Re: back up program on XP

From: Ken Blake, MVP (kblake_at_this.is.an.invalid.domain)
Date: 06/22/04


Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 10:48:36 -0700

In news:1fe1001c45880$3501b8e0$a501280a@phx.gbl,
bobnani@yahoo.com <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:

> Hi guys, I followed the path to find the XP backup
> program and it's not in system tools. Where do I go now?

XP Home?

Backup is installed automatically on XP Professional, but not on
XP Home. If you have the complete XP Home CD, find backup on the
CD, in \ValueAdd\MSFT\NTBACKUP and install it yourself by
doubleclicking the file ntbackup.msi.

If you don't have an XP CD, you can download ntbackup.msi at
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/software/ntbackup.msi

Also see http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894

> I need to reinstall my OS

Why do you want to do this? In my view, it's almost always a
mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to
reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows
3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, and
Windows XP, each for the period of time before the next version
came out, and each on two machines here. I never reinstalled any
of them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional
minor problem.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to
almost any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is
"reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them.
It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and it
doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You
have to restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all
your programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and
application updates,you have to locate and install all the needed
drivers for your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all
your apps to work the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome,
you may have trouble with some of them: can you find all your
application CDs? Can you find all the needed installation codes?
Do you have data backups to restore? Do you even remember all the
customizations and tweaks you may have installed to make
everything work the way you like?

Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and
far between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only
after all other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person
have failed.

If you have problems, post them here, it's likely that someone
can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.

-- 
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup
> so a backup of my important
> files is needed. My sincere thanks for whatever help you
> can extend.  Bob


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