back up data prior to pc restore

Question

Hello, Should I ever find it necessary to run a Dell PC Restore operation, how do I back up my data? I have a Dell Dimension 4700c running Windows XP SP/2. This machine doesn't seem to have any mechanism for the kind of back-up suggested prior to doing the pc restore. Thank You

osprey4 · Answer

The term 'back up' simply means you copy your important data somewhere. If you have a DVD-RW drive or DVD±RW drive, then just copy the files to blank discs. An second internal drive or an external hard drive is a very cheap way to do this as well. As long as you get your data off the system drive, you're safe to run PC Restore. Now, what data do you need? Documents, spreadsheets, e-mail (most e-mail programs have a backup feature), IE favorites, personalized application files, saved games, videos and pictures, etc. You get the idea. I try to keep all of these in as few locations as possible so it's easy to remember which folders to back up. Hope that helps.

osprey4 · Answer

One of the strange things about Windows XP is that its integrated backup utility cannot write to CDs. Even if it could, however, it's still a whole lot more convenient in my mind to copy the files to the CD so you can read them without restoring.

brunetto · Answer

Thank you, Osprey for the timely response.   Yes, the Dimension 4700c sports a nifty CD RW drive that works very well and I'm sure there'll be no problem copying the needed data to a disk. I had attempted to back up data previously by utilizing the back up wizard in the > all programs>accessories>system tools. Eventually the wizard requires transferring the data to some kind of floppy or other storage media. I wondered why there was no suggestion to use a CD. Additionally, I did complete the wizard but the file extension the data was saved to, .bk I think was not openable. Moreso, there was a huge amount of data and I couldn't see saving that amount to a simple 1.44 m floppy disk. I suppose my ancilliary curiosity involved why Dell included a back up wizard on a computer that could not utilize it.   Thank you again for your help.

Storage, Drives & Media

back up data prior to pc restore

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