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Vic's Registry RoundUp and DOS Den
~~Vic Ferri, Win Tips and Tricks

How Vic Backs Up Windows

Personally, I don't use any programs to do my backups. Window's own copy and paste is good enough for me. I used to be selective in what I backed up but I always found later, that there would be one thing or another that I forgot to backup. So now, what I do is back up my entire C: drive to a folder on my secondary D: drive. First I back up my Windows folder - to do so, I open the Windows folder, click Ctrl-A to select all and then hold down the Ctrl key and click on WIN386.SWP (your swap file) to de-select it. This is important to do with copying in Windows. If you don't de-select it, Windows will abort copying when it reaches it. Then I right click on the selected area and choose Send To >D:\Windoze (you need the SendTo power toy for this convenience) or just Copy and then go to your backup drive, create a new folder, open it and right click and choose Paste. Once the Windows folder is backed up, I select my entire C: drive and deselect the Windows folder, and copy it all into a subfolder I name Cback in the same backup folder used for Windows. And that's it. This way when I do a format, reinstall, I can go into my backup folder and find whatever I need from the previous install. I should add that I already have all my updated drivers backed up in their own folders, ie: Stealth Video, 3comNic, SoundBlaster, etc. (for more on the drivers see Hal's article)

Of course, this is not the type of backup that Ghost or Drive Image does and is not intended to be. This is only a backup to ensure you can recover needed or personal files. It doesn't reinstall your programs or your updated IE, etc. 

Specifically, the main items I recover from the backup are:

Email (entire Outlook Express folder). Restoring your old email is a snap - there is no easier way. Just select all the dbx files and copy (or cut) and paste them into your new Outlook Express folder. This can be done right in Windows. Choose yes when asked if you want to overwrite the existing files.

Drivers: I have all my updated drivers backed up into their own folders, as I already stated.

IE Favorites (again, just copy and paste the entire contents into the new Favorites folder and choose Yes when asked if you want to overwrite)

Personal folders and files (images, sounds, project folders, etc.)

Once I'm sure I have everything I wanted restored, I delete most of what I backed up but I keep the Windows\System folder backed up. This comes in handy if you ever need to replace certain corrupt or missing updated dll's that you won't find in your Windows cab files. Many dlls are updated and added when you install a later version of Internet Explorer. Of course, this assumes you installed the same IE after your format and reinstall.

Anyway, that's what I do, maybe not the best or most efficient way, but it works for me.

Vic Ferri owns the very popular WinTips and Tricks and Registry Answers. Subscribe to either and receive free Windows and Registry Tips. He is also in charge of the Printing Tips pages at Linda's Computer Stop. Vic has also created a program which allows you to Lock & Hide desktop folders in Windows 9X/ME. Read more and get the free demo here. And, he now offers a service to convert PowerPoint presentations to .exe files which can be viewed on computers which do not have PowerPoint installed.