What program can do this?

[PC Hobbyist]

Is there a program that will create some kind of an image of my harddrive (I actually mean all installed programs, all installed drivers, and windows and registry settings etc...) so that when I reinstall XP on my computer, I can just apply that image and save myself the time and hassle of installing everything one by one all over again?

 

[Burgerbob]

Then what is the point of reinstalling windows? all of your problems would be right back.

 

[PC Hobbyist]

Then what is the point of reinstalling windows? all of your problems would be right back.

Yeah, I'll explain myself better. I have my set of programs, drivers and settings that I always use. I consider them my "standard settings". As time goes by, and I mess around with my computer, try things out, install trials, change settings around, etc... my PC eventually starts getting sluggish, and so I reformat and reinstall XP and all my "standard" programs, drivers, and settings again. I do this about once or twice a year.

So, that is where it would be handy to have an "image" of my standard settings, so that when I reinstall XP, I can just apply them all at once and be back in business.

 

[alexandergre]

Thats noy a good ideal of installing any program on your computer.
me for example, I install windows every 7 months.
And yes there is a program called Norton Ghost, the version 12 is the latest.
norton ghost can make backups of your drive C:, when you have created a backup of you´r Windows drive, you can restore the drive whenever you want.
and you don't need to install the windows xp. in other words, you dont need any windows xp CD.

 

[Crypto]

I use Acronis True Image for that very reason. I created an Image with a Fresh Intsall of Windows and all my apps. With Acronis, you can even create a boot CD that will allow you find your image on an external drive and install it on a new drive.

If you're into installing apps and testing them, consider using Deepfreeze so you can play then reboot to erase everything. It's not for everyone, but its great if you like to try free software and trials without making changes to your pc.

 

[Draco Malfoy]

You could also try Sandboxie. Sandboxie is similar to Deepfreeze, but works on a per-application level.

Btw, is there any freeware program that will image my computer from within Windows and copy the image to a USB pen drive? I don't have a cd writer on the computer that I need to backup, so I need to bring the pen drive to another computer to copy it onto CDs. It also would need to be able to do it from within Windows, without rebooting to be compatible with my pen drive.

 

[brinky2006]

If you use Norton Ghost 12, you can make a bootable DVD image of you OS (xp) and all of your programs. When you the want to reinstall XP, just boot the ghost image disc, and depending on the size it should be done with 3-4 hours.

 

[PC Hobbyist]

Hey everyone,
sorry it took me a bit to get back to you. Thanks a lot for all your replies. You all hit it right on!

So, it looks like it's between Acronis True Image and Ghost. Has anyone used both so they could say which one they would recommend? For some reason I lean toward Acronis, but I don't know why. I guess because I am not a big Symantec fan.

Thanks also for the DeepFreeze and Sandboxie tips. I'll definitely check those out.

Btw, is there any freeware program that will image my computer from within Windows and copy the image to a USB pen drive?

Hm, from what I've been looking into, I haven't found any that are freeware. If I come across something, I'll post it here.

 

[PC Hobbyist]

Btw, is there any freeware program that will image my computer from within Windows and copy the image to a USB pen drive? I don't have a cd writer on the computer that I need to backup, so I need to bring the pen drive to another computer to copy it onto CDs. It also would need to be able to do it from within Windows, without rebooting to be compatible with my pen drive.

Hey Draco, I just found this freeware. Check it out.
DrvImagerXP 2.2 It allows you to save the image as several zip files if you want. I think I'll post it in the Freeware thread of this forum too.
I found it on this page that has other freeware as well.

Version 2.1 can be found here in case the above link for v.2.2 is dead.

EDIT:
I also just read this here (at the very bottom of the page):
"The image file(s) will be large with this program though. Even the empty space is zipped. This must be stored on another partition than the one being processed. The help file explains this."

 

[Monoliths]

R-Drive is another one similar to Ghost. It's a little cheaper so obviously it will have less features but a good choice unless you have a little extra cash in your couch.

Website: http://www.drive-image.com/

 

[monoman]

What is the difference between using this imaging software and setting system restore points? Doesn't system restore create an image of the current state of your system too?

Thanks

 

[Monoliths]

What is the difference between using this imaging software and setting system restore points? Doesn't system restore create an image of the current state of your system too?

Thanks

System restore only restores system files.

So lets say you got a virus that deleted all your data and corrupted your OS. After a system restore you would have a fully functioning OS but your data would still be gone.

Imaging software takes all the software, configurations, etc of your computer and puts it into a file. Then the imaging software has many different features to restore the image such as to multiple computers at one time.

 

[monoman]

System restore only restores system files.

So lets say you got a virus that deleted all your data and corrupted your OS. After a system restore you would have a fully functioning OS but your data would still be gone.

Imaging software takes all the software, configurations, etc of your computer and puts it into a file. Then the imaging software has many different features to restore the image such as to multiple computers at one time.

Ahh I see, thats quite useful then I suppose. I actually thought that system restore imaged all your data files anyway, and not just OS files.