How To Back Up Windows XP

Just like life, death and taxes, data loss is an unavoidable fact of life, which is why just about everyone who uses Windows will want to know how to back up Windows XP. Even the best antivirus programs, firewalls and spyware blockers in the world can't protect you from power outages and the very bugs that are inherent in all operating systems, which can come out of nowhere to gobble up all your important information and leave you with irreparable losses. Knowing how to back up Windows XP can mean the difference between spending a few annoying minutes to recover your data, and having to recover years of lost work from scratch.

You'll need the following tools to help you back up Windows XP:

• An extra hard drive

• Backup software

• Blank DVDs

1. Format your extra hard drive. Attach an extra hard drive that you won't be using for anything else except backups, then format the drive to make sure that it is in good condition. It is advised that your extra hard drive be an external drive, using either an eSata, USB or Firewire interface.

2. Use a backup program to back up your entire Windows partition. Your first backup should include the entire partition where Windows XP is installed - in almost all cases, the entire C: drive. Some programs allow you to back up Windows XP while you're in Windows, while others require that you boot up into a special operating system. The reason for the latter option is that it is safer to back up Windows XP when it is not actually running. Each program has its own instructions on how to manage and complete the backup process.

3. Store the hard drive in a safe place. Once the backup process is complete, you will want to shut the computer down. After that, you can remove the backup hard drive. It is best to store it at room temperature in a place where it won't fall or be knocked over, and where it won't collect dust. Be sure to mark your hard drive as a backup.

4. Consider incremental backups. You may want to backup new files to blank DVDs after this first backup.

Using data compression during the backup process is an attractive option for conserving space. However, any corruption of data that might occur in the backup would do much greater damage to the archive, and might even render the entire backup useless.

Resources:

Hard drive backup