Technology Features

Volume shadow copies

Windows XP Professional introduces volume shadow copies, a technology that provides a copy of the original volume at the instant a shadow copy is made. Volume shadow copies allow users or applications to continue working while a backup occurs on a shadow copy of the original volume. The uninterrupted backup allows the files to appear unchanged while changes are made during the backup, which might take hours to be completed. Additionally, the backup application can back up files that are held open exclusively by their respective applications. In previous versions of Backup, files open at the time of the backup were skipped. For more information about volume shadow copies, see Volume Shadow Copy Technology later in this chapter.

Automated System Recovery

Windows XP Professional introduces the Automated System Recovery (ASR) tool, an advanced option of the Backup Tool (NTBackup.exe). ASR replaces the Emergency Repair Disk found in Microsoft Windows 2000 and Microsoft Windows NT 4.0.

ASR in Backup is a last-resort feature to use before reformatting your disk and re-installing Windows XP Professional. ASR enables you to restore the system state and critical files on the system and boot partitions. Use ASR only when Windows XP Professional cannot start in normal, safe, or Recovery Console mode. For more information about ASR, see Automated System Recovery later in this chapter.

Tip 

You can also do a full backup with the ability to restore your system by using the Backup and Restore wizard. In the wizard choose All information on this computer and have a blank floppy disk available to use when prompted.