How To Create A Windows XP Recovery Kit
Author: Otis Cooper

We all just love our computers, especially when we want to
enjoy those high priced games and when we use it as a business
tool.

But what a pain in the "you know what" when the system fail to
perform as it should or worse yet, we experience a disaster
with our operating system.

When you understand Windows XP, you will soon learn that there
are ways to recover from a Windows XP crash.When followed in
detail, there are certain tasks you can perform that will allow
to recover from any Windows XP failure, no matter how serious
the issue.

When troubleshooting Windows XP, there are two possibilities as
to where the problem may be.This problem may be with Windows XP
or it may very well be a hardware problem.In either case, the
best way to recover from this is to have an XP Recovery Kit at
the ready.

This kit will enable you to get your computer up and running in
minutes rather than hours. This kit consists of backups of your
entire hard drive.You will save yourself a heap of
troubleshooting procedures that you would have to perform
otherwise without this recovery kit.

To get right to the point in creating your own XP Recovery Kit,
you will need disk imaging utility such as Drive Image by
Powerquest and a backup medium such as a cdrom writer,a dvd
writer, or a second hard drive.

There are two procedures you can perform to create an XP
Recovery Kit.And these procedures can be use to create kits for
other versions of Windows as well.Using a recordable medium is
the first and using a second hard drive is the second method.

You also have the option of re-installing Windows XP as a form
of recovery but this process takes time.Creating your XP
recovery kit will require time as you make this kit but after
this, you can quickly get any system running again just as if
nothing went wrong.

To use cdroms or dvds, make sure your cd or dvd writer is
functioning properly.Install and run Drive Image.We used Drive
Image which cost $69.95 but you can also use such free or trial
versions of drive imaging software.

One good software is the Back-Up 2006 by Andy Shroebel at
http://www.backupmaker.com which should perform the same tasks
as Drive Image.

After running your imaging software, follow instructions to
create an image of Drive C. You will have the option of
choosing cdrom, dvd, or second hard drive to perform the
image.You will also see the number of disks required to
complete the process.

The Image software should reboot the computer and perform the
backup.When using disks, you will need to remove and insert the
cds as needed.Label the cdroms in order and put them in a safe
and secure place.

When using a second hard drive, you will know to know how to
install it on the ide cable.Formatting and partitioning the
second must be done before it can be used.

Windows XP have a backup utility but Windows XP home edition
will have to install it from the cdrom.Place the XP cd in the
drive, open My Computer, and right click the CD Drive
containing the XP cd.

Now click Open and you will see the contents of the cdrom.
Click the ValueAdd folder, then the MSFT folder. Next click the
NTBackup folder and click NTBACKUP to install the backup
utility.

But the Windows XP utility will not record to cdroms or dvds
but will only save the backup as a file.This is why its best to
use Drive Image or a compatible software.

After completing your drive image by backing up Windows XP on
cd, dvd, or second hard drive, you will not be so concerned
should Windows XP freeze up and fail to load.

Simply reboot the computer and access your BIOS to let it know
which medium to boot from.Save the change and place the cdrom
or dvd one in the drive and reboot.If you used a second hard
drive,simply reboot and that's it.

Now don't be tempted to wait until Windows XP fail and say you
should have made that recovery kit.Take the time to make an
image of your hard drive and be prepared for any failure
brought on by Windows XP.


About The Author: Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to
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