Fast, Easy Backups
For Win98 / ME / NT / 2K / XP
Copyright © 1997-2005 Fred Langa/ Langa Consulting LLC. All worldwide rights reserved.
8) BUILT-IN AND ALTERNATIVE BACKUP TOOLS
FOR WIN9X / ME / NT / 2K / XP
Win98 comes with “MSBackup,” which is optionally installed if you so chose when you first set up Windows. (If can be installed later via Control Panel’s “Add/Remove Software” applet; it’s in the Windows Setup tab under System Tools.) MSBackup will do the job, but it’s pretty lame. For example, MSBackup cannot operate in unattended mode--- you have to babysit it when it runs. Microsoft says: “The version of Backup that is included with Windows 98 does not support a backup job being started automatically, so you must be present to begin the backup job. RESOLUTION: To resolve this issue, upgrade to a backup program that supports completely unattended backup jobs. (See http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;q184756 )” Gee, thanks, Microsoft. (Sigh.) If you want full automated backups, you might also try http://www.google.com/search?q=unattended+backup+win98
or, for free options, http://www.google.com/search?q=unattended+backup+win98+free .
WinME hides its backup applet, although you can dig it off the WinME setup CD’s
“\ADD-ONS\MSBACKUP” folder. Click on the MSBEXP.EXE file there, and WinME will then install MSBackup--- the same tool as in Win98, above, with all the same limitations. To find alternatives, search for http://www.google.com/search?q=unattended+backup+winme
or, for free options, http://www.google.com/search?q=unattended+backup+winme+free .
XP Home: Like, WinME, XP Home hides its backup applet on the setup CD, but at least it’s a full-blown backup tool (NTBackup) capable of unattended operation: It’s in the “\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP” folder on the setup CD; click on NTBACKUP.MSI .
NT, Win2K and XP Pro all use NTBackup, it’s usually installed at setup and can be invoked through the menus, or by typing NTBACKUP on the Run line.
Alternative tools: A general web search for http://www.google.com/search?q=unattended+backup will show you a huge range of alternatives specifically designed for backup jobs.
But you also can use tools not specifically designed for backups. For example, many people use XXcopy, a tool (free for personal use) that can copy entire chunks of your hard drive from one location to another. ( http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy/ )
Or, you can use a tool like WinZip ( http://www.winzip.com ) to copy and compress sections of your hard drive; WinZip can record full path information, too, so the file(s) can be put back into the proper location upon restore.
Once you have a backup tool in hand, you can put it to use. Here’s what I do:
Next: FRED’S SMALL-PARTITION BACKUP ROUTINE and
FRED’S LARGE-PARTITION BACKUP ROUTINE
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