Windows Backup Software

Prerequisites

Windows Installation CD

Before you start, have your Windows installation CD and the product key available. Without these, you cannot reinstall Windows. If Windows was preinstalled on your computer, contact the computer manufacturer for help in obtaining the Windows installation files and product key.

Device Drivers
Many of the device drivers for your hardware components are integrated into Windows. However, devices such as printers, monitors, graphic cards, sound cards, modems, external drives, and scanners usually have separate installation CDs. If you do not have all the drivers for your hardware components, you can download the drivers from the Internet and then write them to a CD.

If your computer requires a third-party mass storage device driver or hardware abstraction layer (HAL), make sure that you have a copy of the files on a separate storage media before you start the reinstallation.

Internet Explorer 7/8
If Internet Explorer 7 is installed on your computer, you must uninstall it before you reinstall Windows XP.

Programs
Collect and store the CDs and product keys for your programs in an appropriate location so that you can reinstall the programs after you have reinstalled Windows. These programs may include the following:

-Microsoft Office programs

-Antivirus software

-CD writing software

-Internet Provider software

Data Backup
Before you reinstall Windows, back up all important data to another location. Data that you may want to back up could include the following:

-My Documents (documents, pictures, music, videos)

-Program folders (configuration data, user data)

-Favorites

-Address books

-E-mail messages

-Document templates

-Macros

-Boilerplates

The original backup copies of your registry files (located in the %systemroot%\Repair folder) are replaced when the reinstallation is completed. These original registry files in the Repair folder were created either when you started Windows XP or when you last used the Backup utility to back up the system state. If you think that you might have to use the registry backups after the reinstallation is complete, copy these registry backup files to another location before you perform the reinstallation.

Network Settings
You can restore certain network settings after you reinstall Windows. Before you start the reinstallation, record your computer’s network settings so that they can easily be available if this step is required. These settings include the following:

Computer name

Workgroup or domain

TCP/IP settings

To find these settings, do the following steps:

To find these settings, click Start and then click Run.
Type control ncpa.cpl in the Open text field and then click OK.
Right-click Local Area Connection and then right-click Properties.
Record the network settings.
Internet provider information
To make sure that you can reconnect to the Internet after you have reinstalled Windows, record your Internet provider information. This includes user name, password information, and names of mail servers.

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