How To: Backup Windows XP in easy steps

What would you do if your system won’t boot up the next time you start it? What if your hard disk crashes the next instance and goes into a state beyond repair? Did you ever take a backup to recover data from or do you have a backup plan in place?

Most of us do not have critical data on our personal systems and hence no need to think about backing up data [really ?]. But many others have important information on their system and they do need a data backup plan in place to recover from unexpected failures. Here are simple and easy steps that will ensure you a backup in case of a disaster.

Backup Software

Did you know Windows XP has a built in backup software? If you are using Windows XP Pro edition, click on start->run and type ntbackup and then click OK. If you are on Windows XP Home edition, then locate the installer, Ntbackup.msi in ValueAdd\Msft\Ntbackup folder of your OS CD.

Backup Procedure

1. After the Backup or Restore wizard is open, click on the option ‘Let me choose what to back up‘.

2. Then select the folders that you would like to backup.

3. After you have selected the folders that you want to back, select a location to save the backup to. Recommended locations to back up your data are network drives, separate partitions, zip or USB drives. You can store it online drives too. Click next to begin back up immediately.

4. When you are done, instead of clicking out of the program, click on Advanced button, and click through the screen till you see the screen ‘When to Back Up‘. Choose Later, and then click Set Schedule to open the Schedule Job dialog box. Schedule the job on daily, weekly or monthly basis depending on your requirement. Create a back up schedule and ensure that you stick to it and take regular backups.

Having a back up plan is an important step that we must not avoid. We may not be able to predict disasters and when it happens, we must have back up to recover from.