Create a restorable system backup with NTBACKUP?
in [Windows Performance]
|
Prev: 0xC5 Stop Error, now I/O verification fatal error (wmiacpi.sys
Next: Windows Explorer has 10+ second delay everytime you open/change di
From: Bert Hyman on 31 Aug 2009 09:41 Before I go any farther, is it even possible to use NTBACKUP to create a system backup that can be used to completely restore a system back to its state at the time of the backup? If so, in addition to selecting "System State" for backup, what else needs to be saved? How much of "Documents and Settings"? How much of the "\windows" directory? How about the files in the root directory of the system drive? Other files or directories? Again assuming it's possible, what's the proper restore procedure? I know I have to re-install XP before a restore of the backup is possible, but is there a shortcut form of install? Then, what state must the machine be in order to tolerate having much of its guts overwritten during the restore process? Is there something on the MS Web site or elsewhere that addresses full backup & restore using NTBACKUP? My initial searches returned far too many hits that were only peripherally related. I know that there are disk imaging products out there that supposedly can do all this, but the reviews of most of them suggest that they're something of a hit-or-miss proposition when it comes to restoration. -- Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN bert(a)iphouse.com
From: smlunatick on 31 Aug 2009 11:03 On Aug 31, 2:41 pm, Bert Hyman <b...(a)iphouse.com> wrote: > Before I go any farther, is it even possible to use NTBACKUP to create a > system backup that can be used to completely restore a system back to > its state at the time of the backup? > > If so, in addition to selecting "System State" for backup, what else > needs to be saved? > > How much of "Documents and Settings"? How much of the "\windows" > directory? How about the files in the root directory of the system > drive? Other files or directories? > > Again assuming it's possible, what's the proper restore procedure? I > know I have to re-install XP before a restore of the backup is possible, > but is there a shortcut form of install? Then, what state must the > machine be in order to tolerate having much of its guts overwritten > during the restore process? > > Is there something on the MS Web site or elsewhere that addresses full > backup & restore using NTBACKUP? My initial searches returned far too > many hits that were only peripherally related. > > I know that there are disk imaging products out there that supposedly > can do all this, but the reviews of most of them suggest that they're > something of a hit-or-miss proposition when it comes to restoration. > > -- > Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN b...(a)iphouse.com Simple answer: No. NTBackup will not create a complete restorable system backup. It never did as with most "other" Microsoft's attempts to make a backup software.
From: Leonard Grey on 31 Aug 2009 11:04 No. Ntbackup is not designed for that. You need disk imaging software. A disk image is a sector-by-sector copy of an entire disk or disk partition. A complete explanation of disk imaging - and how it differs from a file backup - is beyond the scope of a news post. However, Google is your friend: Just search for disk imaging. Disk imaging is a valuable tool for any computer user. With a regularly updated image, you can easily recover from any software disaster. --- Leonard Grey Errare humanum est Bert Hyman wrote: > Before I go any farther, is it even possible to use NTBACKUP to create a > system backup that can be used to completely restore a system back to > its state at the time of the backup? > > If so, in addition to selecting "System State" for backup, what else > needs to be saved? > > How much of "Documents and Settings"? How much of the "\windows" > directory? How about the files in the root directory of the system > drive? Other files or directories? > > Again assuming it's possible, what's the proper restore procedure? I > know I have to re-install XP before a restore of the backup is possible, > but is there a shortcut form of install? Then, what state must the > machine be in order to tolerate having much of its guts overwritten > during the restore process? > > Is there something on the MS Web site or elsewhere that addresses full > backup & restore using NTBACKUP? My initial searches returned far too > many hits that were only peripherally related. > > I know that there are disk imaging products out there that supposedly > can do all this, but the reviews of most of them suggest that they're > something of a hit-or-miss proposition when it comes to restoration. >
From: Anteaus on 6 Sep 2009 03:08 To recover a system using ntbackup you first need to install a barebones copy of Windows, plus any drivers needed to access the storage media. In principle you can then restore the changes made since installation from the backup. That said, the original NT4 ntbackup worked resonably well, but the 2000/XP/2003/SBS version has very poor reliability. I'd trust it about as far as I could throw it. "Bert Hyman" wrote: > Before I go any farther, is it even possible to use NTBACKUP to create a > system backup that can be used to completely restore a system back to > its state at the time of the backup? >
From: Touch Base on 8 Sep 2009 08:50
"Bert Hyman" <bert(a)iphouse.com> wrote in message news:Xns9C7858647208CVeebleFetzer(a)207.46.248.16... Before I go any farther, is it even possible to use NTBACKUP to create a system backup that can be used to completely restore a system back to its state at the time of the backup? If so, in addition to selecting "System State" for backup, what else needs to be saved? How much of "Documents and Settings"? How much of the "\windows" directory? How about the files in the root directory of the system drive? Other files or directories? Again assuming it's possible, what's the proper restore procedure? I know I have to re-install XP before a restore of the backup is possible, but is there a shortcut form of install? Then, what state must the machine be in order to tolerate having much of its guts overwritten during the restore process? Is there something on the MS Web site or elsewhere that addresses full backup & restore using NTBACKUP? My initial searches returned far too many hits that were only peripherally related. I know that there are disk imaging products out there that supposedly can do all this, but the reviews of most of them suggest that they're something of a hit-or-miss proposition when it comes to restoration. -- Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN bert(a)iphouse.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Bert, Use a brand name imaging program such as Acronis. I have used it for several years and have used it to restore an image many times and it has not let me down yet. I do ask it to verify the image after it is made to be sure. If it is corrupted in any way the program will warn you. It takes longer to do it that way but you know the old cliche better safe than .... YMMV -- Regards, Touch Base Report back on the results, good or bad so others may benefit |