Will Image for Windows back up my windows vista pc?

[spinnor]

I have a Windows Vista home basic PC that is several years old. The hard drive has restore software on it(I think) but I have no restore Cd's. My worry is that if my hard drive fails I will need to buy a new computer. Will using TeraByte's Image for Windows product solve my potential problem? Can I use this product to back up my children's Windows computers? Can a computer novice like myself use this product without much difficulty?

Thank you for any help!

[TeraByte Support]

Yes. see http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/


"spinnor" wrote in message news:838@public.image...

I have a Windows Vista home basic PC that is several years old. The hard
drive has restore software on it(I think) but I have no restore Cd's. My
worry is that if my hard drive fails I will need to buy a new computer. Will
using TeraByte's Image for Windows product solve my potential problem? Can I
use this product to back up my children's Windows computers? Can a computer
novice like myself use this product without much difficulty?

Thank you for any help!

[spinnor]

Thank you! If I backup on an external hard drive could my PC then boot and run from that hard drive if only as a means to test that my backup was functional?

Thanks for your help!

[mjnelson99]

An image is created rather than a copy being made. It will
not run as it is.

You would use a bootable CD or DVD with the Image for
DOS/Linux program installed for the restore. You may need to
change the boot sequence to be able to boot from them.

If your computer is still at factory boot sequence chances
are you hard drive is first in the boot order.

Read the link Terabyte sent to you for more information.
Mary

On 12/7/2011 10:15 AM, spinnor wrote:
> Thank you! If I backup on an external hard drive could my PC then boot and run from that hard drive if only as a means to test that my backup was functional?
>
> Thanks for your help!

[mjnelson99]

You can try Image for Windows for 30 days before purchasing.
Mary

On 12/7/2011 10:15 AM, spinnor wrote:
> Thank you! If I backup on an external hard drive could my PC then boot and run from that hard drive if only as a means to test that my backup was functional?
>
> Thanks for your help!

[oakeny]

If I were in your position, what I would do is:-

1) Obtain a replacement Hard Drive for the computer (you will need one if the existing one crashes)
Note:- you say the computer is older - check whether it can handle serial (SATA) drives, or whether you need to obtain an older type parallel interface drive.

2) Use the free trial Terabyte software to make an image of your working Drive, stored on your external USB drive.

3) Create a bootable CD or DVD with one of the Terabyte imaging applications (image for DOS or Linux).

4) Remove (or disconnect) your working HDD from the computer and install the replacement empty drive.

5) Restore the saved image from your external drive to the new drive, using the bootable CD/DVD.

6) Remove the CD/DVD and boot the new drive

If all goes well, you will now know your method for recovering from a crash will work, and you will not have put your working drive at risk.

You can then replace your working drive, put the new drive to one side and decide whether to purchase what you need from Terabyte.

From there, decide on a backup strategy for frequently backing up those files which change on a day-to-day basis (if you haven't already done so).

And, whenever you make any significant changes to your system (eg installing new software), create a new image of your drive and save it on your external usb drive.

Personally I believe in redundancy, so I wouldn't be satisfied with just one repository for my drive image(s).

Cheers,

John S