I agree with his last remark.
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Also, have you considered simply using Windows 2000 to do back ups
http://uis.georgetown.edu/software/documentation/win2000/win2000.backup.open.html
The backup program with Windows 2000 is a good program. It is NOT for users who do not want to invest time in learning how it works. But it does, indeed, work very well. When you do a full backup, it should be to some external device. A hard drive or a network drive.
This is where more hardware can help. You decide if you want more software or more hardware. I like more hardware.
After the backup, you should create an emergency disk on tghe A: drive. It is not a boot disk. It is used to assist in a repair of the system with the boot CD.
In the event you have a total wipe out of the hard drive, it can be restored. But this requires some method a mobile drive.
A mobile drive is on a tray the can be placed into a sick PC and you se the BIOS to boot the mobile drive that has a bard generic Windows 2000. That system is th en use to restore the original from the backup. When done, remove the mobile and reset the BIOS. This is a common practice in large installations where many PCs have mostly the same hardware and OS.
Here is a page from a popular vendor:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=285This is NOT and endorsement for any product or service. This is to show what is call a "mobile hard drive system". With this the Windows 2000 backup is very usable as is.
I wrote this a 4AM, so if it is not too clear, please understand. I am just trying to be helpful. I gotta get up again at 6AM.