mb died now how to get my hard drive data?

Well that is a good point. What ideally I would like, but am not sure
how to approach it, is to have a new Serial ATA Hard Drive with a back
up mirror drive. (Is that raid 0 or1?) But I wasn't sure if you had to
configure your machine for a raid configuration at the install state or
if you can add it later. Ideally, I'd like to maybe do what you
mentioned, install a newer hard drive, use my old drive as the back up
and later install a new back up drive with raid configuration. I
understand that in the raid config, the back up drive must be larger
than the boot main drive.

> However, if you are essentially building a new PC, why restrict yourself to
> old technology, meaning parallel ATA drives? Consider getting an SATA drive
> as you primary hard drive for XP and programs. Then, consider attaching the
> old drive as a place to store data. It should be readable by the new XP
> installation. As for transferring things like favorites, they can be
> copied&pasted, since they are nothing more than a collection of little
> files. Most OUTLOOK info exists in a few PST files, but I am not sure of
> exactly what you need to more to preserve the identity. If then old PC were
> working, then you could use XPs file and transfer wizard to handle such
> things.
>
> Another way to get files off of the old drive is to place it in a USB
> enclosure. These are fairly cheap and give fast acess via USB 2.0. This
> also avoids the potential problem of having two copies of XP on internal
> drives, which in theory could both be bootable. XP does not support booting
> from USB drives, so the old hard drive should not cause any such problem
> while in a USB enclosure.
>
> "Rae" <Raeka8 DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1166648260.879668.25650@t46g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> > My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual core
> > system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is how do i
> > get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard drive with
> > this new system?
> > I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
> > What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my boot
> > disk? Or is it even possible?
> >

DL wrote:
> If you are using raid mirror the hd's should ideally be the same size.
I thought I had read in the gigabyte manual somewhere that it should be
at least a little larger but I might have read it wrong.

Why is a mirror raid NOT a replacement for a backup? What is the best
way to have a complete backup that will allow you to keep going when
your system crashes or mb dies??

>
> A mirror raid is NOT a replacement for a backup

If the new motherboard supports the older parallel ATA drives, in addition
to the newer serial ATA drives, then in theory you could pop in the old
drive, do a repair of XP, and have the PC pretty much back where it was.

For information on doing a repair see the following links:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341



http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm



http://www.extremetech.com/print_article/0,3998,a=23979,00.asp



http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/Repair-Windows-XP-t138.html


As mentioned in one of the other replies, a repair is possible only if you
have a retail XP CD. If an OEM CD only a clean install is permitted.
Further, if OEM from a major brand (e.g., Dell, Gateway), then XP's product
activation will fail with a new motherboard. However, even if OEM and/or
major band, you can always buy a new retail copy of XP and use that for the
repair and then for the subsequent activation.

However, if you are essentially building a new PC, why restrict yourself to
old technology, meaning parallel ATA drives? Consider getting an SATA drive
as you primary hard drive for XP and programs. Then, consider attaching the
old drive as a place to store data. It should be readable by the new XP
installation. As for transferring things like favorites, they can be
copied&pasted, since they are nothing more than a collection of little
files. Most OUTLOOK info exists in a few PST files, but I am not sure of
exactly what you need to more to preserve the identity. If then old PC were
working, then you could use XPs file and transfer wizard to handle such
things.

Another way to get files off of the old drive is to place it in a USB
enclosure. These are fairly cheap and give fast acess via USB 2.0. This
also avoids the potential problem of having two copies of XP on internal
drives, which in theory could both be bootable. XP does not support booting
from USB drives, so the old hard drive should not cause any such problem
while in a USB enclosure.

"Rae" <Raeka8 RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1166648260.879668.25650@t46g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual core
> system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is how do i
> get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard drive with
> this new system?
> I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
> What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my boot
> disk? Or is it even possible?
>

"Bob Harris" <rharris270[SPAM]@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:OOFrLXIJHHA.960@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
(SNIP)
> As mentioned in one of the other replies, a repair is possible only if you
> have a retail XP CD. If an OEM CD only a clean install is permitted.
> Further, if OEM from a major brand (e.g., Dell, Gateway), then XP's
> product activation will fail with a new motherboard. However, even if OEM
> and/or major band, you can always buy a new retail copy of XP and use that
> for the repair and then for the subsequent activation.


Bob:
Just one clarification...

An XP installation OEM CD can be used to effect the Repair install as long
as it's a non-branded OEM XP installation CD and the XP OS being Repaired is
likewise a similar version that had been installed by a non-branded OEM XP
installation CD. A "retail" version of the XP OS is not needed under those
circumstances.

So in the usual scheme of things, if a user was undertaking a Repair install
of his or her XP OS that had been installed through a non-branded XP OEM CD,
the user could use his/her OEM CD (presumably the same one that was used to
install the OS in the first place) to undertake the Repair operation.
Anna

Rae wrote:

> Well that is a good point. What ideally I would like, but am not sure
> how to approach it, is to have a new Serial ATA Hard Drive with a back
> up mirror drive. (Is that raid 0 or1?)


You're thinking of Raid 1.

However RAID 1 (mirroring) is *not* a backup solution. RAID 1 uses two or
more drives, each a duplicate of the others, to provide redundancy. It's
used in situations (almost always within corporations, not in homes) where
any downtown can't be tolerated, because the way it works is that if one
drive fails the other takes over seamlessly. Although some people thing of
RAID 1 as a backup technique, that is *not* what it is, since it's subject
to simultaneous loss of the original and the mirror to many of the most
common dangers threatening your data--severe power glitches, nearby
lightning strikes, virus attackes, theft of the computer, etc.Most companies
that use RAID 1 also have a strong external backup plan in place.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup



> But I wasn't sure if you had to
> configure your machine for a raid configuration at the install state
> or if you can add it later. Ideally, I'd like to maybe do what you
> mentioned, install a newer hard drive, use my old drive as the back up
> and later install a new back up drive with raid configuration. I
> understand that in the raid config, the back up drive must be larger
> than the boot main drive.
>
>> However, if you are essentially building a new PC, why restrict
>> yourself to old technology, meaning parallel ATA drives? Consider
>> getting an SATA drive as you primary hard drive for XP and programs.
>> Then, consider attaching the old drive as a place to store data. It
>> should be readable by the new XP installation. As for transferring
>> things like favorites, they can be copied&pasted, since they are
>> nothing more than a collection of little files. Most OUTLOOK info
>> exists in a few PST files, but I am not sure of exactly what you
>> need to more to preserve the identity. If then old PC were working,
>> then you could use XPs file and transfer wizard to handle such
>> things.
>>
>> Another way to get files off of the old drive is to place it in a USB
>> enclosure. These are fairly cheap and give fast acess via USB 2.0.
>> This also avoids the potential problem of having two copies of XP on
>> internal drives, which in theory could both be bootable. XP does
>> not support booting from USB drives, so the old hard drive should
>> not cause any such problem while in a USB enclosure.
>>
>> "Rae" <Raeka8.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:1166648260.879668.25650@t46g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>> My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual
>>> core system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is
>>> how do i get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard
>>> drive with this new system?
>>> I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
>>> What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my boot
>>> disk? Or is it even possible?

"Rae" <Raeka8 DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote:

>My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual core
>system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is how do i
>get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard drive with
>this new system?
>I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
>What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my boot
>disk? Or is it even possible?

What version is your Windows XP? (not edition)

If it is a Retail version or a generic OEM version then you can do a
Repair Install of your Windows XP and keep your existing hard drive as
your boot disk. See
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.html for detailed
instructions. Note that if your Windows XP CD is the original
release or Service Pack 1 version and your installed XP has Service
Pack 2 then you will need to create a new installation CD with Service
Pack 2 slipstreamed into it.

If your Windows XP is an OEM version that came bundled with a
brand-name computer then it is very likely to be a BIOS Locked
version. BIOS Locked versions are self-activating when installed on a
computer with the motherboard BIOS from that specific OEM but cannot
be activated if the motherboard BIOS is from any other company. So
you may be in difficulties if you have this type of Windows XP and
your new motherboard did not come from the same company that
manufactured/assembled the computer originally.

Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca
Syberfix Remote Computer Repair

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

If you are using raid mirror the hd's should ideally be the same size.
If your working drive is, say, 80gb and you partner it with a 160gb only
80gb of the new hd will be used, and available.
(if its the otherway round you couldnt build the mirror)

It depends on your raid/sata controler as to whether you can build a raid
set from an allready functioning hd

A mirror raid is NOT a replacement for a backup

"Rae" <Raeka8.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1166658334.456700.218940@n67g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
> Well that is a good point. What ideally I would like, but am not sure
> how to approach it, is to have a new Serial ATA Hard Drive with a back
> up mirror drive. (Is that raid 0 or1?) But I wasn't sure if you had to
> configure your machine for a raid configuration at the install state or
> if you can add it later. Ideally, I'd like to maybe do what you
> mentioned, install a newer hard drive, use my old drive as the back up
> and later install a new back up drive with raid configuration. I
> understand that in the raid config, the back up drive must be larger
> than the boot main drive.
>
> > However, if you are essentially building a new PC, why restrict yourself
to
> > old technology, meaning parallel ATA drives? Consider getting an SATA
drive
> > as you primary hard drive for XP and programs. Then, consider attaching
the
> > old drive as a place to store data. It should be readable by the new XP
> > installation. As for transferring things like favorites, they can be
> > copied&pasted, since they are nothing more than a collection of little
> > files. Most OUTLOOK info exists in a few PST files, but I am not sure
of
> > exactly what you need to more to preserve the identity. If then old PC
were
> > working, then you could use XPs file and transfer wizard to handle such
> > things.
> >
> > Another way to get files off of the old drive is to place it in a USB
> > enclosure. These are fairly cheap and give fast acess via USB 2.0.
This
> > also avoids the potential problem of having two copies of XP on internal
> > drives, which in theory could both be bootable. XP does not support
booting
> > from USB drives, so the old hard drive should not cause any such problem
> > while in a USB enclosure.
> >
> > "Rae" <Raeka8.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> > news:1166648260.879668.25650@t46g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> > > My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual core
> > > system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is how do i
> > > get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard drive with
> > > this new system?
> > > I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
> > > What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my boot
> > > disk? Or is it even possible?
> > >
>

Thanks for the input.

So what is the best backup system to have in place? I know I can copy
things periodically and put them on a CD or even an external hard drive
(I guess) but how can you have an automatic duplicate of everything?

Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
> Rae wrote:
>
> > Well that is a good point. What ideally I would like, but am not sure
> > how to approach it, is to have a new Serial ATA Hard Drive with a back
> > up mirror drive. (Is that raid 0 or1?)
>
>
> You're thinking of Raid 1.
>
> However RAID 1 (mirroring) is *not* a backup solution. RAID 1 uses two or
> more drives, each a duplicate of the others, to provide redundancy. It's
> used in situations (almost always within corporations, not in homes) where
> any downtown can't be tolerated, because the way it works is that if one
> drive fails the other takes over seamlessly. Although some people thing of
> RAID 1 as a backup technique, that is *not* what it is, since it's subject
> to simultaneous loss of the original and the mirror to many of the most
> common dangers threatening your data--severe power glitches, nearby
> lightning strikes, virus attackes, theft of the computer, etc.Most companies
> that use RAID 1 also have a strong external backup plan in place.
>
> --
> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
> Please reply to the newsgroup
>
>
>
> > But I wasn't sure if you had to
> > configure your machine for a raid configuration at the install state
> > or if you can add it later. Ideally, I'd like to maybe do what you
> > mentioned, install a newer hard drive, use my old drive as the back up
> > and later install a new back up drive with raid configuration. I
> > understand that in the raid config, the back up drive must be larger
> > than the boot main drive.
> >
> >> However, if you are essentially building a new PC, why restrict
> >> yourself to old technology, meaning parallel ATA drives? Consider
> >> getting an SATA drive as you primary hard drive for XP and programs.
> >> Then, consider attaching the old drive as a place to store data. It
> >> should be readable by the new XP installation. As for transferring
> >> things like favorites, they can be copied&pasted, since they are
> >> nothing more than a collection of little files. Most OUTLOOK info
> >> exists in a few PST files, but I am not sure of exactly what you
> >> need to more to preserve the identity. If then old PC were working,
> >> then you could use XPs file and transfer wizard to handle such
> >> things.
> >>
> >> Another way to get files off of the old drive is to place it in a USB
> >> enclosure. These are fairly cheap and give fast acess via USB 2.0.
> >> This also avoids the potential problem of having two copies of XP on
> >> internal drives, which in theory could both be bootable. XP does
> >> not support booting from USB drives, so the old hard drive should
> >> not cause any such problem while in a USB enclosure.
> >>
> >> "Rae" <Raeka8.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> >> news:1166648260.879668.25650@t46g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> >>> My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual
> >>> core system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is
> >>> how do i get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard
> >>> drive with this new system?
> >>> I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
> >>> What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my boot
> >>> disk? Or is it even possible?

Rae wrote:

> Thanks for the input.


You're welcome. Glad to help.


> So what is the best backup system to have in place? I know I can copy
> things periodically and put them on a CD or even an external hard
> drive (I guess) but how can you have an automatic duplicate of
> everything?


The way to have an automatic duplication of everything is by using RAID 1.
However the point I was trying to make is that using RAID 1 for this is
fine, but *only* if you realize that it's not good enough be relied on as
backup. You should *also* have a separate backup scheme in place, which
stores backup on external media. Since real backups should be stored
externally, there's no way that you can have such a system in place with "an
automatic duplicate of everything."

Why do you think you need that "automatic duplicate of everything"? Although
I appreciate that it's more convenient, it's far less secure (and
unnecessary for most home users), which is why I recommend that you do *not*
do this, but instead put in place a system of periodically backing up to
external media.

What is "the best backup system to have in place"? There's no simple answer
to that which is right for everybody, but here's my standard blurb on
backup, which you might find helpful in making your own choices:

First of all, almost everyone should be backing up regularly. It is always
possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby lightning strike, virus
attack, even theft of the computer, can cause the loss of everything on your
drive. As has often been said, it's not a matter of whether you will have
such a problem, but when.

Essentially you should back up what you can't afford to lose--what you can't
readily recreate. What that is depends on how you use your computer and what
you use it for.

It takes time and effort to backup, but it also takes time and effort to
recreate lost data. If you back up daily, you should never have to recreate
more than one day's worth of last data. If weekly, there's potentially a lot
more to recreate. You should assess how much pain and trouble you would have
if you lost x days of data, and then choose a backup frequency that doesn't
involve more pain and trouble than that you would have if you had to
recreate what was lost.

Some things (photographs, for instance) can never be recreated, and more
frequent backup may be wanted for them.

At one extreme is the professional user who would likely go out of business
if his data was lost. He probably needs to back up at least daily. At the
other extreme is the kid who doesn't use his computer except to play games.
He probably needs no backup at all, since worst case he can easily reinstall
his games.

Most of us fall somewhere between those extremes, but nobody can tell you
where you fall; you need to determine that for yourself.

Should you back up Windows? Should you back up your applications? Most
people will tell you no, since you can always reinstall these easily from
the original media. But I don't think the answer is so clear-cut. Many
people have substantial time and effort invested in customizing Windows and
configuring their apps to work the way they want to. Putting all of that
back the way it was can be a difficult, time-consuming effort. Whether you
should backup up Windows and apps depends, once again, on you.

How to backup? What software to use? There are many choices, including the
Windows-supplied backup program. Which choice is best for you depends at
least in part on the answers to some of the questions above.

Finally what backup media should you choose, and how should it be stored?
There are many choices, including CDs, tape, zip drives, and second hard
drives.

I don't recommend backup to a second non-removable hard drive because it
leaves you susceptible to simultaneous loss of the original and backup to
many of the most common dangers: severe power glitches, nearby lightning
strikes, virus attacks, even theft of the computer.

In my view, secure backup needs to be on removable media, and not kept in
the computer. For really secure backup (needed, for example, if the life of
your business depends on your data) you should have multiple generations of
backup, and at least one of those generations should be stored off-site.

My computer isn't used for business, but my personal backup scheme uses two
identical removable hard drives. I alternate between the two, and use
Acronis True Image to make a complete copy of the primary drive.

I also use a pair of 1GB thumb drives for making more frequent backups of my
most critical data (like financial information). For that I just drag and
drop.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup




> Ken Blake, MVP wrote:
>> Rae wrote:
>>
>>> Well that is a good point. What ideally I would like, but am not
>>> sure how to approach it, is to have a new Serial ATA Hard Drive
>>> with a back up mirror drive. (Is that raid 0 or1?)
>>
>>
>> You're thinking of Raid 1.
>>
>> However RAID 1 (mirroring) is *not* a backup solution. RAID 1 uses
>> two or more drives, each a duplicate of the others, to provide
>> redundancy. It's used in situations (almost always within
>> corporations, not in homes) where any downtown can't be tolerated,
>> because the way it works is that if one drive fails the other takes
>> over seamlessly. Although some people thing of RAID 1 as a backup
>> technique, that is *not* what it is, since it's subject to
>> simultaneous loss of the original and the mirror to many of the most
>> common dangers threatening your data--severe power glitches, nearby
>> lightning strikes, virus attackes, theft of the computer, etc.Most
>> companies that use RAID 1 also have a strong external backup plan in
>> place.
>>
>> --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>> Please reply to the newsgroup
>>
>>
>>
>>> But I wasn't sure if you had to
>>> configure your machine for a raid configuration at the install state
>>> or if you can add it later. Ideally, I'd like to maybe do what you
>>> mentioned, install a newer hard drive, use my old drive as the back
>>> up and later install a new back up drive with raid configuration. I
>>> understand that in the raid config, the back up drive must be larger
>>> than the boot main drive.
>>>
>>>> However, if you are essentially building a new PC, why restrict
>>>> yourself to old technology, meaning parallel ATA drives? Consider
>>>> getting an SATA drive as you primary hard drive for XP and
>>>> programs. Then, consider attaching the old drive as a place to
>>>> store data. It should be readable by the new XP installation. As
>>>> for transferring things like favorites, they can be copied&pasted,
>>>> since they are nothing more than a collection of little files.
>>>> Most OUTLOOK info exists in a few PST files, but I am not sure of
>>>> exactly what you need to more to preserve the identity. If then
>>>> old PC were working, then you could use XPs file and transfer
>>>> wizard to handle such things.
>>>>
>>>> Another way to get files off of the old drive is to place it in a
>>>> USB enclosure. These are fairly cheap and give fast acess via USB
>>>> 2.0. This also avoids the potential problem of having two copies
>>>> of XP on internal drives, which in theory could both be bootable.
>>>> XP does not support booting from USB drives, so the old hard drive
>>>> should not cause any such problem while in a USB enclosure.
>>>>
>>>> "Rae" <Raeka8.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:1166648260.879668.25650@t46g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>>>>> My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual
>>>>> core system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is
>>>>> how do i get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard
>>>>> drive with this new system?
>>>>> I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
>>>>> What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my
>>>>> boot disk? Or is it even possible?

"Rae" <Raeka8 RemoveThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1166720503.349685.37300@42g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...
> Thanks for the input.
>
> So what is the best backup system to have in place? I know I can copy
> things periodically and put them on a CD or even an external hard drive
> (I guess) but how can you have an automatic duplicate of everything?

>> >> "Rae" wrote in a previous message...
>> >> news:1166648260.879668.25650@t46g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>> >>> My motherboard and/or processor. So now I'm building an AM2 dual
>> >>> core system. My pata seagate hard drive is fine. Question now, is
>> >>> how do i get that back? I imagine I have to start with a new hard
>> >>> drive with this new system?
>> >>> I want all my data including my outlook, favorite places, etc.
>> >>> What is best way to be able to use my existing hard drive as my boot
>> >>> disk? Or is it even possible?


Rae:
As you have heard from Ken Blake, a RAID configuration is generally not
considered the best type of backup system for most users for the reasons he
stated. In terms of establishing & maintaining a comprehensive backup &
recovery system you might want to give serious consideration to employing a
disk imaging program such as the popular Acronis True Image program.

The great advantage of using a disk imaging program is that it is
comprehensive in scope. Not only is the program capable of backing up your
user-created data, but it will back up your operating system and all your
programs & applications. In other words, your entire system is backed up. So
if & when the time comes when your day-to-day working HDD fails or your
system becomes dysfunctional because of corrupted data and fails to boot,
it's a comfort to know that you can restore your system to its previous
functional state without undue effort.

Using a disk imaging program such as the Acronis one for backup & recovery
is straightforward, reasonably simple and not terribly time-consuming. I
recently posted some step-by-step instructions for using that program to
this newsgroup. If you're interested take a look at them...

(BTW, Acronis has a 15-day trial version available at
http://www.acronis.com)

Step-by-Step Instructions for Using the Acronis True Image Program to Backup
& Restore One's Hard Drive...

Using the Acronis True Image program there are two different approaches one
can take to back up the entire contents of one's day-to-day working HDD,
i.e., the operating system, all programs & applications, and user-created
data - in short, *everything* that's on one's HDD...

1. Direct disk-to-disk cloning, or,
2. Creating disk images

By using either of these strategies the user can restore his or her system
should their day-to-day working HDD become inoperable because of
mechanical/electronic failure of the disk or corruption of the system
resulting in a dysfunctional operating system.

In undertaking either of these two backup & recovery processes you're
dealing with two hard drives - the so-called source & destination disks -
the source disk being the HDD you're backing up and the destination disk
being the HDD that will be the recipient of the cloned contents of the
source disk or the recipient of the disk image you will be creating.

When using either process it's usually best for most users to use an
external HDD as the destination drive, i.e., the recipient of the cloned
contents of the source disk or the recipient of the created disk image. This
can be either a USB or Firewire or SATA external HDD. While another internal
HDD can also serve as the destination disk there's an additional element of
safety in using an external HDD since that drive will be ordinarily
disconnected from the system except during the disk cloning or recovery
process.

One other suggestion. After you install the Acronis program on your computer
it's a good idea to create what Acronis calls their "Bootable Rescue Media"
(CD). In most cases the recovery process (described below) will utilize that
Acronis bootable CD to restore your system. This "rescue" CD is easily
created from the program by clicking on the "Create Bootable Rescue Media"
icon on the opening Acronis screen and simply going through the screens to
create the bootable CD. The following are step-by-step instructions for
using the Acronis True Image 9 program to clone the contents of one HDD to
an external HDD. (The steps are essentially the same using the newer ATI 10
version):

1. With both hard drives (source & destination disks) connected, boot up.
Ensure that no other storage devices, e.g., flash drives, ZIP drives, etc.,
are connected. It's also probably a good idea to shut down any programs you
may have working in the background - including any anti-virus anti-spyware
programs - before undertaking this disk-to-disk cloning operation.

2. Access the Acronis True Image 9 program and under "Pick a Task", click
on "Clone Disk". (In the ATI 10 version click on "Manage Hard Disks" in the
"Pick a Tool" area and on the next screen click on "Clone Disk").

3. On the next "Welcome to the Disk Clone Wizard!" window, click Next.

4. On the next "Clone Mode" window select the Automatic option (it should
be the default option selected) and click Next.

5. On the next "Source Hard Disk" window, ensure that the correct source
HDD (the disk you're cloning from) has been selected (click to highlight).
Click Next.

6. On the next "Destination Hard Disk" window, ensure that the correct
destination HDD (the disk you're cloning to) has been selected (again, click
to highlight). Click Next.

7. On the next window, select the option "Delete partitions on the
destination hard disk". Understand that all data presently on the disk that
will be the recipient of the clone will be deleted prior to the disk cloning
operation. Click Next.

8. The next window will reflect the source and destination disks. Again,
confirm that the correct drives have been selected. Click Next. 9. On the
next window click on the Proceed button. A message box will display
indicating that a reboot will be required to undertake the disk cloning
operation. Click Reboot.

10. The cloning operation will proceed during the reboot. With modern
components and a medium to high-powered processor, data transfer rate will
be somewhere in the range of about 450 MB/min to 800 MB/min when cloning to
a USB external HDD; considerably faster when cloning to another internal
HDD.

11. When the cloning operation has been completed, a message will appear
indicating the disk cloning process has been successful and instructs you to
shut down the computer by pressing any key. Do so and disconnect your USB
external HDD.

If, however, the destination drive has been another *internal* HDD, see the
NOTE below.

12. Note that the cloned contents now residing on the USB external HDD take
on the file system of the source drive. For example, if prior to the
disk-cloning operation your USB external HDD had been FAT32-formatted and
your XP OS was NTFS-formatted, the cloned contents will be NTFS-formatted.
There is no need to format the USB external HDD prior to the disk-cloning
operation. Similarly, there is no need prior to the disk-cloning operation
to format an internal HDD should you be using an internal HDD as the
destination drive .

13. Restoration of the system can be achieved by cloning the contents of the
data residing on the external HDD to an internal HDD through the normal
disk-cloning process as described above.

NOTE: Just one other point that should be emphasized with respect to the
disk cloning operation should the recipient of the clone be another internal
HDD and not a USB or Firewire external HDD. Immediately following the disk
cloning operation the machine should be shutdown and the source HDD should
be disconnected. Boot ONLY to the newly-cloned drive. DO NOT BOOT
IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE CLONING OPERATION WITH BOTH DRIVES CONNECTED.
There's a strong possibility that by doing so it is likely to cause future
boot problems with the cloned drive. Obviously there is no problem in this
area should a USB or Firewire EHD be the recipient of the clone since that
device is not ordinarily bootable in an XP environment.


Disk imaging:
The following are step-by-step instructions for using the Acronis True Image
9 Program to create disk images for backup purposes and using those disk
images for recovery of the system. (The steps are essentially the same using
the newer ATI 10 version):

Note: The recipient of the disk image, presumably a USB external HDD or an
internal HDD, ordinarily must be a formatted drive and have a drive letter
assigned to it. Recall that in the case of a disk-to-disk cloning operation
as previously described, an unformatted or "virgin" HD can be used as the
destination disk.

Before undertaking this disk imaging process it's probably best to close all
programs running in the background including your anti-virus and other
anti-malware programs.

1. With both your source and destination hard drives connected, access the
Acronis program and click "Backup" on main menu.

2. The "Create Backup Wizard" screen opens. Click Next.

3. "Select Backup Type" screen opens with two options:
a. The entire disk contents or individual partitions.
b. Files and folders.
Select a. and click Next.

(In the ATI 10 version four options will be listed: My Computer, My Data, My
Application Settings, and My E-mail. Select the My Computer option and click
Next.)

4. The "Partitions Selection" screen opens. Disk 1 and Disk 2 are listed
with their drive letter designations. Check the disk to be backed up -
presumably Disk 1 - and click Next.

5. An informational message appears recommending an incremental or
differential backup if original full backup had previously been created.
Since this will be the first backup we will be selecting, just click OK to
close the message box.

6. Next screen is the "Backup Archive Location". In the "File name:" text
box, (in ATI 10 version it's the "Folder:" text box) enter your backup drive
letter and enter a file name for the backup file, e.g., "F:\Backup 12-22".
The Acronis program will automatically append the ".tib" file extension to
the filename. Click Next.

7. "Select Backup Mode" screen opens. Select "Create a new full backup
archive" option and click Next.

8. "Choose Backup Options" screen opens with two options:
a. Use default options
b. Set the options manually

If you select the b. option, you can select various options listed on the
next screen. Two of them are of interest to us:

Compression level - Four options - None, Normal (the default), High,
Maximum.

There's a "Description" area that shows the estimated size of the backup
archive depending upon the option chosen, and the estimated "creation time"
for each option.

(In this example, the actual size of the data to be backed up is 20 GB).
None - 20 GB and estimated creation time of 1 hr 40 min
Normal - 11.96 GB " " " " 50 min (Default)
High - 10.46 GB " " " " 1 hr
Maximum - 10.2 GB " " " " 1 hr

Backup priority - Three options - Low, Normal, or High
Low - "backup processed more slowly, but it will not influence other
processes running on computer." (Default)
Normal - "normal speed but backup process will influence other processes
running on computer."
High - "normal speed but backup process will strongly influence other
processes running on computer."

(As an example, I selected Normal (default) compression level and High
backup priority. The backup archive totaled 15.8 GB compressed from 20 GB;
took 16 min 15 sec to create. Creating a disk-to-disk clone would probably
have taken no longer and possibly a bit faster.)

NOTE: You can set the defaults from the Acronis Tools > Options > Default
backup options menu items.

9. "Archive comments" screen opens allowing you to add comments to the
backup archive which you can review during the Recovery process. Click Next.

10. The next screen summarizes the backup operation to be performed. Review
the information for correctness and click the Proceed button.

11. The next screen will display status bars reflecting the progress of the
backup operation. After the backup operation finishes, an informational
message will appear indicting the operation was successfully completed.


Incremental Backups (Disk Images)
1. After the initial backup archive has been created you can create
incremental backups reflecting any data changes since the previous backup
operation. This incremental backup process proceeds considerably faster than
the initial backup operation. This, of course, is a major advantage of
creating disk images rather than undertaking the disk-to-disk cloning
process. Then too, since these created disk images are compressed files they
are reasonable in size. And because the incremental disk images can usually
be created very quickly (as compared with the direct disk-to-disk cloning
process), there's an incentive for the user to keep his/her system
up-to-date backup-wise by using this disk imaging process on a more frequent
basis than the disk-cloning process.

Note that you must create the incremental backup files on the same HDD where
you stored the original backup archive and any subsequent incremental backup
files.

2. Access the Acronis program as detailed above and move through the
screens. When you arrive at the "Backup Archive Location" screen, click on
the original backup archive file, or if one or more incremental backup files
were previously created, click on the last incremental backup file and
verify that the correct drive letter and file name are shown in the "File
name:" text box. After clicking Next, the program will automatically create
a file name for the incremental backup archive file, using the original file
name and appending a consecutive number - starting at 2 - at the end of the
file name. For example, say you named the original backup archive file
"Backup 12-22". The first incremental backup file will be automatically
named "Backup 12-222" and the next incremental file "Backup 12-223", etc.

3. On the following "Select Backup Mode" screen, select the "Create
incremental backup" option, click Next, and proceed through the screens as
you did in creating the initial backup archive.


Recovery Process (Disk images)
We'll assume the recovery will be to either a non-defective HDD that has
become unbootable for one reason or another, or to a new HDD. The HDD to be
restored need not be partitioned/formatted since the recovery process will
take care of that function.

Note that in most cases you will be using the Acronis "bootable rescue
media" (CD) that you created when you originally installed the Acronis
program. If you didn't create that bootable CD at that time, you can create
it now from the Acronis program (assuming you can access the program at this
time) by clicking on the "Create Bootable Rescue Media" icon on the opening
Acronis screen and simply going through the screens to create the bootable
CD.

Note: If the recovery will be made to a HDD that is still bootable and
you're able to access the Acronis program on that drive, then you can
undertake the recovery process without the need for using the "bootable
rescue" CD.

1. With both the drive containing the backup disk images and the drive you
want to restore connected and with the bootable rescue CD inserted, boot up.

2. At the opening screen, click on "Acronis True Image Home (Full Version)".

3. The program will open after some moments. On the "Pick a Task" screen
that opens, click on "Recovery".

4. The "Welcome to the Restore Data Wizard!" screen opens. Click on Next.

5. The "Archive Selection" screen opens. Navigate to the drive containing
the backup archive file(s) and select the last incremental backup file or
the original full backup file if no incremental backup files were
subsequently created. Ensure that the correct drive letter and filename are
entered in the "File name:" text box. Click Next.

6. In the Acronis version 9 program, the "Archive Date Selection" screen
opens. Select (highlight) the last incremental backup file from the listing
and click Next. This screen does not appear in version 10.

7. The "Restoration Type Selection" screen opens. Select the option,
"Restore disks or partitions" and click Next.

8. The "Partition or Disk to Restore" will open. Click on "Disk 1" and click
Next.

9. After some moments the "Restored Hard Disk Drive Location" screen opens.
Select (highlight) the HDD to be restored and click Next.

10. On the next screen select the "Yes" option to delete all current
partitions on the destination HDD. Click Next.

11. On the next screen select the "No" option and click Next.

12. On the next screen you have the option to validate the backup archive
before restoration. Click Next.

13. The final screen before the restoration operation begins will open.
Confirm that the information as shown is correct. Click Proceed.

14. Click OK when following completion of the recovery operation a message
appears indicating a successful recovery operation.

15. Remove the Acronis bootable rescue CD and close the Acronis program. The
system will reboot. A Windows "Found New Hardware" message followed by the
"System Settings Change" message box may appear on the Desktop. If they do,
click Yes for a reboot.

Note: While the Acronis program is not designed to clone individual
partitions - it can clone only the entire contents of one HDD to another
HDD - you can backup & recover individual partitions through the disk
imaging process as described above.
Anna