Backup/Copy Entire System to a 2nd Hard Drive

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Brunoboy

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Hi All,
I will try to keep this to the point. I want to backup/copy my entire xp drive to a second drive then disconnect the second drive and keep it for when this one fails or the system starts giving me so many hassles it calls for a full reinstall of windows. I have installed the backup utility from the xp home cd. I don't want to use boot floppy's etc, i just want to be able to connect the other hard drive and have every thing running as it was previously.All is running great at present so i figure now is the time to do it. Is it possible to do this with the backup utility or do i need Norton Ghost. Never used either. I'm sick of reinstalling windows after dodgy programs stuff the system or through my own silly mistakes ! Looking forward to suggestions.
Brunoboy.
 
Re: Backup/COPY ENTIRE SYSTEM TO A SECOND HARD DRIVE ?

Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image would be your best bet. Either one would be able to make a direct image of you drive as it is now and be able to just put that image onto your hard drive at any time.

PS I have edtied the title to remove the Caps. No need for them. ;)
 
Thanks Makaveli, not possible with windows backup utility i take it ?

Just had a look on the Acronis website and checked out TRUE IMAGE HOME 15 DAY TRIAL . Do you know if it will give full function and allow me to make a bootable clone of my existing xp drive? Would like to know before doing a 150 mb download!
 
Honestly i dont know. I have never trusted teh Windows utility to backup my stuff and have always gone with a 3rd party application to do it. The 1 time i tried to use the backup utility in Windows Vista i had to use Vista to restore the backup. Now if i could use Windows why would i need the backup? It just didnt make sense to me.

That is why i have personally used a 3rd party software to do it. Someone else may have used the Windows utility and can give a better answer for you on that. But i personally can not.

Merged your 2 posts as i was posting at the same time as you.

But to answer your question...honestly i dont know yet again. After a quick google search it says that the trial is fully functional. So you should be able to make a backup of your system and use it during those 15 days.
 
Thanks again mate. i did a google search too and someone mentioned inability to boot the image. Thats why i asked. I'll download a try it anyway. Ive done plenty of multi partitioning dual, tripple booting etc but this is new to me. I'll let you know how i go mate. Cheers.
 
Well i have used Ghost and Acronis before and Ghost was great. Acronis the only thing i didnt like about it is that when it made the image it also included the free space as well. Which can adversly affect your image making if you make the bootable DVD's.

But that is for another time. It should all go well as i have not used Acronis since version 9 and it looks like they are on version 11 now. So they should have chagned that by now. I would hope. ;)

Please stop on back and let us know how things are going or if you need anymore help. That is what we are here for mate.

Cheers!

~Mak :D
 
:) Back again, Makavelli it's worked a treat,thanks. I'm writing this on the new hard drive I've just imaged!! Downloaded Acronis home 11, installed the program,it then does a reboot. Ran it and cloned to the slave hard drive. I reckon the whole process took about half a hour. Every thing is just as it is on the other drive,boots up great. Really easy steps to follow. Must say i am truly amazed!!. I simply changed the boot order in the bios for the hard drives and presto! Had to check i was actually on the new drive as boot time, loading of the taskbar etc is the same !. Everything is running smooth as. Will clone my other 3 comps tomorrow. The wife and daughter have so much photos,documents etc, its a nightmare to try to save it all to cd. Not to mention all the passwords,favorites etc. Pretty sure i'll invest in this program. Bye the way,dont know if you have Skype but if so and you have microphone and would like to talk send me a personal email. I'M in AUSTRALIA, DOWN UNDER! Spose it depends on your timezone. Anyway cheers for now, Wayne, aka Brunoboy.:) :D
 
Glad it worked Wayne. That is what we like to hear, here at Tech-Forums. Stop on by anytime you wish to chat or if you have anymore questions.

I know of a couple people "Down under". Meet them on other sites. Great place Australia. Being on the East Coast of the USA tis a bit of a time difference. But i will hit you up if i ever decide to install Skype.
 
Thanks Makaveli. Now that i have things sorted i might be able to browse the other posts, maybe give some help somewhere . See ya.
 
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