Backup of OS

[pcmagic]

Hi guys and gals,

Having had to completely re-install my operating system (and thus programs, settings etc) on a number of occasions over the last couple of years and having just had to do the same I am desperate to find a way of backing up my operating system along with my installed programs and settings so that in the event of an OS failure I can simply restore from this backup.

I have three internal Hard Drives -
Drive C: 40GB - OS, Programs, Settings
Drive D: 150GB - Holds data, all my music, photos, documents etc etc!
Drive G: 40GB - EMPTY

My question is, what is the best way i could backup my C drive which holds the OS and Programs, incase of anything going wrong, I can boot up from my backup and continue, rthar than spending hours fixing, repairing, re-installing and setting everything up again.

Anyway. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can give me.

Kind regards,
PCM

 

[tremmor]

Always liked Acronis True Image. that was the 1st thing i did. was try it.
did a military wipe. and replaced. took all updates (critical and security) then installed the programs and updates i liked. MS Office and updates, firefox, thunderbird, set up the email, and got it working right. then saved.

 

[pcmagic]

Sounds ideal and what I'm looking to do.

I guess I could backup the OS to the empty HDD.

However, How would you go about recovering the system if the C Drive failed and you wanted to use the backup image?

Thanks!

 

[tremmor]

it will create its own backup image and boot process. the program works well.
it will create a boot disc and backup ready to go.

 

[pcmagic]

I tired to clone the disk using Acronis but when I need to pick a source disk my Local C Drive isn't there, it's only the other two data drives... Any ideas?

Loooks like this is a winnner if I could get this.

 

[tremmor]

honestly i don't know. im guessing. might be another goose chase and waste of time. when i 1st tried it i did not just back up. i booted and installed the backup with no problems. it even recognized the usb in dos mode. if no replies from others then i would contact acronis for support. im guessing your windows is working properly. i see no reason why it should be a problem. Something is different on your computer. is the boot backup for the primary drive? c: or bios.

are you sure your pointing to the right drive. One thing. ive run into similar problems. i was very specific about renaming the drives. say your operating system in mounted on c: drive. (likely). goto explorer right click the drive. and name it c_primary or what ever. something diff is happening.