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Backup Your Files Using Free tools. Windows XP Home, Pro and Vista all versions.

Recently I was working for a client that had Windows XP Home Edition and the question was raised how do I backup my data without purchasing a expensive backup software?

Well fortunately there is a way. Couple of options.

My favorite is:

I started out using a cool little used utility called Synctoy and windows task manager to do the scheduled backup. Keep in mind I was using Windows XP Home with a login that had no password. Got all of the software installed. Created a task in the windows task manager (C:\windows\tasks).

Launching the Task Scheduler, right-click and select "Scheduled Task" in the menu again. Give a name to your work and then go to the properties of the task.
Launch the Task Scheduler and right click and select “Scheduled Task” in the menu bar. Type a name for your work and select the property of the task.
In the "Run" to the path of SyncToy, in the "Run As" - put what you want (one is advised).
In the “Run”, choose the path for SyncToy in the “Run as”.
Enter the parameters in the tabs “Planning”, “Settings” and “Security”.
Go back to the task tab and in the Run path, type : -R"test".
Below will appear:
"C:\Program Files\SyncToy 2.0\SyncToycmd.exe" -R"test"
Be careful, there must be a space between the –R and the phrase as well as at end.

*Note: You need to have a password setup for this task or any task to run.

Tools that are included in your install of the Windows Operating System:

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Windows XP Home/XP:

Installing the Ntbackup.msi for Windows XP Home or Pro.

how to install Backup from the Windows XP Home Edition CD-ROM. The Backup utility helps you protect your data if your hard disk stops working or your files are accidentally erased. With Backup, you can create a copy of all the data on your hard disk, and then archive it on another storage device, such as a removable hard disk or a tape. The Backup utility is not included in the default installation of Windows XP Home Edition. Therefore, to use Backup, you have to install it manually.

Manually install the Backup utility.

Download it if you don't want to extract it.

• Drop.io
• Skydrive

To manually install Backup, follow these steps:

1. Put the Windows XP Home Edition CD in the CD Drive.
2. Double-click the Ntbackup.msi file in the following location to start a wizard that installs Backup:CD drive:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP
3. When the installation wizard is finished, click Finish.

If the wizard completed the installation, the program was successfully installed and you can now use the Backup utility.

XP Home has issues with doing any backups what so ever. The features are obviously very handicapped. I would then use the SyncToy method previously mentioned.

The Automated System Recovery feature of the Backup utility is not a supported feature in Windows XP Home Edition. However, Backup is provided on the CD-ROM as an additional value to help you back up important system data. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

302700 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/302700/ ) An Error Message Is Displayed When You Attempt to Use the Automated System Recovery Wizard

of course this makes it difficult to use backed up files to recover files.

Windows Vista:

Scheduling a regular Complete PC Backup is one way to ensure you have recent images of your entire computer.

Complete PC Backup is not schedulable through the control panel, but you can work around this by creating a new task in the Task Scheduler.

If you choose to schedule Complete PC Backups, I advise periodic monitoring to verify that backups completed successfully. Why is this necessary? Because this method doesn't notify you via a pop-up if the backups fail due to disk space issues or other transient problems. This should not be considered a replacement for using File Backup on a regular basis. That said, here's how you can use Task Scheduler to schedule Complete PC Backup:

1. Go to Task Scheduler (which you'll find in the Accessories\System Tools folder in the All Programs portion of your Start menu).
2. Click Create Task.
3. Go to the General tab.
4. Type a descriptive name, such as Scheduled Complete PC Backup.
5. If you want the task to run regardless of whether you're logged on, click Run whether user is logged on or not.
6. Click Run with highest privileges.
7. Go to the Triggers page.
8. Click New and then specify when and how often the scheduled backup will take place.
9. Go to the Actions page.
10. Click New.
11. Under Program/Script, type wbadmin.
12. In Add arguments (optional), type the following command, adjusting the target drive letter as necessary:
Copy Code

Start backup –allcritical –backupTarget:D: -quiet

If you want to include additional volumes that are not the system, boot, or Windows Recovery Environment volumes, use the following statement instead, substituting the appropriate drive letters (separated by commas) for E and F:
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Start backup –allcritical –backupTarget:D: -include:E:,F: -quiet

Note that the command should always include the allcritical flag. Not having this flag risks excluding important system volumes from the backup, which would lead to failure during restore.
13. Configure any other task-related settings.
14. Click OK.