Lesson 4: Using the Automated System Recovery Wizard

Lesson 4:?Using the Automated System Recovery Wizard

In this lesson you learn how to use the Automated System Recovery Wizard, which helps you back up your system partition so that you can restore it in case it is lost or damaged because of some type of disaster.


After this lesson, you will be able to

  • Understand how to use the Automated System Recovery Wizard

Estimated lesson time: 15 minutes


Using the Automated System Recovery Wizard

The Backup Utility provides access to the Automated System Recovery Wizard. To access the Automated System Recovery Wizard, click Start, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. In the Welcome To The Backup Or Restore Wizard page, click Advanced Mode. The Automated System Recovery Wizard is one of the three wizards provided by the Backup Utility (see Figure 16.7).

Figure 16.7??The Backup Utility Advanced Mode window

The Automated System Recovery Wizard creates a floppy disk, which contains your system settings, and a backup of your local system partition on tape or as a file located on a network server.

To back up your system partition, do the following:

  1. In the Advanced Mode window of the Backup Utility, click Automated System Recovery Wizard.

    The Backup Utility displays the Welcome To The Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard page.

  2. Click Next to continue.

    The Automated System Recovery Wizard begins and displays the Backup Destination page (see Figure 16.8). The options on the Backup Destination page are explained in Table 16.4.

    Figure 16.8??The Backup Destination page

    Table 16.4??Backup Destination

  3. Select the appropriate media type and backup media name or filename, and then click Next.

    The Automated System Recovery Wizard verifies the information you entered and displays the Completing The Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard page.

  4. Review the information on the Completing The Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard page, and then click Next.

    The Automated System Recovery Wizard makes a backup of your system files. This could take an hour or more.

  5. When prompted, insert a floppy disk in your floppy disk drive.
  6. When the backup completes, click Report to read the report. When you finish reviewing the report, close Notepad.
  7. Click Close to close the Backup Progress dialog box, and then close the Backup Utility.

If you need to restore your system partition, you can use the floppy disk created by the Automated System Recovery Wizard. The backup of your local system partition on tape or as a file must be available to be restored. You would then use the Backup or Restore Wizard to restore your data and applications.

Lesson Review

The following questions will help you determine whether you have learned enough to move on to the next lesson. If you have difficulty answering these questions, review the material in this lesson before beginning the next chapter. The answers for these questions are in Appendix A, "Questions and Answers."

  1. What four wizards does the Backup Utility provide access to?
  2. What two things does the Automated System Recovery Wizard create during a backup?
  3. What two pieces of information do you have to supply to the Automated System Recovery Wizard?

Lesson Summary

  • The Automated System Recovery Wizard helps you back up your system partition so that you can restore it in case of an emergency.
  • The Automated System Recovery Wizard creates a floppy disk, which contains your system settings and a backup of your local system partition on tape or as a file.
  • The target medium to use can be a tape or file located on any disk-based media, including a hard disk, a shared network folder, or a removable disk, such as an Iomega Zip disk.