Best way to backup HDD to DVD?

[xe-cute]

I have just installed windows XP and have got all my most used programs and applications on it and it all structured and themed nicely the way I always use it.

Every time I install Windows I go through this lengthy process of getting it back to this same perfect state which very rarely changes unless new versions of software are released.

I was wondering, What is the best way to back up my HDD to DVD so the next time I have to reformat I can get my computer and OS back to this exact state/position the easiest?

I'd rather backup now so in future I can skip this lengthy process I seem to go through once or twice a year as after this initial setup I usually get a little lazy over time and junk mounts up.

Is it a simple case of using some Ghost software to make an image of the hard drive? Also which is best software to use and do I use the image instead of the windows disc in future for reformat or place the disc in after future new windows install?

Never backed up my drive before but suppose I should learn how to do it as I can see how it saves valuable time on every reformat.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Gaygle]

I'm thinking external hd's for the win bascially. They are bloody good. I got a seagate one the other day (250GB for 50 quid) and it works wonders.

I'd never use a DVD to back things up, the ext. HD's are so much quicker and easy to use.

 

[xe-cute]

I have an external HDD which also has a one button touch back-up function to copy the main internal drive, However I use it instead as a normal drive to store long term data and programs on, mainly all my music production projects and software instead of a back up device.

I don't really want to waste the external HD 250gbs on a 4gb backup I need which I would only use once or twice a year at most after each reformat.... I don't need to back up my data regularly, I am just looking at a quicker way to get my system in future back quicker to its initial setup after reformats.

I think what I need to do is copy an image of my drive to a DVD so I can insert it in future to restore my system to what it is now?

I just not too clued up on what to use and how to use it and any tips or advice from people who may already do this.

I was looking into windows lite and packing the programs into a windows setup but it seems too complicated for me.

 

[basmic]

Seriously, just buy a 20gb drive from a certain auction site - you'll find it'll probably cost more in P&P than it will for the item itself.

Couple that with an IDE to USB adaptor, and you're laughing.

 

[xe-cute]

Seriously, just buy a 20gb drive from a certain auction site - you'll find it'll probably cost more in P&P than it will for the item itself.

Couple that with an IDE to USB adapter, and you're laughing.

I have got spare drives that I do not use as I used to be into performance but now I am into having a silent PC so I have a Rapture 79GB sitting here doing nothing as well as a few other spare 40GB drives as they are too noisy to be on all the time.

So anyway, how do I copy an image to one of them then? I suppose it is the same as doing it for a DVD which was my original question.

I.E. What software is best, easiest and quickest and anything I should be aware of before I do it?

I am not wanting to backup the software programs to then use to install them as I have a back up drive already with them on.... I am after a backup of my system including registry entries and programs in there installed state etc so on future reformats I can use a DVD or HDD (If you think it is better) to basically load up my system to be fully setup with its programs and registry without the hassle of re-installing everything from my drive with my software on it which takes hours to then customize everything again to have the right settings.

Setting up all my VST/VSTi plug-ins and re-customizing windows for audio takes up most my time for music production on a reformat.

Thanks anyone for any help, I dunno if I am explaining things not all that good.

 

[Energize]

Acronis true image 10 can burn an hdd image to a dvd.

 

[gumbald]

Acronis true image 10 can burn an hdd image to a dvd.

Your Windows install image might not be less than 4gb though... Get a caddy for one of them old small hard drives and create yourself another external

 

[buachille]

I have just installed windows XP and have got all my most used programs and applications on it and it all structured and themed nicely the way I always use it.

Every time I install Windows I go through this lengthy process of getting it back to this same perfect state which very rarely changes unless new versions of software are released.

I was wondering, What is the best way to back up my HDD to DVD so the next time I have to reformat I can get my computer and OS back to this exact state/position the easiest?

I'd rather backup now so in future I can skip this lengthy process I seem to go through once or twice a year as after this initial setup I usually get a little lazy over time and junk mounts up.

Is it a simple case of using some Ghost software to make an image of the hard drive? Also which is best software to use and do I use the image instead of the windows disc in future for reformat or place the disc in after future new windows install?

Never backed up my drive before but suppose I should learn how to do it as I can see how it saves valuable time on every reformat.

Thanks for any help.

first thing i would say is - do not backup to dvd. it is slow and crap and unreliable. backup to an external hard drive. i see in your other post above that you have one.

I have an external HDD which also has a one button touch back-up function to copy the main internal drive, However I use it instead as a normal drive to store long term data and programs on, mainly all my music production projects and software instead of a back up device.

I don't really want to waste the external HD 250gbs on a 4gb backup I need which I would only use once or twice a year at most after each reformat.... I don't need to back up my data regularly, I am just looking at a quicker way to get my system in future back quicker to its initial setup after reformats.

you would not be wasting your ehdd. you do the backup to a folder on the ehdd, so if you are only backing up 4 gig then you only use 4 gig and your drive is available for every thing else you might need it for. i have a 600 gig ehdd with drive image images of my operating system on it, retrospect professional backups of my operating system and data, and family videos and stuff. everything is in seperate folders and i can use the drive in the same way i use my internal ones.

other thing i would say is, if you have data that is important to you on your internal hdd's, then absolutely do this......... partition your hard drive and install windows on one partition and the data on the other. this means that you always have your data intact when your os crashes or your hardware breaks (unless the actual hdd itself goes).

for example, on thursday last week i tried to boot my machine and it was utterly dead. after doing all the usual diagostic steps it was clear that my mobo was dead so i got another one and rebuilt the machine. i hadn't backed up for 2 days prior to this, but i wasn't worried about losing the 2 days work cos windows is on one partition and data was on the other. so once i'd done the rebuild i was just able to format my xp disc and reinstall. after reinstall is done i just take ownership of the data disc and everything is there just as it was before.

say i had backed up immediately before my system had crashed and all my data and os were on the same partition, i would not have been able to use the backup image as it would have had the drivers for the old motherboard, so the backup would have been useless.

starting to use seperate partitions for data and os is the single most important and useful thing i have ever done for the preservation of my stuff. i can't recommend it enough.

also, consider buying retrospect if you can afford it. takes a bit of learning but it is a class piece of software. or get acronis true image which is also very good i hear. i use the old powerquest drive image which yyou can't get anymore - norton took them over and turned a great program to junk (so i'm told).

 

[buachille]

So anyway, how do I copy an image to one of them then? I suppose it is the same as doing it for a DVD which was my original question.

I.E. What software is best, easiest and quickest and anything I should be aware of before I do it?

I am not wanting to backup the software programs to then use to install them as I have a back up drive already with them on.... I am after a backup of my system including registry entries and programs in there installed state etc so on future reformats I can use a DVD or HDD (If you think it is better) to basically load up my system to be fully setup with its programs and registry without the hassle of re-installing everything from my drive with my software on it which takes hours to then customize everything again to have the right settings.

Setting up all my VST/VSTi plug-ins and re-customizing windows for audio takes up most my time for music production on a reformat.

Thanks anyone for any help, I dunno if I am explaining things not all that good.

it sounds to me like the best thing for you is acronis true image. it works like my drive image and you will have no bother learning it.

 

[xe-cute]

also, consider buying retrospect if you can afford it. takes a bit of learning but it is a class piece of software. or get acronis true image which is also very good i hear. i use the old powerquest drive image which yyou can't get anymore - norton took them over and turned a great program to junk (so i'm told).

I have retrospect as it came with my external drive (Western Digital Media centre and Combo Drive) which has a one push button on the front of it to backup my internal drive C to the external drive D.

However I have never used it as I only tried it once when I first got the drive and it took ages and made the drive more or less redundant to be used to store anything else on it as I imagine every press of the button will overwrite data not on internal drive. I suppose I could partition the external drive but dunno if that would break the one touch button backup thing that uses retrospect.

Really I just want to store an image of my drive nice and clean and perfectly setup so I can easily restore it back to this position at anytime in the future with ease.

buachille - I'll have a look into Acronis true image as mentioned earlier by also Energize as it looks like this may do what I need.

BTW I am thinking of switching to using a Raid setup soon, dunno how that will affect things.

thanks for your help peeps

 

[buachille]

with retrospect you hsould not use that daft button on the front of the drive. i've got one too. it is a gimmick.

you need to set up scripts within retrospect and run or schedule them from the program. either backup or duplicate. for restoring an image you would need a backup. for data stuff a duplicate would do.

and for both of these types of images you can backup to a folder on your hard drive. just create a folder on your ehdd and tell retro to backup to it. it will leave all the rest of the drive available to you.

but for what you need to do i think true image will likely be better. retro takes a while to figure out (for me it did anyway) and i think is more suited to business use.

as for raid, i've never used it. good luck with it. i have no idea what is involved.