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Hi mscards...
First of all, Norton Utilities is not capable of backups (far as I know). You will need Norton Ghost (the latest version is 14). If you choose to purchase it, it allows you to backup any single files and folders or if you choose, your complete partition.
You certainly can backup to a CD or DVD (although this medium is not my personal choice). My preference is to use an external hard drive with plenty of space. If your choice is only to back up certain files and folders, a CD would be just fine.
Yes, you can schedule Ghost to backup automatically at certain times, days, etc. I would strongly advise you to read through the manual to learn how to use the software correctly so there wont be any nasty surprises when the time comes to where you really need the backup.
Good luck.
mscards0007 wrote:I am totally lost when it comes to back up. I would like to back up my computer onto a CD but have no clue how. I use windows and have Norton Utilities.
Can someone tell me in 1,2 3 step form how to do this? Does Norton automatically do back up?
I feel so stupid on this aspect of the computer.
Thanks in advance for any help with this.
Marilyn
Hi Marilyn,
There is no such thing as a stupid question ... Of course, it helps to read a manual, google or otherwise see if you can find solutions on your own - no offence. I don't do these things nearly often enough and it is worth raising (in general) so we don't take others for granted.
You mentioned that you have "Norton Utilities" ... and "Windows" and want to do a "backup" of "your computer". You requested what I interpret to be a by the numbers solution.
It's been some time since I came across Norton Utilities - really big product in the early days of Windows and DOS. I believe it is now called System Works and comes in a couple of flavours: Basic; Standard (I guess); and Premier. The functional differences can befound here. According to the Symantec Chart, only one version provides a backup feature: Premier.
The manual for the 2008 version is here. I've had a quick look and it was not worth the download. The 'manual' does mention backup - you are given a small print warning, which, if you take a look should make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside:
It is solely Your responsibility to complete a backup of all Your existing data, software and programs before receiving any Technical Support. In the course of providing the Technical support, Symantec may determine that the technical issue is beyond the scope of the Technical Support. Symantec reserves the right to refuse, suspend or terminate any of
the Technical Support in its sole discretion.
Literally the above is a post sale disclaimer that says:
- Back up your system in case we (or you) stuff it up following directions.
- If, for whatever reason, the tech person decides the problem is too hard (defined by Symantec at its sole discretion) then tough luck go away.
Such things are important ...but I digress.
We need to know some very basic things:
- Version of Windows (XP / VISTA)
- File formats (source / destination) - some involve passwords / encryption / user rights / security measures
- Arrays - proprietary drivers or dedicated -array types (mirrored / striped / JBOD / etc). Some dedicated arrays have proprietory solutions to monitor and perform backups and / or hot swapping of failed drives.
- Monitored / unmonitored (email alerts - other forms of alert)
- Security - general issues. For example, if this involves a work system then you really need to have a formal security system in place (backup sets used in sequence on certain week days), backups kept offsite and secured etc. Home systems still need security - at the very least password protect / encrypt the backup. If possible backup key documents / files onto dedicated servers on the internet - Symantec does point you to internet based services.
- Network drives (source / destination)
- Type of backup - full / partial / incremental
- What is being backed up and where you want to back it up to.
- System Works has something called Go-Back and this complicates things.
- Have you figured out what you want to back up (and why) and where you want to store the backup(s)?
- DVD's hold much more than CD's and I'd hesitate to do a DVD copy of key files because I'd need to set aside a long time and a lot of DVD's.
- eSATA drives are very cheap - perfect for speed and easily lost / stolen. Life is a trade off.
All of this resolves down to:
- Identify your operating system and work out whether you want to back up everything on your computer (all drives and partitions) or only key files (music downloads / documents / photos / software updates etc)
- People have different opinions about full or incremental backups. They are as they sound. I tend to ignore incremental backups because of Murphy's Law ... things don't go as we wish very often (or at all :) Recommend: Full backup of ONLY those files you want to backup. Initially, this might be your complete fresh clean installation with all software and updates installed. Then ONLY key files (documents / photos etc).
- Suggest you keep one DVD set of a clean installation only if you are backing up a business PC otherwise, backup to an eSATA (external SATA) drive or other hard drive. There are plenty of external drive solutions around (USB for example). Be careful. It may feel like you are dying slowly as you wait to do a 200 gig USB backup. eSATA is very fast (normal hard drive speed). And of course you can backup to a physical drive installed in the PC. It's fast but not secure - if the PC is stolen so yoo is the backup.
- As for how?
- Most backup programs have wizards to automate such processes. For example, you might set a wizard to automatically do a selected backup (only backup files you want too) every week at 5 pm onto an internal physical drive.
- BTW - XP and VISTA have some form of built in back program. I've just played a bit with the one for VISTA ultimate and although it works much as I have just outlined, the wizard is pretty limited.
The real trick with backups is to do them at all. I always have the best intentions to back up religiously and ALWAYS find I forget or a drive crashes inconveniently.
It's probably not that important about how / what you backup so long as you do it regularly and safely.
Sorry for the long reply ... your question was not one which could be properly answered by "press here" .
To top things off ... I'd check about whether or not your program will support your drive / motherboard and processor. I purchased Save and Restore believing the stuff on the Symantec site ... and none of it worked. Waste of time and money. It's not that I was upset that it did not work with my components, it's that I spent 30 hours of my time finding this out the hard way ... that was appalling.
There are excellent commercial backup solutions around. If you want to be able to do something like: do a mirror image of your current drive (whenever) and then be able to restore it perfectly (without needing to reinstall / re-register etc) then look elsewhere ... some excellent ones are quite cheap.
Some people swear by Go-Back (I'm not one) and for them, it does all they need.
Others prefer something like Ghost / Save and Restore 2.0 or 360.
The very briefest answer to your qeustions is this: it depend.
Hope this helped a little,
Kindest regards,
Hi all,
Are we done with this topic?
The question was quite a good one - as in, something of relevance to a large number of users.
However, it seems to have died on the vine ... pity. Hope the original poster was helped a bit.
Should we close this?
I agree - it is a great question. Perhaps others have some simple method of creating a backup using Norton products?