Windows XP Home Edition, you can create a System Restore Point to help you if you need to recover or restore your computer system back to a certain point in time. But what if you use Windows XP Professional Edition? In your case, you should employ the Automated System Recovery Wizard to help you restore your computer system when disaster strikes. The Automated System Recovery Wizard will walk you through the steps of creating both a backup set (very large file) and a Recovery Disk (floppy). To use the Wizard, follow these steps:
* Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Backup.
* When the Backup or Restore Wizard starts, click on Advanced Mode.
* On the Welcome tab, click the button at the bottom next to Automated System Recovery Wizard.
* This will start the Wizard, which will prompt you for the media to use for the backup file, after clicking Next.
* If you have a tape drive installed, this file can go there, but you can also write this file to a hard drive. This is the fastest method, but it also requires lots of free space. A writeable CD will work, if the CDRW software allows it to be access via a drive letter.
* After entering the destination for the backup file, click Next again, and then Finish.
* The Windows XP Backup utility will copy all of the important system files and settings to the backup file. An estimate and status bar is provided, as this step can take a considerable amount of time. After this step is complete, you will be prompted for a blank, formatted floppy disk. Several files are written to the disk, and then the process is complete.
NOTE: Keep in mind that this process will only help you restore your computer system - you will need a separate plan for backing up your data files for instance Word documents, spreadsheets that you have created.
