Windows CD backup

[kwokwai]

I have a copy of XP SP2 CD (Legal version).
MS Windows are just two a cent, but I can't afford to waste several hundred dollars again.
So, I have to make a backup copy of MS Windows using Nero...
It is just for my use, not for resell or sharing.
Which format should I use?
Should I just burn it as Data in ISO format?

[bear]

Probably just disk at once, complete CD copy should work, I suspect. But if the copy protections don't allow for this, not much I cna do to help you...

[kwokwai]

Probably just disk at once, complete CD copy should work, I suspect. But if the copy protections don't allow for this, not much I cna do to help you...


I have copied all the data to the PC, but have no idea what to do first!

[bear]

Sorry?
Take the exact copy of the disk and burn to CD.

I don't use Nero, but in Roxio there is a copy disk option that makes an exact copy, byte for byte. That's probably what you need to look for in Nero.

[kwokwai]

Sorry?
Take the exact copy of the disk and burn to CD.

I don't use Nero, but in Roxio there is a copy disk option that makes an exact copy, byte for byte. That's probably what you need to look for in Nero.


but I only one DVDRW, how can I put two discs into the same ROM at the same time? :D

[bear]

That's not the way it's done. You tell it to copy the disk, it gets copied to a file on the HDD, then you replace the copied CD with a blank and burn. Surely Nero came with a help file? :poke:

[kwokwai]

That's not the way it's done. You tell it to copy the disk, it gets copied to a file on the HDD, then you replace the copied CD with a blank and burn. Surely Nero came with a help file? :poke:


If I undertsand you correctly, the software will ask you for the copy in the HDD first, and after it is done, you have to put a blank new CD to burn the copy, right?

But I can't see the difference by not doing so.
If I just burn it as if I was buring some data files, will the CD be bootable?

[bear]

Yes, it should copy to a file (like an ISO) on the HDD, and then prompt for a burnable disk.

If you've used "disk at once" or similar, it should have made a full copy of the disk, including what it needs to boot from it. On most installation CDs, this is usually an INF file (autorun.inf, typically) that points to the installer/updater application.

What do the help files in Nero say?

[kwokwai]

I have captured a picture of all the files inside the XPSP2 disc, can you take a look at it?
http://www.geocities.com/space4cidp/xpsp2.jpg

I couldn't find any ISO file, what should I do then?

[bear]

An ISO file is an "image" file of the contents, not an actual file found within the CD. What the disk writing software does is to create a "snapshot" of the whole disks contents, saved in a single file called a ISO.
You then use that ISO file to write it back to the blank CD.

What do the Nero help files say about this?

[kwokwai]

I can't see the help file of the Nero software, maybe it has corrupted after I've upgraded the SP1 to SP2.

[kwokwai]

you are right, bear!
I have just made a backup of Windows XP SP2.

Initally, Nero will ask for two input of parameters: one for the source, and the other for burner.

I choose the same drive, then put the source (the original disc) into the drive; and after the process is done, it asks me to put a blank new disc...

The backup disc boots up itself when I put it into the DVD-ROM drive.
I hope the disc contains no error and can be used whenever I need it!
;)

[bear]

Excellent, glad you found how to do it. Never heard of SP2 breaking help files, though..