back up - a new strange novel experimentation

[sunandoghosh]

back up - a new strange novel experimentation

Respected techs, geeks, nerds, and dear fellow friends,

In the past i have always taken a backup of my valuable data and content on my pc by invariably writing on to a cd be it R or RE.

However, the problem that always arose subsequently was that I always find it very time consuming when ever i have to format my hard disk or reload the operating system (i use windows xp) for various reasons (say too much spyware or virus intrusion, deletion by mistake say of system files etc etc).

But I was in the past never able to take say back up of windows xp or for that matter any other program which was installed on my computer.

Now before i proceed further to come to my problem / question on which ur valuable advice / suggestion is sought...
I want to confirm that I understand the installation concept of programs properly...

First of all I am basically from field of finance and therefore have very very limited technical knowledge about internet computers and how it functions. I love internet and computers but as a total end user who is oblivious of what happens internally.

Now to me installation of any program (say for example spybot search and destroy etc) means i download the SETUP box of that program from internet or a Cd and then double click (or run) that program to actually get it installed on my computer to get it work. In some cases however the setup box is not available and we have to run from cd directly ( eg windows xp).

BUT i was wondering how do we take back up of say those programs which we have installed by double clicking but for which later on the corresponding setup box or cd is not available ???????????????????????????

I understand that if we have the original CD or say the setup box we can reinstall program innumerable times but what say if ur cd is misplaced after installation of program or say setup box gets deleted after installation of the program.

In that case how can i take a backup of such installed programs on my pc for which i have no setupbox or cd ???????????????????

I am asking this bcz of following reasons...

1. I have lost my windows xp original CD and fear what would happen if i ever have to format my hard disk or reinstall windows xp...

2. I have over last 3 years used many accounting software and financial softwares and although they are installed on my pc...their cd is misplaced or the setup box is not there...

3. Over the years i have worked in many organisations and had the privilege of having costly financial software programs being installed on my pc for work and would not want to lose them in future (and i have no CDs or setup boxes for them)...

4. If i wish to transfer all my data and installed programs to a new hard disk from my old hard disk which i am currently using and which sounds a lot...(and i fear it may crash some day)...

I know i have written a very very long story but I definitely appreciate ur time, effort and patience and would be really grateful if someone can throw some light as to how such issues are resolved and what is the easiest / best way to get this around...

I know there are many knowledgeable and helping individuals on this forum and am sure someone will be kind enough to share his wisdom or experience....

Thanks again in advance...

Most sincerely,

sunando

sunandoghosh at rediffmail dot com

p.s.

a. i use windows xp
b. i use nero for back up of my cd

 

[lurkswithin]

Ok, Since you are not a geek (per sey), then I assume that you didn't build your computer but bought it from a branded manufacturer. To solve the issue of replacing the lost disc...call the manufacturer for a replacement copy.
Now as for the other proprietary software that you have lost the discs to, you could possibly do the same thing there. Or you can get a good quality copy from a friend and use it with YOUR activation codes, as these are the codes that say it is legit or not. If you have a program on your system already then you can use this utillity and it will find what the codes are and you can make new hard copies of them.... perfectly legal as they have already been installed.
everest: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

On the backup issues, most backup programs will only make back ups of your personal files and not any program files. There are some that will do backup every thing( called snapshots) and they are stored on either a seperate partition or burned to disc., to be reinstalled at a later time as needed. There are also programs that do ISO imaging this is like a layered photograph that is stacked upon itself a million times in which you only see the top picture.
When it is used it is slowly dismantled so as to replace all programs and files that were on your system at the time the ISO shot was taken..You will need to google as it is a little more complicated than that and not enough space to cover it.
Then there are regular backup programs that will back up everything and reburn it in a compressed state to a either a cd, dvd, or partition. You need to study all these to see which one is suitable for your needs.
Transfering information from one harddisk to another is also done in various ways. Some will only transfer your pictures and files and others will transfer everything from one disk to another.
Most harddisk manufacturers supply a utillity disc with a new harddrive or makes one to be downloaded from their home sites. These utillities have programs that will actually transfer eveyyhing from one disk to another...the key is that you must use the program supplied with the disk that you are transfering to.
Hope that helps.

 

[per]

In my opinion the best backup program. It clones drive to drive. Also casperxp is good. Google to both. Ghost takes about 10 minutes to clone a 13 GB drive. It will clone smaller drives to larger drives and larger drives to smaller drives. It partitions and formats the drives as needed.
http://ghost.radified.com/ghost_1.htm