I consider that Windows XP it is a very good OS, although day by day handling can corrupt critical Windows registries, a number of viruses might alter vital Windows dll files which make our Windows difficult to use in time. In these situations it's good to have a rescue solution. And lucky there are a few methods to work out it, although I want to speak on Automated System Recovery tool (or ASR method) which comes with Windows XP Professional itself. The reason is that we don't must to install whichever dedicated package and it is simple to resolve.

Only tools you need are: a formatted diskette, the Windows XP Professional CD and some free space in a drive where you want to save the backup file.

The program is named backup and you can find it in Start - Programs - Accessories - Backup. More quickly to access it is to type in Start - Run : ntbackup, which is the name of the program. After you start it and the welcome screen shows you you select the Advanced Mode. In the Advanced Mode of the Backup Utility you have three alternatives to choose: Backup Wizard, Restore Wizard and Automated System Recovery Wizard. The first option is if you want to do a more detailed of the directories and partitions, for example if you have important files located elsewhere. The second is used to restore a previously made backup. The third is used to create a copy of the entire Windows Operating System which is usually located on C: partition. If by any chance your OS is placed elsewhere(another drive) you can select the first option and choose manually from the drives.

If you select Automated System Recovery Wizard you are asked on the next screen only about the location of the backup file where it would be created. You are free to decide about the name and the destination of this file. Important is to have enough free space on that partition. Completing the Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard is just the last step. Clicking on Finish the program will start analyzing and then the backup operation will begin. The backup is made in one single file which is having *.bkf extension. The process is taking about 10 minutes but could be also less. After the image of Windows file system is made you are prompted to insert the floppy disk. This is used if your system fails to boot and you must boot from the Windows XP installation disk. The floppy disk will help you start the rescue program and restore your backup image.

After all it's done you can remove the diskette from its drive. You can also do scheduled automated backups with Schedule Jobs.