How-Tos

Automated System RecoveryÂ

PCQ Bureau

03 Jan 2005 05:54 IST

New Update

What if your Win XP machine crashes when you install new hardware or software? Not to worry. There are many ways to recover your Win XP system state- ASR (Automated System Recovery) being one of them. ASR is an easy to use, add-on feature to the backup restore tool. Before using it, however, you must have taken periodic back-ups (using the Windows backup tool) of the entire system on a separate drive.

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ASR backup

To start the process, click on Start>Programs>Accessories>System tools and launch Backup. On the welcome screen that opens, click on the 'Advanced Mode' link. Now, you will get a wizard showing three buttons: Backup Wizard (Advanced), Restore Wizard (Advanced) and Automated System Recovery Wizard. Click on the 'Automated System Recovery Wizard'. It will open the 'Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard'. Click on Next and give the destination path (where you want to save the system backup) with the backup file name. By default it is set to A:\backup.bkf, but you have to change this according to your destination path. We saved the backup file on a separate hard drive (e:\backup.bkf). Now, click on Next and then Finish. This automatically backs up your Win XP installation.

Direct Hit!

Applies to: Win XP Pro users

USP: Back up your Win XP installation and even schedule regular backups to keep your system safe

Links:

www.helpwithwindows.com/windowsxp/howto-18.html

Once the backup is taken, you need to insert a blank floppy in the drive, to which the wizard will copy some system files. These will be required for the recovery process. Note: Keep the floppy safe for restoring the system in case of a crash.

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ASR recovery

Scheduling the ASR backup

You can create ASR backups either on a periodic or an incremental basis. Then, from the Backup Wizard, cancel the 'Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard' and click on the 'Schedule Job' tab. Now, from the calendar select the date and click on the 'Add Job' button given below the calendar. This will run a backup wizard. Here select the type of backup and click on Next. Now choose the place where you want to save your backup (say, f:\) and click on Next. Then on the next screen, you have to select the type of backup from the choices-Normal, Incremental and Copy, Differential and Daily. Select Incremental from the drop-down menu and click on Next on the three consecutive screens. Now you must give a name to this new job and again click on Next and finally on Finish. This will add the backup job to your Scheduled Tasks.

To recover the crashed Win XP machine, boot your machine from the Win XP Professional installer CD. Press F2 when you get 'Press F2 to run ASR' message on the bottom of the screen. Insert the Windows ASR floppy that you created above and press any key to proceed. This will start the recovery process for your crashed Win XP system. Now, without any further prompts, your system hard drive (C:\) will be formatted. It will also copy the setup files and reboot your system. After booting the system, you will get a Windows installation setup screen. After few minutes, you will get the ASR wizard again. Here, click on Next and the wizard will ask you for the location of your backup file. Enter it and click on Next and then Finish to start the recovery process for your Win XP machine. After the process is complete, it will reboot your machine and your Win XP machine will be up and running with all your previous data and settings.

Sanjay Majumder

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