Leverage the Windows Automated System Recovery Disk to Make Protecting Your PC Much Simpler

Windows XP is a useful Operating System but daily utilization can change your entries, and some viruses can corrupt your much needed Windows files, making your Windows almost impossible to utilize. In these times, it is better to have a backup solution. And luckily there are some good means to do it; one example of this is Windows Automated System Recovery Disk (or ASR method) which comes with Windows XP Professional itself. The benefit is that you don’t need to install any specialized software application and it is very easy to use.

The tools that you need are: a formatted disk, the Windows XP Professional installation disk and adequate free space in a certain drive where you want to place the backup file. The program is called backup and you can search for it in Start – Programs – Accessories – Backup. If you wish to use a shortcut, you can just key in Start – Run: ntbackup, which is what the program is called. After you start it and the welcome screen is seen, you should choose the Advanced Mode. In the Advanced Mode of the Backup Utility, you have three choices to pick from: Backup Wizard, Restore Wizard and Automated System Recovery Wizard. The first choice is if you wish to make a manual selection of the entries and partitions, for example if you have special files saved elsewhere. The second is utilized to retrieve a previously made backup. The third is utilized to create a backup of the entire Windows Operating System which is generally located on C: partition. If by any circumstance, your system is found elsewhere (another partition), you can prefer the first choice and choose manually from the drives.

If you select Windows Automated System Recovery Disk Wizard, on the next screen you are requested only for the location where the backup file would be made. You can decide on whatever name and location you want. The important thing is to have adequate free space on that drive. Completing the Windows Automated System Recovery Disk Preparation Wizard is just the final stage. When you click on Finish, the program will start analyzing and then the backup operation will start. The backup is created in one single file which has the *.bkf extension. The method takes about 10 minutes but could also be a little less. After the image of the operating system is created, you are requested to insert the Windows Automated System Recovery Disk. This is used if your system fails to start and you must start from the Windows XP installation CD. The Windows Automated System Recovery Disk will help you begin the rescue program and retrieve your backup image. In this way you can be assured that even if unexpected things happen, your needed files can be saved. This is just one of the Automated System Recovery Disk applications available in the market. It will be up to you to decide if this one is the Automated System Recovery Disk program that is suited to your computer.