Copy Windows folder to backup drive

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Swishbish33

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2005
Messages
177
Apologies if this question is too easy, but...

I'm curious if there is a free or cheap way to copy the Windows folder to a backup USB drive. I know there is Norton Ghost, Acronis, etc but from what I can tell it backs up the data into one lump file, and I only want to copy the folders as a 1:1 copy to a backup drive. I know I can't do this from within Windows, but is there another way?

BTW I'm running XP Home SP2.

Thanks!
 
No, there are too many files in use. You would need a separate app to do this for you. I'd suggest just backing up your data - forget the OS. That can be reinstalled and it gives you a chance to the load all the latest drivers. Bonus.
 
If you did copy over Windows to a USB drive, what would you do with it? You cant boot Windows from a USB drive, and there's not really a good way to put it back on an empty drive if you reloaded the system.

Yes, Ghost, Acronis TruImage, Drive Image, etc are your best bets. They will make an exact copy of your hard drive, either to another hard drive or to a compressed image file. (on a hard drive, DVD-R media or, if big enough, a USB flash drive)

Also look at XXCLONE or DRIVEIMAGE XML, both free.

Or, do as the previous poster said and just backup your My Documents folder. 95% of your important stuff is likely there.

Awol
 
if your intentions are for backing up your HDD, then you might want to BUY an imaging program. Acronis is on sale at overstock for like 15 dollars with shipping. You cant beat that. And its reliable. If you are just planning on just backing up your documents, i.e. music, pics and such, you can always just drag it to the other HDD. Thats free.
 
The whole purpose was to ease a reformat. My concern was mainly with configurations of programs. I already have my data on a separate hard drive from the OS for the exact reason I asked the question: don't have to copy it somewhere else if I want to reformat. I know some configs for programs are stored in the Application Data folder, and others are stored in the installation program of the individual program. I figured, copy everything over and, if I run into a problem after reformatting, I'd have everything on a separate drive that I could copy over. I was mainly doing it as a fail safe. Seems that TrueImage, etc might be the way to go. Thanks for your assistance everyone!
 
The problem is, is that it doesnt work that way. When you reformat, you also erase the master boot record which contains the location of the OS and then writes a new one without an os present, if im correct.Thats why you "install" an OS so it can write to the MBR about its location on the HDD. There are other files thats needed to get the OS running beside just the WINDOWS folder. Its not as easy as moving the folder in one location, and then placing it back if theres a problem. If that was the case we would never need Ghost or Acronis. Using an imaging program, it completely copies the HDD (MBR, hidden files, OS folder and all), so when you restore it, you have nothing esle to do or worry about.


My info might be kinda shaky, i havent taken A+ software in about a year, but i know im somewhere in the ballpark.
 
One more thing guys: Will True Image, Ghost, etc do file backups similar to SyncBack, or does it only backup to an image file?
 
yossarian said:
You might consider this if you have a Maxtor or Seagate drive. It's a FREE version of Acronis. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=39779
Click to expand...

I was going to mention Seagate discwizard as its a great piece of software and what I used personally to move my os from an ide drive right onto my sata drive in one fell swoop. It works for all drive brands and is free and can be downloaded from their website
 
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