restore it in even less time.

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user ambrish56

This is Non-commercial Computer

by ambrish56 - 8/4/12 1:54 PM

In Reply to: How to backup entire "hard disk" with OS on a bootable disk? by ambrish56

Thanks for the reply.

Mine is a home computer used for simple entertainment tasks and web surfing. If I had any commercial use, I'd certainly go for paid software as recommended by CNET users.

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