Bill,
re: XP & "Repair Disk"
<< Windows XP is very stable. Reboots, lockups, and other plagues which Windows users have known for years simply vanish when one joins the 21st century. >>
No question about it. It is a great, stable OS.
But ... not without some issues ...
<< The best way to move to XP is to buy a new machine with it preloaded. ... For those who insist on upgrading old hardware I recommend installing XP rather than upgrading whatever old version of Windows was on the machine. The few examples of XP instability I've heard of are either due to flakey hardware or else trying to upgrade an old version of Windows which has a damaged registry. >>
I have used XP Home on a 15 month old Dell Dimension 4100 (I opted to upgrade from SE rather than do a clean install) for a month, and recently took delivery of a Dell Dimension 8200 with XP Pre preinstalled.
I won't bore you with the whole story but I have managed to wind up with both systems unbootable (fortunately at different times).
The root of the problem in each case related to the installation of a USB cable driver (not certified by Microsoft ... but Laplink said '"trust us it works in our lab" <g>) for Laplink's PCSynch 3.0.
The systems are now recovered but in the case of the 8200 that "preinstallation" is now replaced with a fresh install on a formatted C: partition - and consequent reinstallation of a fair amount of software - and with thanks to the Redmond Gods "Windows Updates".
Woody Leonhard addresses an important XP issue related to this in this weeks "Woody's Windows XP" newsletter (clipped in its entirety below):
>> Repair Disk? What Repair Disk?
28 Jan 2002
Vol 2 No. 4
Woody's Windows XP
woodyswatch.com
I've seen so much confused information about Windows XP backup floating around the Web recently, it's no wonder that some folks get frustrated - even frustrated at me - for the truly awful state of affairs.
You're entitled to feel confused when even Microsoft can't get their story straight. Take the UPnP patch I talked about in last week issue. When you install that patch, you're advised to:
"update your System Repair Disk, backup your important data, and close all open programs."
Which would be all well and good if you had a System Repair Disk. Those of you running Windows XP don't.
You're an XP user. You don't have a System Repair Disk. Or an Emergency Repair Disk. Or an Emergency Boot Disk, a panic disk, a DOS disk, or anything of the sort. Windows XP doesn't do any of that any more.
The best that you can hope for - short of convincing your favorite network administrator to do all the heavy lifting - is to get Windows' Automated System Restore (ASR) Wizard to create a kinda-sorta bootable floppy disk. Even that isn't going to do much for you, unless you have Automated System Recovery set up and running reliably before your system goes belly-up. Which you can do, at least theoretically, if you have Windows XP/Pro (see the last section).
There's a discussion of the dilemma on the WOPR Lounge. (You do use the WOPR Lounge, don't you? Best source of accurate, quick answers to tough Office and Windows questions - and it's all-volunteer, all-free, all the time. But I digress.)
If you have Windows XP/Home, you can't even use Automated System Restore to bring your computer back up if, say, your main hard drive croaks. It's a real mess because Microsoft first refused to include any backup capability in XP/Home at all, then (shortly before the product shipped) changed its mind and included the ASR backup routine in XP/Home - but, uh, neglected to fully implement the restore part. Which means in XP/Home you can make backups till the cows come home, but if you ever need to restore from those backups, you're in for all sorts of fun 'n games.
I explain how all of this fits together in "Windows XP All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies", pages 201-2.
In next weeks Woody's WinXP I'll talk about what XP/Home users can do to get themselves safely backed up given the mess that Microsoft has given them.
What should you do to get backup and restore working in WinXP?
It depends.
If your computer is tethered to a Big Corporate Network, you're running XP/Pro, and you have a System Administrator who knows her stuff, you're home free: ASR is probably all configured and running like a top. You might not even know it. Click Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Backup and see what happens. If you get the Backup or Restore Wizard, keep reading.
If you're running XP/Pro and you don't have a network guru at your beck and call, you might want to consider using Automated System Recovery. It's a full-featured, Sherman tank approach to backup and restore which, once set up properly, runs like clockwork, and gives you every option you could imagine. Oh, and it's free, if you have XP/Pro.
Before you try to start the Wizard, though, it'd be worth your while to digest the contents of this MS Knowledge Base article on setting up backups, glance at this MS Knowledge Base article to see how to restore files should the occasion arise, then look up ASR in Windows Help and go from there. Be prepared to spend a few hours mulling over the details.
When you've got it set up, test it once, then test it again - with a full backup and restore. Round trip. Better to get the bad news while your machine is working.
As for me... I still take a snapshot of my hard drive every couple of weeks with PowerQuest's Drive Image, and copy my important data files daily with a point and a click. Hey, I'm just a crotchety old fool. What do I know? <<
I look forward to "next weeks Woody's WinXP" <g>
... in the interim I caution users to get familiar with backup an recovery, and plan a strategy for same.
Best,
- Eric - |
