Mirror Your PC, For Easy Backup

Last week my Windows PC started acting slower than usual and I couldn't get a couple of programs to work properly. Of course I run anti-spyware, anti-virus and anti-hacking [firewall] software, so I scanned the system to try to eliminate any malicious software that could have been causing the problems. I also used System Mechanic, an excellent preventive maintenance program, to clean out the Windows registry. That helped speed things up a bit but I still had unexplainable problems with a couple of programs and my PC was still a bit slower than it should be.

So, I decided to apply the ultimate cure. I backed up all my data to an external hard drive and grabbed my Windows XP install CD to reformat my hard drive and re-install Windows. This process erases all the data and software from the drive and replaces the Windows operating system. I don't recommend people do this lightly. It's time consuming and if something goes wrong, your machine could be rendered useless. Definitely don't do this unless you are completely backed up and know what you're doing.

Usually when I apply this drastic measure it takes me about four hours to get my machine back in running order. My typical strategy is to reinstall all my software from scratch and restore my data from the external drive. Usually that's not such a big deal. Many of the programs I use can be downloaded from the Internet so even if I don't have the CDs, it's easy to get them. The rest are on CDs that I have nearby.

For reasons that I still don't understand, my Creative Technology SoundBlaster sound card didn't work even after I installed the software from the original CD. For me, a sound card is a necessity because I use my PC to record and edit my radio broadcasts. I probably spent about two hours on the phone with Creative's technical support department but they weren't able to resolve the problem. At one point, I got a service technician who reminded me that my warranty had expired and I'd have to pay $19.95 for help. I forked over my credit card information only to spend an incredibly frustrating half hour with the person who kept putting me on hold to ask someone else for the answers to my question. This person was more clueless than I – actually, far more clueless. I have to remember to call them to request a refund of that $19.95.

After several frustrating hours of trial and error, I finally got the sound card to work. By 1:00 a.m. – 15 hours after I started the project – I had my PC back in working order.

The next day I vowed that I would never go through this again — which is when I decided to switch my backup and restore strategy.

From now on, instead of restoring my PC in a piecemeal fashion, I plan to use a program that takes a mirror image of my PC and restores it all at once.

There are lots of backup programs on the market and many, including the one I just started using, can automatically maintain an up-to-date backup of your system. That's great incase your machine is destroyed, but if your system has a problem, restoring that up-to-date backup will also restore your problem.

That's why — once my system was working correctly — I made a backup of it as it was at that moment so that if things go wrong again, I can restore it to that pristine condition.

The program I'm now using is Acronis True Image 8.0 from Acronis. This $49 program creates an exact image of what's on your hard drive and it also has a feature that will incrementally update that image as you add data and software. I used it to create two images of my system.

One I labeled "New working system" and the other "Incremental Backup." That first one will never be updated. It's just archived in case I need it. The second one will be updated every night at 4:30 a.m. and will contain any new software or data. I update my internal hard drive to a 200 GB Maxtor One Touch (about $200) external USB hard drive.

The software can also be configured to backup your system automatically and the company also makes a business version that can backup machines over a local area network. The program makes a bootable emergency CD that you can use to start your computer, even if the hard disk is completely erased.

I tested True Image by installing it on a spare machine, creating a backup and then deliberately erasing everything on the hard drive. I then inserted the Acronis emergency CD in the drive, booted the machine, clicked on a couple icons and 10 minutes later the machine was fully restored. It booted into Windows with all the software and data intact.

Now if — or should I say when — anything happens to my PC, I have a relatively easy way to bring it back into great shape. That's well worth the $49.99.