I believe my PC was shipped with at least one backup program. It is my responsibility to run it. Most people don't want to be bothered. They risk losing their data but for many people, we're talking about their home PC and the data isn't critical.

Business users do backup of course.

Well Windows Server 2003 does include an integrated backup program - its actually, AFAIK, Veritas

There are ways to automate Ghost.

1) Setup a bootable CD-ROM drive that loads a DOS CD-ROM driver and MSCDEX, add the Ghost image to the non-bootable data area of the CD-ROM prior to burning.
2) Make certain the autoexec.bat has the Ghost command line options to restore an image on the mounted real CD-ROM drive (not the virtual floppy/CD rom boot area)

Do a search on google for "Bootable ghost"

See; http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rosss...sec2.html#bk27 as an example

[This message has been edited by NickP 1K (edited 08-22-2003).]

Actually, Microsoft use to ship with some very good backup programs. They still do ship with backup, it's not installed by default. The third party programs were better, so they stopped installing theirs by default.

I use to use theirs all the time in earlier windows versions, but now they leave it up to others to support DVD and all the other media options.

The question of if Microsoft didn't include it that it can't possibly be important just doesn't work. Anti Virus software not important? A decent fax software? There are lots of things they don't ship with or install that are important, they just don't want to support the average user using them.

I am participating in their PC Satisfaction trials, it's an all-in-one application that has backup, anti-virus and a firewall.

All additions of Windows 2000 and XP include a backup program; installed by default.

Look under start\programs\accessories\system tools\
and you will see backup.

You can schedule it to run at off hours.

I back up to a searate physical disk nightly; and burn "My Documents" (where I keep all my stuff) to CD every few weeks. I keep the CD at the office; I have insurance for stuff in my home; but that CD has all my records -- all old emails; financial records, digital family photos etc.

And for those that asked -- you can script powerquest to attomate it. (At least the DOS mode version works; they have a new ver that I haven't seen yet that supposedly even runs under Windows).

I said "automate" I should have said "schedule". I don't want to have to be anywhere near it when it runs, and I want it to "sliently" backup across the network.

Given the microsquish penchant for providing a perfect host platform for remote security exploits and the associated virii, do you really want to trust your data to an MS firewall/virus scanner?

It's an ancillary point, I know, but I'll be buying Trend products, Veritas products, and a real firewall to sit in front of my windows farm until a snowball survives in hades http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif.

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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

It's twofold, yes, I do trust them with this, they are holding a very extensive and long beta test (unlike some of their other products) and it's been made from scratch with products aquired from others. It won't be a solution for myself but I do beleive it will benefit the average joe home user that doesn't "do" anti-virus or backup software.

Windows XP Pro installs it's backup program by deflaut, XP Home requires you to install it separately.

The problem with XP's backup program is that it can't backup up to CDs and it can't back up individual files, just folders. If that's not a problem it works fine. However the cost of removal media is more expensive than a good backup program like Stoomp's BackUpMyPC which is the non network version of Veritas and which can backup to cheap CDs.