Recover XP OS

AC1951 · Dec 17, 2009

I've just upgraded my XP OS to SP3 and IE v8
My XP license disks are orginals (i.e pre SP1)

I have on a couple of occassions (after major problems and after buying new HW) re installed XP from scratch. This takes an absolute age to complete i.e load orginal version then download all the updates and Service packs.

Is there a software tool that can back-up and restore my entire system as installed (XP + SP3 + all updates).

hope all that makes sense.

plodr · Dec 17, 2009

There is a paid program that works well to create an image of your computer. It is Acronis True Image.
The program, after it is installed, gives you the opportunity to create a rescue CD. I do this then uninstall the program.

You put the rescue CD in the drive, boot up or reboot the computer and the program loads in RAM independent of windows. From here you can make an image either by burning to CDs/DVDs or to a partition on the internal hd or to an external hd.
I usually burn to CDs/DVDs about once a year but monthly I create an image to an external hd.
Those images have saved my bacon on a few computers more than once. Then it is a simple case of only updating for the past month or less.

http://majorgeeks.com/Acronis_True_Image_Home_2010_d2236.html

You can sometimes find an older version at other sites like eBay, Amazon, etc. for a smaller price.

sach2 · Dec 18, 2009

plodr said: ↑

You put the rescue CD in the drive, boot up or reboot the computer and the program loads in RAM independent of windows. From here you can make an image either by burning to CDs/DVDs or to a partition on the internal hd or to an external hd.
I usually burn to CDs/DVDs about once a year but monthly I create an image to an external hd.
Click to expand...

Thanks, plodr, for this informative post. I never thought to make an image using the rescue CD. I know I should be occasionally test an image by doing a restore but never bother. Making an image using the rescue CD and burning to disc sounds like a good way to get familiar with the rescue CD interface.

I'm definitely going to try this to see how it works.

Spad · Dec 18, 2009

You might check on the Acronis home page - at one time they were offering an older version of the software for free (ver 7, I think). You had to register with them to get the software key, but it was a painless process as I recall.

I used the version, and found it worked very nice with PATA based boards. Not so much with SATA boards . . . it would work, but took some coaxing.

You can either create an Acronis protected partition on your drive that contains the restore image, or burn the image to CD's or DVD's, or both. If you have a big enough hard drive I recommend doing both. With the partition you are able to save updates to the image instead of having to create a whole new image each time, which was pretty handy.

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Recover XP OS

AC1951 Private E-2

plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member

sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

Spad MajorGeek