I have a 3-month old HP Pavilion a1210n PC with the Media Center Edition
2005 (as I understand, a superset of XP Professional). The PC contains an
HP DVD Writer 740b, and I am using media DVD-RW, 4x. So far, I have been
unable to complete a backup by clicking through Start, Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, Backup (bringing up the Backup or Restore
Wizard), and then Next, Backup Files and Settings, Next, All Information on
the Computer, Next. Then after I fill in the drive "E:\" and the filename
"Backup12Feb06.bkf, and click Next, an error message pops up, headed "Backup
Utility" and saying :
The backup filename could not be used. "E:\Backup12Feb06.bkf" Please
ensure that it is a valid path, and that you have sufficient access.

I am the only user of this PC and am considered the HP_Administrator. I
have dug about as far as I can on my own. Naturally, I have probed all I
could on HP Help and Support, and I have read numerous Microsoft Knowledge
Base papers. I exchanged a couple of emails with HP's support site, but do
not seem to be getting a direct, coherent, helpful response so far. Please
note that I have used a program called Sonic Digital Media Plus v7 to copy
certain other data to this DVD writer, so that I know that it works in some
circumstances.

I do not think that this issue is related specifically to Media Center
Edition 2005, so I am posting here in this more general XP newsgroup. My
basic question to you more experienced people is : Am I SUPPOSED to be able
to do a full Backup to my DVD writer, or is there something about the system
that does not want to do that? I would appreciate an answer to that
question, plus any guidance that you will offer. Thanks.

BillF wrote:
You cannot backup to DVD/CD.
The built-in backup utility cannot do this.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315255

How To Use Backup to Back Up Files and Folders on Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422

Yes - you still need some sort of external media to store the results
on, but you could schedule the backup to occur when you are not around,
then burn the resultant data onto CD or DVD or something when you are
(while you do other things!)

Another option that came to my attention as of late:

Cobian Backup
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

A lot of people have wondered about how to completely backup their system
so that they would not have to go through the trouble of a reinstall..
I'm going to voice my opinion here and say that it would be worthless to
do for MOST people. Unless you plan on periodically updating the image
backup of your system (remaking it) - then by the time you use it
(something goes wrong) - it will be so outdated as to be more trouble than
performing a full install of the operating system and all applications.

Having said my part against it, you can clone/backup your hard drive
completely using many methods - by far the simplest are using disk cloning
applications:

Symantec/Norton Ghost
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/

Acronis True Image
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage

BootIt™ NG
http://terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

Windows Backup Does Not Back Up to CD-R, CD-RW, or DVD-R Devices
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315255/en-us

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"BillF" wrote:

| I have a 3-month old HP Pavilion a1210n PC with the Media Center Edition
| 2005 (as I understand, a superset of XP Professional). The PC contains an
| HP DVD Writer 740b, and I am using media DVD-RW, 4x. So far, I have been
| unable to complete a backup by clicking through Start, Programs,
| Accessories, System Tools, Backup (bringing up the Backup or Restore
| Wizard), and then Next, Backup Files and Settings, Next, All Information on
| the Computer, Next. Then after I fill in the drive "E:\" and the filename
| "Backup12Feb06.bkf, and click Next, an error message pops up, headed "Backup
| Utility" and saying :
| The backup filename could not be used. "E:\Backup12Feb06.bkf" Please
| ensure that it is a valid path, and that you have sufficient access.
|
| I am the only user of this PC and am considered the HP_Administrator. I
| have dug about as far as I can on my own. Naturally, I have probed all I
| could on HP Help and Support, and I have read numerous Microsoft Knowledge
| Base papers. I exchanged a couple of emails with HP's support site, but do
| not seem to be getting a direct, coherent, helpful response so far. Please
| note that I have used a program called Sonic Digital Media Plus v7 to copy
| certain other data to this DVD writer, so that I know that it works in some
| circumstances.
|
| I do not think that this issue is related specifically to Media Center
| Edition 2005, so I am posting here in this more general XP newsgroup. My
| basic question to you more experienced people is : Am I SUPPOSED to be able
| to do a full Backup to my DVD writer, or is there something about the system
| that does not want to do that? I would appreciate an answer to that
| question, plus any guidance that you will offer. Thanks.

Your replies and links are very helpful. They will keep me from continuing
to attempt the impossible. If I did not have such high regard for the folks
over at Microsoft, I would be inclined to think of this as a "design
deficiency". Thanks again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"BillF" <billjf1957(NOSPAM)@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:OcJdFOFMGHA.4052@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...
I have a 3-month old HP Pavilion a1210n PC with the Media Center Edition
2005 (as I understand, a superset of XP Professional). The PC contains an
HP DVD Writer 740b, and I am using media DVD-RW, 4x. So far, I have been
unable to complete a backup by clicking through Start, Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, Backup (bringing up the Backup or Restore
Wizard), and then Next, Backup Files and Settings, Next, All Information on
the Computer, Next. Then after I fill in the drive "E:\" and the filename
"Backup12Feb06.bkf, and click Next, an error message pops up, headed "Backup
Utility" and saying :
The backup filename could not be used. "E:\Backup12Feb06.bkf" Please
ensure that it is a valid path, and that you have sufficient access.

I am the only user of this PC and am considered the HP_Administrator. I
have dug about as far as I can on my own. Naturally, I have probed all I
could on HP Help and Support, and I have read numerous Microsoft Knowledge
Base papers. I exchanged a couple of emails with HP's support site, but do
not seem to be getting a direct, coherent, helpful response so far. Please
note that I have used a program called Sonic Digital Media Plus v7 to copy
certain other data to this DVD writer, so that I know that it works in some
circumstances.

I do not think that this issue is related specifically to Media Center
Edition 2005, so I am posting here in this more general XP newsgroup. My
basic question to you more experienced people is : Am I SUPPOSED to be able
to do a full Backup to my DVD writer, or is there something about the system
that does not want to do that? I would appreciate an answer to that
question, plus any guidance that you will offer. Thanks.

If you install packet writing software you can, indeed, backup to CD and DVD
media, including re-writable.

Packet writing modules come with Nero and Roxio burning software.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

"BillF" <billjf1957(NOSPAM)@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:OcJdFOFMGHA.4052@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl...

And, by the same token, the same packet writing software has to be in place
before attempting a restore.
--
Jonny
"Richard Urban" <richardurbanREMOVETHIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:uHL7HoJMGHA.648@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...

On 13/02/2006 "BillF" <billjf1957(NOSPAM)@comcast.net> wrote:
You need to know that if Microsoft have provided all the utilities required to
run, manage and use Windows, they will be a lot larger that they are
currently. A lot of other software companies will cease to make better
software than Microsoft. This will make them a "monopoly" where they would
be only place you can get software.

--
---

Y.