Thanks for all your responses, so far it seems like this CasperXP thing may be the way to go as far as simplicity. I don't want to mess around with anything to complicated, it appears its website stresses the hassle free nature of the product.
Casper IS very easy... but you don't REALLY have backup unless you have something which is external to your computer... and perhaps, even external to your location....(possibility of fire or theft, you know...) ANY kind of backup is better than none (even WinXP System Restore), but some are more robust.
Yeah, I was reading further on their site and found this.. Does Casper support disk cloning for the purpose of duplicating a hard disk for use on another machine? No. Casper is not designed to duplicate a hard disk for use on another machine. If you wish to clone a volume or disk for use on another machine, run Microsoft's Sysprep utility first. For more information about this utility for Windows 2000, click here. For Windows XP, see How to Use Sysprep. So Idk, more confusion. I'm looking for REAL back up solution.
In fact the solution is very simple: buy 2 identical computers. If you make an image of 1 PC you can install this image without any problem on the second one as they have identical hardware.
There are degrees of backup. The least robust is to rely upon System Restore. The most robust is to have copies of valuable data off site.
Win XP Pro has a backup utility. It could be as simple as run that once per day and upload it offsite. While this would not be real time, it would be effective. Usually a fire, theft, etc. happens while you are not there; if you were there when an event happens you can grab the drive (system) and run out the door if its that important.
Thats only of any use for saving the odd non-system file that you change. The problem is that when things go bad you can't restore your disk from that backup. I have 3 different operating systems (and different stages of program population) sitting on a spare hard drive and also on dvds at a friends place 20 k away. I can get back to trading in under half and hour and even if the house was washed away could buy a new computer and update from the offsite disks the next day. (As if that would be my major concern :eek: )
$200 on ebay - 1 TERABYTE http://www.maxtor.com/en/external-drives/backup-and-storage-devices/ Description The Maxtor® OneTouch® 4 Plus solution is a full-featured backup and storage solution with Maxtor SafetyDrill⢠for complete recovery of a hard driveâs contents in case of a system crash or virus/spyware attack*. With two levels of data security and capacities up to 1 TB, users can confidently back up or sync work and home computers. Portable Performance and Security Provide a safe haven for your entire working environment. Donât back up and protect just your files anymore. System crashes and virus attacks can happen, and itâs difficult to get your computer back to just the way you like it. To prepare, should the unfortunate happen, Maxtor SafetyDrill automatically creates a snapshot of the entire contents of your PCâs hard drive which can be readily booted for an easy and complete recovery. With this elegantly simple full-featured backup solution, Maxtorâs software makes automated backup scheduling, specific file restoration, sync, security, drive and power management a snap. To safeguard against unauthorized use, Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus comes with both data encryption and Maxtor DrivePass. To top it off, with up to 1 TB you have more than enough room for your important documents, videos, photos, graphics, and music in one safe, convenient location â over 16,660 hours of digital music or 320,000 digital photos or 1000 hours of digital video or 250 two-hour DVD quality movies or 500 games. Itâs easy to install â just plug the external drive into an available USB or FireWire port on your PC or Mac, run the preloaded software, and presto youâre good to go. The sleek and slim design of this hard drive--only measures 6.75 x 2.50 x 6.00-inches (H x D x W). The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus lets you transfer files seamlessly from your computer via its USB 2.0 connection at a brisk transfer rate of up to 480Mb/sec. The drive delivers a spindle speed of 7,200 RPM, giving you the high-speed performance you need to back your data up quickly and safely. At this compact size, and with this high performance, you now have the ability to take your data with you anywhere you go, so your digital content finally has room to breathe. A five-year warranty is also included, giving you complete peace of mind.
Just bought a terabyte of usb2 backup for under A$200. FWIW. If you haven't got disk imaging software yet you don't need to spend money on ghost or true image. Google Macrium Reflect. The free version will do everything that most traders require (save image, explore image, recover image including the boot image).
For disk cloning, I am using "driveimage xml". It is free. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTEnKA7tOXM