Yes I know an open file can change but assuming you backup regularly an image can be reliably made. There are some packages that work from the command line but they are to most 'rather scary'.

Here I am looking at a solution from Origin consisting of a USB drive and a copy of Symantec Live State Recovery. The only true backup is a total one. Yes lots of packages provide the ability to backup data and this is by far the most important component. In a corporate environment then there should be 'IT' people to get you up and running quickly when the worst happens. In a smaller business maybe not and in a home or Soho environment that person is Y O U.

Installing the software from the supplied CD is quick at only around five minutes. The USB drive small at 12x7x1.5cm and is plugged into a USB port and Windows recognises it. After the software install - leave the Symantec CD in the drive - you need a reboot and you should see on reboot an option to 'Boot from the CD'. Touch nothing and the PC will boot normally. If you do not see the offer to boot from CD then you may need to change the boot order in your BIOS settings.

See also: Backups

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Now to do a complete backup, providing the space on the USB drive is larger than the space taken on your hard disc then that's it, if not then you either need a larger USB drive or things become more complex by spanning drives.

The unit supplied to me was 37.2GB and the used space on my 'C' drive was 29.5GB. I just accepted the defaults after telling the software to backup to the USB drive. Now I have used a number of backup packages over the last decade or so and this was simple and quick. The total backup time was a tad under 25minutes and while I allowed it 'maximum speed' meaning anything else would respond only slowly you have a slider to adjust to what you may require.

So 29.5GB on my 'C' drive with the default settings becomes 25.4GB on the USB drive.

I do have a nasty gripe and that is with the Symantec licensing you are provided with a number, to use the full functionality of the software the product needs to be registered, not however just entering the number, you have to go online and that means that the PC must in some way be connected to the Internet. Once online a three page form needs to be filled in and only then is a file sent with the information to allow full use of the product, this file is compressed and needs to be uncompressed before you can tell the Symantec software where to find it. Certainly it makes Microsoft's activation module seem like kindergarten. 

So now how easy -or hard- is the restore. Well remember when you installed the software you checked that the Symantec CD would boot - you did check didn't you? If this is a test you can access from within Windows and pick the files you wish to restore. However if this is the day when the PC will not boot then that Symantec CD becomes a lovely thing. You also of course have the Origin USB hard drive attached and after a while - providing the fault is caused by software - you are back working in Windows and whatever the weather outside it's a lovely day. Of course unless you are ultra cool you probably badly need a shower and change of clothes.

The only questions now 1) What caused the failure and 2) How old was that backup.

Origin do a range of sizes and while the unit provided was large enough for my test I suspect with the mega size of programs and operating system one ten times larger can soon be filled.

The price of the unit and full copy of Symantec Live State Recovery is £89.62 + delivery certainly a small price to pay for peace of mind. Ask yourself two questions can your backup program backup to an external device such as a USB drive and second can the software it has read this device when Windows cannot boot?

This is the smallest of the units supplied see the website for the full range of Amacom units with Symantec Live State Recovery software.

http://www.originstorage.com/detail.asp?id=8032