how to backup and restore in windows xp home edition?

The Backup program is installed automatically on XP Professional, but not on XP Home. If you have the genuine bootable XP Home installation CD, insert it into your system and browse to this folder:

\ValueAdd\MSFT\NTBACKUP

Double click the ntbackup.msi file to begin the installation.

Here is a nice Microsoft article that tells you all about it:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894

Here is another article that tells you how to do it:

http://www.winxptutor.com/ntbackup.htm

If you don't have an installation CD and need to download the ntbackup.msi file, here is the link so you can download it:

http://www.winxptutor.com/ntbackup.htm

How often do you perform such an operation?

I have been running this installation for close to 9 years and never done a Repair, Reinstall or used System Restore to fix any problem (but I have practiced so I know how the work - and don't).

If you have a genuine bootable XP installation CD that is not SP3, would you like to learn how to use that to create a new XP installation CD that has all your drivers and SP3 already on it?  At least that will save you some time if you decide to reinstall from scratch.  It will not help you with your third part applications though.

Here is one such article to get you started:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/slipstreaming-windows-xp-to-create-bootable-cd/

Hi Joselbarra & Stanley,

Thank you for replying to my request for help.

I am sorry that I find Joselbarra's answers quite complicating for a person not so advance in IT knowledge as me. I hope someday I will be half as knowledgeable in IT as you.... honestly.

In item 6, you mentioned rebootable CD.  What is a rebootable CD?  How do I create one and when/how to use it when needed?

Going back to the first e-mail which Stanley sent me, I have clicked on the link you provided and downloaded and installed the "ntbackup" file onto my WinXP notebook.

Before I try to do this ntbackup, I would like to know whether this software is able to do "system backup".  If so, how?  Should I choose "advance" and then just select "C" drive would be sufficient? 

Does choosing to backup "C" drive means it already covers my computer's operating system, system files, all pre-installed programs and applications by the manufacturers and also those installed by myself, all pre-installed drivers and manually updated drivers, Windows XP service pack 3 and systems files?  If I am right about this, then this is exactly what I need.

Can I do this ntbackup on an external hard drive? 

How do I activate the restore when my computer behaves funny?  Do I need to restore to "factory setting" first by pressing F11 when my computer starts and when it is back to factory setting then only I do the restoration with ntbackup so that all the OS, system files, pre-installed programs and applications and updated drivers are restored straight away?  This will save me a lot of time having to go through the task of manually updating them one by one.

As for my document/data files, I don have to worry because I am already doing it manually on a weekly basis in my portable external drive.

Thank you.

Some folks around here seem to like Acronis True Image  which comes with a 30 day free trial so you can test drive it and to get a full version is a modest price.

If you use Google to search for something like:

xp free imaging software

You will get some hits/results for others that with a 30 day trial period but then you have to pay for the licensed version (try it before you buy it)

I am usually not a recommender though since there are so many other people here that probably have better opinions that me about this stuff so hopefully somebody else will pipe up!

While having a good backup and image is a good idea, like Shenan Stanley said, if you find you have to do this "regularly" you should try to figure out what is going on and fix it - or learn how to fix things without doing a reinstall.

Since you are running XP Home, I would do a few things before the next problem.

1)  Configure your XP Home (or XP Pro) so it does not ask for an Administrator password to get into the XP Recovery Console (Many XP Home users cant seem to get past the password part of the Recovery Console for some reason so just tell XP not to ask for one).

2)  Configure your XP Home (or XP Pro) so you can access all files, folders and external devices on your system from the XP Recovery Console.  The RC dos not allow you to access any personal folders - unless you tell it otherwise beforehand (both 1 & 2 are easy registry edits you make when your system is still functional).

3)  If you have no genuine bootable XP installation CD, make a bootable XP Recovery Console CD and test it (many problem can be fixed from within the Recovery Console)

4)  If you have a genuine bootable XP installation CD that is not Service Pack 3, take your XP installation CD and "slipstream" SP3 into it and make a new installation CD with SP3 already on it and put your old CD on a shelf.

5)  Try to keep your system free of malicious software with common sense and some respectable tools.  I find that Microsoft Security essentials, Malwarebytes and SUPERAntiSyware is a good combination and MBAM and SAS are free - but you can pay a little for those last two and get more features and good support.

6)  Create a bootable Hiren's Boot CD since it has a graphical Interface that looks like the XP desktop and has many good tools built in to help you when your system will not boot.  It makes things a lot more user friendly when doing things like copying files and fixing problems.

7)  Be sure you actually test your recovery methods and any bootable CDs you make since the day you need one of them to help you is not the day to find out they are broken or don't work.

Thank you for your response.

How do I go about performing a system image backup for my notebook (HP compaq presario) of WinXP Home Edition?  It does not come with any CDs.  I bought it during the promotion period some years back.

Each time I performed a back to factory setting by pressing the F11 key to enable system recovery when my computer stars, it is so tedious to repeat the updating of my programs/applications like web browsers, adobe flash player, reader, windows media player etc etc after it is back to factory setting.

This is the reason I want to do a system image backup so that next time when I encounter a failure, I can just restore to the system image and not choose to restore to factory setting.

Can anyone give me the steps/instructions on how to do system image backup and how to restore it, please? 

I only know how to backup my personal data files created in word/excel/power point, pictures and music files by manually copying them into my thumbdrive or external hard disk every week or two.  It is okay with me on this.

Thank you.

If your system is failing that often (at all really) - then something else is wrong.  :-)

Get an external drive with its own backup (or better yet - imaging) software and use that.