04. Windows Complete PC Backup
Windows Complete PC Backup is a completely new addition to
Windows Vista, but is only available in Windows Vista Business,
Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. This option is not available in
Home Basic or Home Premium editions.
The object of Complete PC Backup is to completely image your
hard drive, including operating system, installed programs,
settings and data files, so that you have an adequate backup just
in case of a fatal system failure.
While the compression ratio in Complete PC Backup is somewhat
lower than, say, Acronis True Image or other imaging applications,
Complete PC Backup is, as I've said, free with Windows Vista
Business, Enterprise and Ultimate and is well worth making use of.
Like most imaging software Complete PC Backup is wizard based,
so you should have no problem creating an image of your current
hard drive.
To start the imaging process just Click the Start button
followed by All Programs then navigate to Accessories, System
Tools and, finally, Click on the Backup Status and Configuration
option (see fig:4-1)
Fig: 4-1 Start Menu
The Backup Status and Configuration window will now open. On
the left of the window you will see three options:
- Back Up Files
- Restore Files
- Complete PC Back Up
Click on the Complete PC Backup option (fig:2)
Fig: 4-2 Click the Complete PC Backup option to start the backup
wizard
After Clicking the Complete PC Backup option another window
will appear. This is the start of the Complete PC Backup wizard.
To get the whole process started, Click on the Create a back up
now option (fig:3)
Fig: 4-3 You need to click the Create a backup now option to
start the backup process
Once you have Clicked on the Create a back up now option
another window will appear. This asks Where do you want to save
the backup. At first you will not be able to do anything within
this window as the application will be busy trying to locate any
backup devices (fig:4-4)
Fig: 4-4 Looking for back up devices
After Complete PC Backup has searched for all available back up
devices, you will be able to choose which device to back up to. As
you can see from figure 4-5 you have the following options:
- On a hard drive
- On one or more DVDs
Fig: 4-5 Select where you want to save your back up
From the above window, select the destination for your hard
drive back up. If you have more than one hard drive, you can
select the drive you want to back up to by clicking the arrow to
the right of the on hard disk dialogue box. (see fig: 4-6)
Fig: 4-6 Click the arrow to the right of the dialogue box to see
further back up sources available on your PC
As well as showing any additional hard drives the screen, shown
in figure 4-6, will also display any available partitions on that
hard drive.
If you don't wish to use your hard drive or a removable hard
drive for storing the back up copy of your system, you can choose
to have the data copied to DVDs instead.
How many DVDs you will require will, ultimately, depend upon
the amount of information that has to be imaged. Complete PC
Backup will indicate and approximate amount of DVDs need to
accomplish the task. Like most things in life, though, the
required DVDs will only be an 'approximation,' so make sure you
have some spare DVDs to hand, just in case. You should also ensure
that you number each DVD as they are created. Failure to do so
could result in you not being able to insert the DVDs in the
correct sequence when you eventually need to restore your system.
Fig: 4-7 Select the disk(s) you want to image
Once you have decided upon the destination for your back up you
then get to choose which disk(s) you would like to create a backup
of (fig:4-7). You select the disk(s) you want to image by placing a
check mark in the box to the left of the relevant disk(s)
information.
After selecting the disk(s) you wish to image you will need to
confirm your backup settings (fig:4-8)
Fig: 4-8 Confirm your back up settings
After you have checked that your back up settings are correct,
Click the Start backup button.
The back up process will now begin. How long this will take
will depend upon how much data has to be transferred. You can
monitor the progress of the back up by checking the progress bar
(fig:4-9)
Fig: 4-9 Back up progress bar
If it becomes necessary to stop the back up at any stage,
simply click the Stop backup button and the back up will not
continue.
Fig: 4-10 Back up completed successfully
As soon as the back up has completed you will see the backup
completed successfully window. Your back up has now finished. All
you need do now is click the Close button and finally close down
the Complete PC Backup application.
Your back up data is important so make sure you store it
safely. This is particularly true if you back up to a removable
hard drive or a set of DVDs.
To restore your back up you will need to use the System
recovery options menu available on the Vista DVD. If you do not
have the Vista DVD, for example your PC came pre-installed with
Vista, then the PC manufacturer should have made provisions to
access the system recovery options via a menu at start up. For
more details on how to access the System recovery options when
your copy of Vista came pre-installed, see your computer's user
guide.