I have an external HD that I use to store stuff that I can't afford to lose. I've just rebuilt a system and wanted to capture that nice new XP install on my external HD for possible restore later if ever needed. It's way too smooth and quick to loose over time as XP gets corrupted :)I've tried both in normal and safe mode to copy/paste OS files to my external HD, but keep getting the message that files are in use and cannot be copied. Is there an easier way to backup files? I'm sure that I'm missing something basic here :)Thanks, Bruce.

Hi Bruce,I think you'll have to use software specifically designed for this purpose, such as Norton Ghost. (BTW, I have read with interest the other thread regarding Norton Antivirus. By no means do I think it is the best antivirus solution out there but I like the simplicity and the fact that I can just use one suite as opposed to software from multiple vendors. For example, one purchase of Norton Systemworks gives me both Norton Utilities and Norton Antivirus - it even comes with Norton Ghost although I don't use it.)So, I'll let other people chime in on their experiences on what software is best besides Norton Ghost. I've also heard good things about a package called Retrospect.Hope this helps.Edwin

I use Acronis True Image. Simple to use, a small memory footprint, can be had at your local CompUSA for less than Ghost.Edwin, while Norton does indeed offer alot in one package the problem with it and gaming is it's huge footprint. It requires alot of memory (even when it isn't doing anything) and is virtually impossible to root out once it's been installed (this alone is what caused me to finally give up on it. I couldn't help but feel it was in control of my computer and that I just got to borrow it).It's fairly easy nowadays to "build" our own preferred "suite" of utilites, and many of them are free. And I can't think of any that have the impact on a system like Norton.Regards,Greg

Hi Greg,I do agree with your statement about Norton's footprint. And every year, Symantec seems to only add to that footprint by adding new "features" which can only be characterized as bloat. I can't say enough that I do agree with you - just that I also want to balance it with the simplicity of not having to worry about constantly updating each and every piece of software. With Norton, I just hit Liveupdate and everything gets updated. Plus, besides antivirus, I want disk utility software - things like Speed Disk and Disk Doctor.Now that you have me started, can I ask what components you have for your self-built "suite"? I already use ZoneAlarm Pro as my firewall solution. As for spyware prevention, I use Spybot Search & Destroy together with Ad-Aware SE Personal. Specifically, I'm most interested in your antivirus solution and system suite.Thanks and regards,Edwin

Thanks Edwin.Greg: "Specifically, I'm most interested in your antivirus solution and system suite." I would also be interested- as a prior NAV user and being used- as Edwin says- to just do a "live update", it would be good to see what the alternatives are. I'm very reluctant to install NAV, but also realize that it's better than no AV application.Thanks guys, Bruce.

Just saw this, FWIW:http://antivirus-software.6starreviews.com...CFQ0fSQodBjh4CgBruce.

Sorry for the late reply, gonna have to start visiting this forum more often.Over the years I've learned that what's good for gaming is good for general computing. I had a friend call a couple months ago upset that her computer was taking so long to boot/shut down and that it took minutes (DSL) to get online (she's an AOL victim... that's the worst virus ever created). So off I went, and was I shocked when I saw what she dealing with! Her system was a Toshiba laptop running XP Home. Couple years old I'd guess. But her system at start-up had 63 services running!!! Gawd, what a mess. Every app she had ever installed added something to either start-up or services or both. No wonder the thing was crawling!Point being here is that gamers are usually more in tune with their systems than the average user. We are more concerned with background apps (like Norton) stealing precious CPU cycles. So we tune and we wrench out the useless stuff. And in the end our systems are faster, safer (from a security standpoint), and generally more fun and pleasurable.Funny thing about tuning a system for gaming... when we shut down useless services and programs we also often make the system more secure. A good example of this is Messenger. A huge security hole, and there are certainly better apps out there. IE is another example. I use Forefox and couldn't be happier. Small footprint, easy to configure, flexible, just a joy to use. And since most hackers create their junk to exploit IE that leaves us Firefox users relatively hacker free (though it should always be remembered that any app can be hacked).I had planned on listing what I use to configure a system, and then I learned that Tweakguides just released a new guide for setting up a system. I read thru it carefully (all 174 pages) and continully found myself nodding my head in agreement. It's really an oustanding guide, not just for the gamer but any computer user. The guide is in .pdf format, and I've already printed it out. A wonderful tool.Bruce, I use AVG for my anti-virus. I configure it just as Tweakguides recommends. I do manual scans (I don't allow any app to schedule anything... I decide when an action should be performed) when I feel necessary (sometimes once a week, sometimes once a day if I'm visiting alot of unfamiliar sites). I've been happy with it, though I've never had a virus. I also use Adaware and Spybot, though I prefer Spy Sweeper. As a final line of defense I use HijackThis, but one must be careful before deleting anything HJT finds.One area my solution doesn't follow Tweakguides is e-mail. He recommends Thunderbird, but I use Mailwasher. Mailwasher allows me to view my mail at my ISP's server before I ever have to let it on my system. Anything I'm suspicious of gets binned before my computer ever sees it. Mailwasher is free for use with only one e-mail account (multiple accounts require purchase).Another recommendation is to forget about software firewalls. In my experience they are more trouble than they're worth. I use a simple Linksys router that I bought on sale for $40.00 (some software firewalls cost more than that). The router has WEP encrytion and, from this gamer's perspective, uses no resources. Yet another security measure that I don't have to sacrafice cycles for.Hope this helps a bit. I'll pay more attention in the future.:-beerchug Greg

It's not likely, but if you can find a copy of Norton Ghost 2003, grab it. Subsequent to 2003, Symantec bought another drive imaging company (I think it was Powerquest, but not sure about that) and completely changed Ghost. The latest Ghost will still image drives and partitions, but most power users seem to think that 2003 was the best version. I have it, and it's saved my butt several times. Unlike other Symantec apps, it has almost no footprint in Windows.Since it runs from a command prompt (DOS) instead of Windows, I'm not sure if it will write a disk image to an external USB drive. It will write to a second internal drive, or to a CD/DVD burner.