Windows xp backup restore system state

A System State backup generally includes a copy of any installed device drivers and related files, most of the Windows directory, the Windows Registry, the Active Directory configuration where applicable and system files under Windows File Protection. Many files in the Windows directory have multiple hard links. If you are backing up the System State using the File Replication Engine or the Rsync Engine and have Single Instance Store enabled, only a single copy of each multiply linked file will be stored on your backup destination.

This data does not need to be copied on subsequent backups, which reduces backup times and saves storage space on your destination. From a System State backup you can restore your Windows system settings in the event of a system failure or corruption.

A System State backup is therefore particularly important for disaster recovery purpose as it eliminates you having to reconfigure Windows back to its original state before the system failure occurred. We recommended that you always have a recent backup of your System State and that you should perform System State backups on a regular basis, even daily, to increase your level of protection.

We also recommended that you perform System State backups before and after any major change is made to your server. A System State backup includes important Windows systems settings, such as the Registry, and is crucial for system recovery. Complete the following steps to configure a BackupAssist job to back up the local machine's System State:. All rights reserved. Toggle navigation.

Reseller Login. For example, if the source computer has a single processor and is using the ACPI uniprocessor HAL, you can restore a backup from that computer to a multiprocessor destination computer. To determine the computer HAL type that you are using on each computer, follow these steps:. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager , and then expand the Computer branch. The source and destination computers must use identical operating system versions and identical Windows stock-keeping units SKUs.

For example, you can't back up Windows Server and then restore it on a computer that is running Windows Advanced Server. Also, the source and destination computers should both use retail versions of Windows or the same OEM version of Windows. The best practice is to install Windows on the destination computer by using the same installation media that you used to install Windows on the source computer. Uninstall third-party filter drivers on the source computer before you perform the backup.

These kinds of drivers can cause problems when the backup is restored to a different computer. For domain controllers, the locations of the Active Directory directory service database, Active Directory log files, FRS database, and FRS log files must also be identical for the source and destination computers.

If you remove any hardware on the destination computer that is not required to complete the restore process, you increase the probability of a successful restore operation. For example, physically remove or disable all except one network adapter.

Install or enable the additional adapters after you restart the operating system after the restore operation. For Windows computers, hotfix or Windows Service Pack 4 must be installed on the source computer before you back up data. These items must also be installed on the destination computer before you restore the backup.

Windows Server and Windows XP have no hotfix or service pack level requirements for this kind of restore operation. A user does not have to bring the destination computer up to the same service pack and hotfix level for Windows Server or for Windows XP.

If you do not do this, you will receive the following error message:. For more information about the error message that you receive when you restore a Windows Server Service Pack 1-based backup on a Windows Server based computer, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:. For client and member server computers, follow these steps to back up the Windows Vista or Windows Server installation and restore it to a different computer.

Note A member server is any server that is not a domain controller. Note The following requirements must be met to move Windows Vista or Windows Server to a different computer.

Startup hard disk capacity should be larger or the same size. Even if it is smaller by a single byte, BMR will be blocked. You can make the backup on one kind of hard disk and recover on another kind of hard disk.

You should make sure that your RAID setup on the destination computer does not interfere with the boot order of the hard disks. The operating system architecture and processor architecture must match.

The three architectures, x86, x64, and IA, support the following scenarios:. Backup of an x86 operating system version: This backup can be restored to an x86 processor computer or to an x64 processor computer. Backup of an x64 operating system version: This backup can be restored only to an x64 processor computer.

Additionally, the architecture of WinRE or the Setup CD should match the architecture of the operating system that is being recovered. For example, you would use an x86 version WinRE CD to restore an x86 operating system on an x86 computer. You can treat AMD or Intel processors as being the same if they follow the same architecture.

The backup of AMD x64 computer's operating system can be recovered on to an Intel x64 computer, or vice a versa. Recovery to Startup disk only: The recovery process will restore the backup to the first hard disk in the BIOS boot order. You cannot change to another hard disk to restore the operating system. On the source computer, log on by using the administrator account, and then stop all noncritical services and services that you typically stop before you perform a backup.

This may include any service that puts locks on files. This includes antivirus, disk scanning, and indexing services. This value is located in the following registry subkey:. On the source computer, create a complete backup of the computer. Note If you back up the computer to a hard disk, you will have to either move that disk to the destination server, or you will have to share that hard disk over the network if it is possible to do so.

In the Which file types do you want to backup window, select all the check boxes, and then click Next. You must use an installation disc that contains Windows Vista Service Pack 1 because the release version of Windows Vista does not support this scenario. Select the operating system that you want to repair. If you are restoring to a blank hard disk, no operating systems are listed.

Restart the computer, and then verify that it is functioning correctly. For more information about how to use the netdom tool, see the Netdom article on the Microsoft website.

If the trust relationship test fails and indicates a failed security channel, you can run the netdom command on the destination computer to reset the channel. The netdom command is also available in the Support Tools.

To reset the security channel, use the following netdom command:. To recover a Windows Server installation, follow the steps in the following Microsoft TechNet article:.

Backing Up Your Server. For client and member server computers, follow these steps to back up the Windows installation and restore it to a different computer. A member server is any server that is not a domain controller. On the source computer, use Windows Backup to back up the system drive, the system drive subfolders, and the system state. On the destination computer, perform a new installation of Windows by using the same operating system version as the source computer.

Make sure that you install the operating system in the same drive and path that was used on the source computer. After the new installation is complete, log on to the destination computer as Administrator. By using Disk Management, create, format, and assign drive letters to any additional volumes that may be required to hold a system state component. Make sure that all drive letters match those of the source computer.

Disk space for volumes on the destination computer should be as least as large as corresponding volumes on the source. The Boot. Shenan Stanley. If your system is failing that often at all really - then something else is wrong.

How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. I have been running this installation for close to 9 years and never done a Repair, Reinstall or used System Restore to fix any problem but I have practiced so I know how the work - and don't.

At least that will save you some time if you decide to reinstall from scratch. It will not help you with your third part applications though. In reply to A. User's post on October 22, Thank you for your response. Thank you. In reply to emigu's post on October 23, Some folks around here seem to like Acronis True Image which comes with a 30 day free trial so you can test drive it and to get a full version is a modest price. While having a good backup and image is a good idea, like Shenan Stanley said, if you find you have to do this "regularly" you should try to figure out what is going on and fix it - or learn how to fix things without doing a reinstall.

Since you are running XP Home, I would do a few things before the next problem. It makes things a lot more user friendly when doing things like copying files and fixing problems.