I want a mirror image of my C: drive, so that I could take out the existing
C: drive and replace it with the backup and the machine will boot. I'd
probably duplicate the drive once a week and it can run while I'm asleep.
I've just installed XP and software on a new drive, then spent ages
downloading patches and upgrades and customizing the software. I want to
avoid that in the future.

Now there is still the issue that if my C: drive is going bad it may croak
right in the middle of the copy, and then the backup drive may also be
unusable. That's a risk I have to take and I plan to back up my critical
data to a CD on a fairly regular basis.

Data Lifeguard may do what I want. I have a copy but need to check more.
Powerquest claim that Disk Image can do the backup in the background while
you are using XP--sounds spiffy, but maybe more than I want. And apparently
Symantec has bought them.

Sam

"mike" wrote in message ...

There are several things to consider.

Does it work with the operating system you have or want?

Does it image the WHOLE drive or just the USED part of the drive.
If you have a big drive with low percentage use, this can make a BIG
difference.

Does it compress? Not an issue if you're backing up mp3s. Can make
a BIG difference if you have a lot of small uncompressed files,
like in windows.

Can you restore only PART of the backup. Restoring the whole image
will mess up everything you've changed since the last backup.
Stated another way, there's a difference between "backup" and "disaster
recovery". Make sure you're doing what you think you're doing.

I use Ghost 5.1d on win98 because it does all of the above. But it's
not compatible with XP and one of the major reasons I won't upgrade to
XP...well... except for all the other crap XP puts you thru.

mike