XP Backup

[Joanne]

I read somewhere that its a good idea to make a copy of
the Windows XP software off the hard drive and burn to CD
just in case there is a problem with hard drive etc, and
that it is especially needed when all the computer has
been give is OEM software.
How do you go about writing the files to a CD so that they
can be read as a system disc if required? How do you do
this? I am quite good with computers but I would prefer a
fool proof method of doing this so I always have a backup
copy to hand.

 

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Windows XP's backup software does not support spanning multiple CD's, so is unsuited to this task. There are a number of backup and imaging programs that will span CD's, making the first of the set "bootable" so that you can boot from CD to do a complete system restore.

Image For Windows (and its included DOS companion) is one such. It also supports imaging to DVD drives, so you may only need one or two discs.

http://www.bootitng.com/imagew.html