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Can someone tell me how to back up my PC
Nighthawk
Member Posts: 12,022 ✭✭✭
On CD Rom to back up my entire system everything favorites etc,I would be very thankful but I would need completely have someone explain it in detail and with laymens terms?
Rugster
"Toujours Pret"
Rugster
"Toujours Pret"
Comments
Backup the My Documents folder: Most users save critical data in this folder. Actually, I recommend it. Then, periodic backups can be performed on one folder and the contents therein. Depending on your operating system this folder will usually be located at C:\documents and settings\username\My Documents.
If you have data saved in multiple locations, beyond the My Documents folder, perform a search for files by file type. Go to Start | Search | Files and Folders and type *.doc (for MS Word docs), *.xls for Excel, *.mdb for Access, *.jpg for JPEG files and so forth.
Once you have all of your critical files in one location you can move on to other important items such as Internet Explorer favorites, Outlook personal folders and contact information, etc.
To backup your Internet Explorer favorites open IE and go to File | Import/Export | Export Favorites. Use the wizard to backup all of your links to the My Documents folder or another easy to find location.
To backup your Outlook contacts and personal folders perform the same operation as shown above from within Outlook. The wizard makes it easy.
Once all of your data is in one location, such as My Documents, burn it to CD or save it to a location that is separate from your primary hard drive. I usually recommend CD-RW so that you can continue to backup on a regular basis and just overwrite your out-of-date information.
Of course, many of these details will change depending on what operating system and what version of that OS you're using.
Send me an e-mail if you have questions.
G36
Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT CriminalsThe 2nd Amendment; America's Original Homeland Security
Throw in the driveway, backup your pickup over it at least twice!
Walte [:D]
Imaclone_2 So far Ive had good luck with my Dell Laptops I guess I would still be useing my other one if I hadnt spilt soda on it.My wife has Gateway Desk Tops and swears by them.This one here has about twice the size Processor,Memory and Hard Drive of my old Laptop.I dont see myself ever useing it,Lets just hope I can stay awake dureing the day and not fall asleep and spill soda allover it.I did take a precaution against damage,if its dropped or has something spilt on it they will eplace it with a new one for 3 yrs.Cost me an extra $50.00 but it could be worth it?[:D]
Rugster
"Toujours Pret"
I'm the NRA and I Vote
I always recommend that users backup anything that they wouldn't want lost. I also think that once a month is the minimum frequency!
I don't recommend purchasing any other software. For one thing it is quite expensive.
I DO recommend buying an external hard drive, for instance, or using CD-RW discs.
Personally, I use a 200GB external hard drive that connects via USB2. I transfer all of my important data to the drive about once a week. I have the advantage of high-speed data transfer, complete compatibility with any system that has a USB port, and the ease of transport that allows me to take my data with me if I want. I also periodically write my data to DVD for archiving in the event that I lose my primary and external/backup hard drives.
9acres, I have a suggestion for you. When you get a new system you should have room to install your current hard drive into the new system as a "slave drive". Then, you'll have access to all of your "old" data while taking advantage of the newer and likely larger/faster hard drive in the new system. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't backup the data on your old drive because remember that there are two types of hard drives: those that have failed and those that will. I'm saying this looking at a box I keep for dead drives. There are about 150 in the box so far...
G36
Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT CriminalsThe 2nd Amendment; America's Original Homeland Security
Bugie
Hey G36..Can you explain the concept of a "slam drive" a little bit more.I might be looking for a new puter in a little while and wouldn't be against using my current HD in some capcaity.
Bugie
Sure!
A slave drive is the term used for a IDE hard drive (90% of you will have this kind as opposed to the faster SCSI drives used in servers and high-end machines) that is configured as secondary to the master drive.
To configure a slave/master drive you will need to physically open your PC. Locate the primary hard drive (usually, you'll only have one). On the back of the drive next to the power and grey ribbon cable are small metal posts through which a circuit can be completed by placing a small piece of plastic-coated metal called a shunt. Depending on where you place the shunt you can change a drive from being recognized as a master to slave or cable-select. Normally, hard drives have small legends written on them or, at least, have writing on the circuit board, that allow you to identify where you should put the shunt to configure the hard drive.
Once you know what setting does what you need to decide which drive will be the master and which the slave. Assuming you bought a new computer you will likely want the factory drive to be the master and the old drive to be the slave. Usually, I leave the master alone and simply set the jumper on the old drive to slave.
Then, connect the old drive to the free connector on the grey ribbon cable (called an IDE ribbon cable) to your new drive. Also, don't forget to connect the power (Molex) connector to the drive so it has power.
The final configuration should be two hard drives connected to one ribbon cable that, in turn, connects to the motherboard's IDE port. Both drives will have power cables plugged-in and the jumpers will have been set.
Power up your machine and during the POST (power-on-self-test) you should see the machine detect the drive(s), among other things. Some PCs have a proprietary "splash screen" that hides what's going on during POST. To get rid of it so you can see if your system is detecting the drives press ESC during the initial boot phase.
I hope that helps!
G36
Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT CriminalsThe 2nd Amendment; America's Original Homeland Security
Clouder..
easily replaced if your hard drive crashes. But your data and pictures
are the important things. Actually in "most cases" (?) data usually is
far more less bytes than programs. A small extra hard drive in your machine makes data backup much easier to keep backed up but floppies or
C.D. back ups also work to keep data backed up.
computer. (not talking about programs) . I wonder how many of us have
this many bytes of actual "data" on our computers that cant be put on either floppies or C.D.? I dont think this is the normal useage for most of us.
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Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.
Ronald Reagan