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BACK UP INSTRUCTIONS
FOR
WINDOWS XP
To back up your it is recommended to use
a proper back up software, Nero Express offers easy manual back ups to
recordable CD or DVD , the following instruction guides you on how to back up
files under Windows XP environment, follow the steps carefully:
1-Have all your important files unified
under one folder. Basically, you can create a folder under C: drive called
“Important Files” and save all your documents in there. This will allow you
to not miss any files when it comes to backups or searching for files.
2-You need a back up drive and media
(Floppy, Tape, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-RW or external backup devices). We assume you
have a CD-RW installed on your system. Place a blank media in your drive
3-From START menu click on MY COMPUTER,
click on C: drive (or the drive label where your “Important Files” are
located. Then select “Important Files” and from File menu click EDIT and
choose COPY
4-From MY COMPUTER select the drive
where your backup media is located. In our case click on D: drive, which we
assume is the label for the CD-RW drive. After selecting the drive click on EDIT
and choose PASTE. After all the files have been prepared, you must click on
WRITE FILES TO MEDIA located on the top of the menu on the left hand side of MY
COMPUTER.
5-You will be prompted to name the
media, give it a relevant name. And follow the prompts.
6-After the files are written label the
media by writing the name of the backup file name on the CD with a permanent
marker (Do not use ballpoint pens since they can damage CDs) Store your media in
a location away from your computer, and also preferably make a copy of the back
up on another computer, this will give you plenty of redundancy in case you lose
one or two of the backups.
7-Do back ups consistently. I recommend
backups to be done along with system maintenance and updates on the first day of
the month.
A note: You can back your computer using Windows XP built in back up option, this can be accessed by following these steps: from START menu > ALL PROGRAMS > ACCESSORIES > SYSTEM TOOLS > BACKUP and then follow the self explanatory steps to back up your system. Microsoft recommends that you run this form of backup every time you install a new Windows XP when you have completed all your application software installations. Unfortunately in the real world environment these steps may not work properly when it comes to doing the back up as well as doing a restoration. If you want to get a very reliable system back up software you should look into Seagate Software.