Rescue The Drowning PC - Backing Up Your Hard Drive

Rescue The Drowning PC - Backing Up Your Hard Drive

It is probably not necessary to back up your whole hard disk to floppy diskettes or CDs; certainly it is expensive and time-consuming. However, if you've lost the installation disks, you will need to back up those programs. You can make disk copies of your installation disks using the Copy Disk command in My Computer, if your programs came on floppies. The best advice for CD-ROM programs is not to lose them, as you often can't make functional copies of them.

There are three basic types of backups. Here's the list, with an explanation of their pros and cons:

Full. The most complete, and probably the easiest to use in the restoration process. Pretty much every file, folder, directory, and doodad on your hard drive is copied to disk (or tape, or whatever you're using). Can take an extremely long time.
Incremental. This backup only records changes made to files since their last backup. Usually making an incremental backup takes a short time -- over your lunch hour, say. The problem is that you must first make a full backup, and when you restore the files, you need to restore from the full backup and then from the incrementals. Keeping track of what was backed up when can also be troublesome. Commercial and power users might do a full backup once a week and a daily incremental backup, thus giving themselves seven days' worth of incrementals on seven separate disks.
Differential. With a differential backup, you're splitting the difference between the first two: basically, you keep a full backup and a single incremental backup, copying the new incremental over the old one. This choice is probably the best for the home user and the smaller business user who doesn't need to keep such time- (and labor-) intensive backups.

Of course, the easiest thing to do is to just do a full backup once every whenever and keep backup copies of important documents and files as you go. This may not provide full protection against system crashes, but it's a lot easier for the average home user.

For preloaded or "bundled" programs, how you back these up depends on your setup. If they came on a "master CD," use that to reload these programs if necessary. If they came on floppies, copy the floppies to be safe. If you have neither, you have a stingy provider, but hopefully there is a way to create "master diskettes." Check the computer's documentation. If this proves to be a problem, visit your dealer and ask for a utility to create master diskettes that really works. If your dealer balks, insist that they give you original diskettes as backups. Stand your ground; you need these.

You should make backup copies of any driver diskettes that came with your printer, your CD-ROM drive, your video or sound card, your monitor, or whatever.

Here are some good general tips for disk backup:

Keep a written log of your backups -- dates, time, what was and wasn't included.

Both MSBackup and WinZip (or other compression utilities) can be used to compress files and save space. This includes executable programs.

Some people back their data up faithfully and completely -- on the same hard disk. Don't be a chump. Save your data to a different disk or disks -- CD-RW, ZIP, a second hard drive, even floppies. Note: often programs that burn CDs automatically set the read-only attribute to copied files, so you'll need to reset that attribute. The easiest way is to start by booting your system from the startup floppy. If your startup disk includes ATTRIB.EXE, as it ought to, then at the command prompt, type this command:

D:ATTRIB -r C:\*.* /S

It may take a good while for the files to reset themselves, but once they do, you should be able to boot normally from your hard disk. Do this before using the backups to restore your files.

Serious backup gurus recommend keeping two backup sources and alternating them, in A/B order. Why? If backup A goes south due to corrupt files, disk damage, or a virus, backup B is there to save the day.

Owners of SCSI hard drives (you know who you are), you need to make sure that the special drivers that control your hard drives are on any emergency boot disks you make. Otherwise, you won't be able to access your hard drive in case a problem arises.

Win 9x has an unusual facility called the Registry that controls how Windows and your software programs are loaded. The Registry changes and updates itself each time you install or uninstall a program, make changes in your hardware, etc.; sometimes the Registry corrupts itself in the course of its job, and needs to be restored. Keep a recent copy of the two Registry files, SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT on your C: drive for safekeeping; use them to replace your Registry if it becomes corrupted or you get a Registry error message. Another way to restore it is to restart Windows in MS-DOS mode, press F8 (or F5, or Delete, depending on your machine) when the "Starting Windows" message appears, and select Safe Mode from the menu. (Note: switching into Safe Mode from XP is a bit different: XP users need to enter MSCONFIG in the Start menu's Run dialog, then click on the BOOT.INI tab and check the /SAFEBOOT box. Reboot to enter Safe mode. Repeat the process and uncheck the box when you're through with Safe Mode. One caveat: Don't experiment with the other settings on this tab. You could wind up unable to get back into MSConfig to undo your changes.) Switch to the directory where the backup files exist (or run them from the floppy drive), run ERU.EXE from the Emergency Recovery Disk, and your Registry will be restored. I recommend that you do NOT monkey with your Registry files unless you know what you're doing. It seems that games with the Registry are all the rage in the computer magazines these days, and all sorts of information about how to edit your Registry is now available. Remember: Working on Registry is like performing open-heart surgery on your computer. The risks are high and often the steps you take are irreversible. Approach any changes to the Registry with fear and trembling, or better yet, let a pro do it. There is one exception to this caveat: RegClean. RegClean 4.1a is a Microsoft utility freshly refurbished and available at support.microsoft.com/download/support/mslfiles/RegClean.exe (note: this is a direct download) which cleans up your Registry and makes your system more stable by removing deadwood (i.e. entries from changed or uninstalled programs). Run RegClean twice in a row to make sure your Registry is as lean as possible. Periodic use of RegClean may also reduce the number of illegal operation faults, GIF's, etc. you may be getting. Read about RegClean and your Registry at support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q147/7/69.asp. (Note: When I tried to download RegClean from the Microsoft site, I got caught up in a "registration" screen, where Microsoft wanted to get all kinds of info from me in return for the program. I downloaded it from another site. Also, some sources recommend against using RegClean; they claim little benefit, badly written code, and point out, correctly, that earlier versions of RegClean sometimes caused damage to the Registry. I've used it successfully myself, and plenty of gurus recommend it, so do what you will.)

A Langa List reader echoes Langa's claim that one Registry cleaner isn't enough; it takes multiple runs with separate utilities to achieve a truly clean Registry. Here's the reader's Registry cleaning process:

Clean System Directory 1.7 by Kevin Solway -- removes unneeded DLLs; available at www.theabsolute.net/sware/index.html#clnsys -- only works on Win 95 and 98
RegClean4.1a (available from Microsoft or any number of shareware sites)
EasyCleaner 2.0.6.380 by ToniArts - personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm
CleanReg 3.8.3.4 by Armstrong Systems House at www.cleanreg.com/
Boot to DOS and run ScanREG /FIX to compact the registry if you are using Win 98/ME

Another way to restore the Registry from Windows's own backup copy in case of system error is like so: Shut down the computer and choose Restart in MS-DOS mode from the shutdown menu. From DOS, go to your Windows directory (type CD WINDOWS) and enter the following commands, pressing Enter after each one. Select Yes when prompted to overwrite SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT, then restart your computer.

ATTRIB -H -R -S SYSTEM.*
COPY SYSTEM .DAT SYSTEM.BAK
COPY SYSTEM.DA0 SYSTEM.DAT
ATTRIB -H -R -S USER.*
COPY USER.DAT USER.BAK
COPY USER.DA0 USER.DAT
ATTRIB +H +R +S SYSTEM.DA?
ATTRIB +H +R +S USER.*

What you've done is replaced the damaged Registry files (SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT) with their backups, SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0. (The DA0 files automatically recreate themselves when you shut down the computer. Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, wrote the program to automatically overwrite the .DA0 files with the .DAT files each operating session, so if the .DAT files get corrupted, they may overwrite the .DA0 files before you get a chance to back them up. Be smart, back them up before trouble happens.)

Copy your nice, clean Registry onto a floppy disk before you screw it up by installing, uninstalling, and reconfiguring your software. Go to Start, hit Run, type REGEDIT in the Open box, select Registry, select Export Registry File, and save it to a blank formatted floppy. Nothing like overkill on your backups. Sometimes you run into a problem saving the SYSTEM.DAT file onto a floppy 'cuz the thing's too big. Assuming you've cleaned out the deadwood with RegClean and the file's still too big, you can zip (compress) the file using WinZip or another zipping utility and store the zipped file on a floppy. You should also make a backup of your Registry on your hard drive itself. Here's what to do: Open Windows Explorer, select View/Options, and on the View tab select "Show All Files," then click OK. Create a folder named REGBACK on your C: (or D:) drive. Bop over to the Windows folder, find the files SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT, right-click each of them, and drag them to the Regback folder, selecting the Copy File Here option from the menu that appears. Now, you may actually have to use your Regback files to restore a screwy Registry. Here's how: Restart your computer in MS-DOS mode. At the C: prompt, type the following, pressing Enter at the end of each line:

ATTRIB -R -S -H C:\REGBACK\*.*
ATTRIB -R -S -H C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT
ATTRIB -R -S -H C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT
COPY C:\REGBACK\*.*C: WINDOWS /Y
ATTRIB +R +S +H C:\WINDOWS\USER.DAT
ATTRIB +R +S +H C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT

Enter Y at the two prompts that appear after entering the COPY command. Then restart the computer in Windows mode. If you've saved Regback on your D: drive, change the commands to read D:\REGBACK\ in all the commands.

If you do intend to brave the dangers of operating in the Registry, here's a few things to know about it before sharpening your scalpel. By running the RegEdit program through your Start/Run option, you access the Registry in a Windows Explorer-type format. A "key" is the string of capitalized text that always appears in the left window of the Registry Editor. The Registry has six major keys. A "value," which defines each key, is a program setting that you can view and change. Values appear in the right window of RegEdit. Each Registry key has a default value, which is a string containing any number of standard characters. To edit strings, double-click on the [Default] value. You should edit binary values with extreme caution. You can make changes in the "hex number" on the left, or use equivalent characters on the right, but never change the length of each value. If this confuses you, keep your paws out of the Registry altogether. If you're really, really brave, use the TweakUI utility from Microsoft to manipulate the Registry with unprecedented ease and really give yourself a chance to make changes and wreak havoc. You used to be able to get TweakUI from www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/
WUtoys/W95PwrToysSet/utility, but Microsoft may have pulled it from its site; check any of the big shareware sites. This is an unsupported utility, so you're on your own with it. (Microsoft supplied it with the first edition of Win 98, then pulled it from Win 98 SE to emphasize its unsupported status. Note that a new version of TweakUI for XP is also out.) Some of the things you can do with TweakUI are: adjust mouse speed; adjust roller, click, and drag sensitivity; adjust window sliding animation, scrolling, and sound; make MSIE your default browser; alter shortcut appearances and change default names; move or rename desktop icons; log on automatically at system startup; repair system files and default icons; automatically play music and data CDs; use the Paranoia settings to clear browser history and cache files. Install it by downloading it to your C:\WINDOWS\TEMP directory, double-clicking it to expand it, right-clicking on TWEAKUI.INF and choosing Install from the popup menu. Close the Help window setup, and launch TweakUI from the Control Panel. But hey -- it's a Microsoft product, so it has its annoying little quirks. Make it less obnoxious by double-clicking on its icon in Control Panel, selecting the TweakUI Explorer tab, and checking Light Arrow in the Shortcut Overlay area. Deselect the "Click here to begin (if room)" and "Tip of the Day" items in Startup. And get rid of the prefix Shortcut to on New Shortcuts items in Settings.

Sometimes a Registry problem gives you a Windows Protection Fault error in DOS when booting Windows. Probably your Registry is corrupt; use the DOS version of RegEdit to export and then recreate your Registry by booting your system to DOS (when the "Starting Windows 95..." message appears during startup, press Shift+F5, or use your emergency boot disk if necessary), then from the C: prompt, type REGEDIT /E REG.REG and press Enter. Go into your Windows folder and use these commands to make your Registry files visible: ATTRIB -H -S -R SYSTEM.DAT and ATTRIB -H -S -R USER.DAT. Rename the SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT files to SYSTEM.BUP and USER.BUP (delete them later when you're sure your problem is fixed). Get back to your C: prompt and type REGEDIT /C REG.REG to finish fixing the corrupted Registry. Reboot and see if it worked. Don't forget to cross your fingers.

The Registry editor, RegEdit, is a bare-bones program that is a bit minimalist for some users. Check out the shareware program Search & Replace from www.iserv.net/~sjhswdev/. It's a $20 goodie that gives you a large amount of search options and improved useability. Also try the freeware RegEditX from www.dcsoft.com/prod01.htm that adds a drop-down history list to RegEdit, allowing you to find keys you've previously viewed or edited. There are plenty of other registry editors out there as well.

Troubleshooting the Registry can be done by rank amateurs like ourselves, if we're careful. If Windows starts displaying any of the symptoms below, check the Registry keys listed (or make grunts of approval while someone else checks them).

If a program you've never seen before runs after Windows starts up, and either flies by on the screen or appears in the tray or on the taskbar, inspect this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run. Check for any program you don't recognize (check out suspects by right-clicking their icons and inspecting the Properties tab).

If the same thing happens but only for one specific user, check the key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run. Check for suspect programs as above.

A program, usually a browser, that you don't want opens when you open an HTML file or you right-click a file and pick Edit or Open: check HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ htmlfile \ shell \ Edit or possibly HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ htmlfile \ shell \ Open. Suspect the program that you see opening with the file. To fix it, open Windows Explorer, choose View/Options/File Types, select the Internet Files (HTML)listing and click on Edit.

When you open a MSWord document or right-click its icon in Windows Explorer, then choose Print, instead of printing, Word closes it without saving the changes: check out HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ WordDocument.8 \ shell \ printto \ ddeexec. This is an uncorrected bug in MSWord that is addressed in the Knowledge Base article Q182837.

Office 97's Office Assistant (the paper clip, for example) doesn't appear on your screen: some Office users I know would gladly leave this alone, but check the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 8.0 \ Common \ Assistant. Use RegEdit to change the values of AsstLeft and AsstTop to zero (0).

Windows shows the incorrect user or business name when you run Control Panel's System option. This is a small flaw, but to fix it, drill to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion. Change the RegisteredOwner and/or RegisteredOrganization keys by double-clicking on the Name field and, when the Edit String window opens, replace the existing entry.

Here's a good way to partially or completely back up your Registry. Open the Registry Editor and click OK. If you want to back up the entire Registry, select Registry, Export Registry File, and then navigate to wherever you'd like to store the backup file (for example, the desktop for easy access). Type a name for the file. Select All under Export Range, then click Save. The result is a *.REG file in the location you specified. If you'd prefer to back up only part of the Registry--for example, the key you'll be editing--you can do that, too. It takes a little less time than a full backup, and the result is a much smaller *.reg file. Assuming you've already navigated to and selected the key you'll be working on, select Registry, Export Registry File, navigate your way to a destination folder, name the file and click Save. (You'll notice that Selected Branch will be selected for you, under Export Range.) If you ever need to use your Registry backup (i.e. fixing a mistake or undoing a change), just double-click the *.reg file, click Yes to confirm that you want to restore this information, then click OK when the operation is complete. Or, if you're already inside the Registry Editor, select Registry, Import Registry File under Registry, select the *.reg file, and click Open.

After installing a new application, check the accompanying .INF file for information regarding revisions the new app might make to your Registry. If the .INF file exists, open it up in Notepad and hunt for lines beginning with ADDREG= and DELREG=. These lines indicate sections of the .INF file that contain those instructions. Look those sections over for an idea of what is about to be done to your Registry.

Change the default path for Windows setup by cracking the Registry with Regedit, navigating to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Setup and locate, or create, the SourcePath entry. Modify it to show the new path Windows should use to find your new installation, and don't forget the backslash after the pathname you enter. Why do this? Most of us won't, but if you feel the need to install Windows to somewhere besides its default directory, this is how.

One potentially dangerous Windows default setting involves .REG file types (the Registry export files you can create in the Registry Editor). When you double-click this type of file, Windows will automatically import that file into your Registry, and overwrite any information that the Registry presently has. This can be a disaster if you don’t have a current Registry backup available and you overwrite valuable Registry information. To make sure that this doesn’t happen, change the default action associated with the .REG file type. The simplest way to do this is to open Windows Explorer and find a file of the .REG type. Press the Shift key, and right-click the file. When you see a menu called Open With, choose Notepad, then click the option next to Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File. Click OK. Once you make this change, whenever you double-click a .REG file, it will open in Notepad as plain text, rather than overwriting your Registry. You can still import the .REG file if you want by selecting the Import option from the Registry menu in the Registry Editor.

If your machine has absolutely trashed your Registry, you haven't made backups, and you don't know what the hell else to do, there is one more solution available, but you won't like it. When Windows was installed on your PC, the program created a file called SYSTEM.1ST, a backup to SYSTEM.DAT. If absolutely necessary, you can restore your Registry to the original settings by following the following steps from the DOS prompt (press Enter after each line):

ATTRIB -S -H-R SYSTEM 1ST
COPY SYSTEM.1ST C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.DAT

Now restart Windows. Since the Registry settings have reverted to their original state, you'll have to reinstall software and redo changes made since Day One; have fun.

The Win 98/ME Registry is configured a bit differently than the Win 95 version. To manually restore these Registries, you'll need to follow the procedure as laid out by Microsoft in an article found at support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q221/5/12.asp. Basically, you need to go into MS-DOS and use the SCANREG command. (Both 98 and ME store older versions of the Registry for easy backup.) Definitely read the article before playing around in these Registry versions.

Want to pare down your Registry to a smaller, more efficient size without actually going into it? There's an undocumented DOS switch that handles this little chore. Reboot your PC in command prompt/MS-DOS mode, or use the boot floppy you've made to get your PC up and running without loading Windows. When you see the boot menu, press Shift+F5 to give yourself a command prompt. At the prompt, type SCANREG /OPT (make sure you include the space in front of the slash). Press Enter. The undocumented /OPT switch reduces the Registry's space by removing unused space. Even better, the command SCANREG /FIX removes unused space and repairs damaged portions. Reboot to Windows by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del and you're good to go.

A shareware program, Safety Net Pro (check hometown.aol.com/ron2222/index.html), copies your Registry, your .INI files, and other important settings to floppy disk. If your system crashes, you can restore your settings even if your backup utility doesn't work.

If you want to see how the changes you've made in the Registry are working without rebooting, do this: Press Ctrl+Alt+Del and choose "Explorer" in the task list. Click the "End Task" button. When the Shutdown prompt appears, choose "No." You'll get a "Program Not Responding" dialog box; click "End Task" again. This restarts Explorer, reloading Windows from the new Registry.

Yet another program, ConfigSafe Desktop Edition, takes a "snapshot" of your Windows configuration files. When your system goes on strike, telling you you're missing a .DLL file you know damn well you have, or whatever, you can restore the files from the snapshot and go on. It works from a DOS prompt as well. A 30-day evaluation copy is available from www.imagine-lan.com. Other programs of this type are GoBack 2.1, from www.roxio.com/, 9Lives 1.0, from www.duomark.com/9Lives/, PictureTaker Personal Edition 2.0, from www.lanovation.com/, and Second Chance 2.0, from www.powerquest.com/.

If you use a Zip drive, Norton's Zip Rescue works very well in making useful backup disks. It stores all the Windows files on a Zip disk, then makes a startup disk on a normal floppy. Booting your PC from a Zip Rescue disk installs the Zip Disk driver and boot Windows from the Zip drive. Zip Rescue is part of Norton Utilities 3.0, but has bugs in it that either fry the Zip data or render the Rescue disk unusable. Symantec has patches available at its Web site, www.symantec.com. or you could just get the new version of Norton Utilities.

You can add a right-click command that performs a quick file backup on any selected folder by using RegEdit. Drill down to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Directory \ shell \ key. Create a key under Shell called Backup. Create a subkey under Backup called Command. To back up the folder to a hard disk directory or floppy drive, modify the default value for the Command key to read COMMAND.COM /C XCOPY /S %1 C:\BACKUPS for hard drives or COMMAND.COM /C XCOPY /S %1 A: for floppy drives. You can append XCOPY parameters to customize a backup by date, reset file attributes, whatever tickles your fancy.

If you've got 30MB or so of hard drive space lying around collecting virtual dust, consider backing up your .CAB files. With these, you can add new Windows components or drivers without the CD. Create a folder, name it WINCAB or whatever suits you, then slip your Windows installation CD into your CD drive. Click "Browse This CD" to have its contents displayed, and spy out all the .CAB files. Select them all by holding down the Ctrl key as you left-click them one by one. Right-click one of the selected files and choose Copy. Open the WINCAB folder, right-click a blank area, and select Paste. All of your .CAB files will be copied into the WINCAB folder. The next time you need to install an additional component, open Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab. Select the components you want to install, click OK, and when Windows asks for the installation CD, click OK. In the Copying Files dialog box, click Browse and navigate your way to the WINCAB (or whatever) folder. Click OK three times, and Windows completes the installation. No CD required.

MS Backup is an old, reliable, but limited backup program that's been around since Win 95 was released. Win ME users, you have it, but it's been hidden on the CD. You can install it by accessing the ADD-ONS\MSBACKUP folder on the Win ME CD, and running the MSBEXP.EXE file. You'll be asked to restart your computer; after that, you can find the shortcut in the System Tools menu. A lot of gurus recommend that you use a third-party backup system instead of the MS-supplied one, due to its limitations.

Okay, you want to use MS Backup anyway. It's perfectly fine for everyday use. Here's what you do:

Win 98/ME: Go through System Tools in the Accessories menu to find the Backup utility. You get three options: Create a New Backup Job, Open an Existing Backup Job, and Restore Backed Up Files. Pick the first option. You can choose to either save everything listed under My Computer (including multiple hard drives and even the CD-ROM drive's contents, if you like), or select which files to back up. If you choose to select specific files, you get an Explorer-like display that lets you make your choices. The wizard asks you if you want to copy all selected files (a full backup) or just new and changed files (an incremental backup). If this is your first time, choose All Selected Files; otherwise you can decide which suits you best. Tell the wizard where you want your backup to go -- i.e. to CD-RW disks, floppy disks, your Zip drive, tape drive, or whatever. Name the backup file (I'd suggest something like BACKUP10501, with the string of numbers signifying the date). Before the wizard starts up the file copying, you get two optional selections. The first runs a comparison between the data it records to the backup disks and the data on the original disk -- a good idea, since verification is always good, but even more time-consuming. The second offers to compress the data for storage, which is good especially for floppy disk users. Make your choice and fire up the process. CD-RW users, you may need to stick your head in every so often to see if/when you need to insert a new disk; tape users can go have lunch; floppy disk users, I'd suggest taking some aspirin and breaking out a good book, since you're going to be inserting one floppy after another for a long, horrible time.
Win 95: It's not too different for you guys. Go through System Tools in the Accessories menu to find the Backup utility. You should choose the full backup option for your first backup; choose Open File Set from the File menu and select the file Full System Backup. Click Open; this copies the Registry and prepares the computer for the full monty. After this is done, choose Next Step and select your backup destination -- CD-RW, Zip, floppy, what have you. The backup procedure begins. (Again, you can choose to copy only certain files; in this case, you'll check the boxes next to the files and directories you want backed up.) As with the Win 98 process, what you do here depends on what you're using to make your backup copies. Tape, Zip, and possibly CD-RW users can go watch football; floppy users get to slide one disk after another into the little slot until they become frantic.

Aha, now how do we restore our data? Simple.

Win 98/ME: Place the first backup disk in the appropriate drawer or slot, fire up Backup, and choose Restore Backed Up Files. Backup will guess at the location of the backup files; correct it if it guesses wrong. If you've made multiple backups, you get to choose the proper set of data from the Select Backup Sets window. Go through the Restore Wizard's options to restore the files you want -- choose them all if you want a full restore. Now you get to make another pick which might be confusing. Select Alternate Location restores the backed-up files to another location, say a different hard drive or a fresh directory. This does not overwrite old files. If your old files have been corrupted, or you don't want two sets of files on your machine, choose Select Original Location. This overwrites the newer files with the backup copies -- don't choose this if you object to losing the newer files. Safety protocols kick in anyway, giving you the chance to specify how you handle duplicate files: not to replace files, to replace the file only if the one on the computer's hard drive is older than the backup copy, or to always replace files. Click Start and go away. When you come back, your machine is restored to its former glory.
Win 95: Again, things aren't that different for 95 users. Place the first backup disk in the appropriate drawer or slot, fire up Backup, and click the Restore tab. Under Restore From, choose the source of the backup files, i.e. which drive the backup disk(s) is/are located. The contents of the backed-up files display in the window; choose any or all of them for restoration. Go through Settings, Options to decide where you want the backup copies to go -- do you want them in their old directories or new, fresh ones? do you want files to be overwritten? Make your call and click Start Restore. Off you go.

You can view a running total (size-wise) of the number of items you've selected for a particular backup job. To do this, from the Start menu, select Programs, Accessories, System Tools, then Backup. Choose Selection Information from the View menu, then watch the resulting dialog box for file and byte estimates.

ScanReg is a "secret" utility provided within Windows that does a better job than MSBackup in backing up files into .CAB format backups, ScanReg is easy to automate for periodic autobackups. It's not the most simple process to get this up and running, but it works quite well. Surf to csupport.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q183/8/87.ASP for a description; go to www.computerhope.com/scanregh.htm for more precise directions and info.

Win ME and XP users, get to know your System Restore facility. It isn't a substitute for a full backup, but it can save your bacon in time of crisis -- particularly since the Microsoft boys decided to hide MS Backup from Millennium users (see above). Power users of any Windows program might also consider using an imaging utility to keep an "image" of their hard drive on another disk.

Rescue The Drowning Computer

Shareware