Backing up data for a format.

[ed3r]

Hi,
i will be formatting my hard drive for the first time soon *tear*
and i would like to know a bit more about how to back up data, what data should i backup? what should i back it up on to?
and can i backup programs like games and things like norton internet security?

thx

 

[vaderpro]

You can and should backup everything on your hard drive. Heres a free trial version of a back up program. You can back up to cds or better to dvd's. You can partition your drive and back up to that. Or you can purchase norton ghost which also works well.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/Acronis_True_Image_d2236.html

 

[dnoch]

When I formated my hard drive, I just coppied all the important files from my computer onto DVD. After the format, I just put all the files back where they were before. With the exeption of certain programs (for which I had the setup disks), everything worked

 

[Tyler1989]

The best method is to make an exact copy of your current one so when you restore it it will even have desktop icons in the same location. To do this you can use the built in Shadow Copy in system tools (XP Pro) or symantec ghost.

 

[Defence]

You can and should backup everything on your hard drive. Heres a free trial version of a back up program. You can back up to cds or better to dvd's. You can partition your drive and back up to that.

It's the best solution for making backup image and restore or clone or etc. for your computer. At first I downloaded free trial version for 15 days. During that period I good examined this software and just fell in love with it, so I bought True Image and now I could easily create full backup image of HDD, or just of my OS. I have several copies on CDs and on HDD. I'm really happy, because I didn't lose any data, any apps, anything and all work as a dream!