I need help backing up a folder that is 7.33gb in size Xp-Pro

[Xaxly24 0]

I dont know if anyone here has purchased Half-Life 2 via steam,but the whole game is d/loaded then activated via broadband.I want to avoid d/loading it again after I format...new mobo etc.Xp backup should be able to copy this to about 12 cd's(no dvd).I get through the wizard and point to my d: drive and get this window saying this....The backup file name could not be used "D:Valve.bkf" Pleases ensure it is a valid path and that you have sufficient access.I am logged as admin. I can burn cd's no trouble,from my D: drive.Any ideas you guys? I'll keep at it and check back later...for the life of me I cant comprehend why this error is popping up.Thnx....Mike

[jmmijo 1]

If you have an old 10~20GB HD lying around then I would connect that up as a SLAVE drive and format it then archive that folder to that secondary drive

 

You could do the same thing with an external USB/Firewire HD as well...

[Xaxly24 0]

I thought of that,but dont have one laying around.I also have a spindle of 100 cd's that my bro gave me for setting up his new machine....I can't even get it to backup my system files,very odd I tell ya.I'm sure someone will come through,I've solved weirder problems,but this one's got me stumped.Good idea though,thnx m8

[jmmijo 1]

Well if you have to use an archive utility, then may I suggest the best one around, at least in my opinion that is , Veritas Backup Exec as it will backup system and open files if you need it too. I use it at work to archive our domain controller.

[ross_aveling 0]

Xaxly24, is your D: drive your CD writer? XP Backup (and in fact any version of MS Backup) cannot backup straight to CD media.

 

Your only option is to follow jmmijo's slave HD suggestion, otherwise short of buying a dual layer DVD writer (they're really cheap now) create a new, seperate partition on your hard drive that will never get formatted between OS re-installs.

 

BTW - I wouldn't trust a backup consisting of 12 or so CDs, imagine if just one of the disks became unreadable; that's the whole backup trashed.

 

[ross_aveling 0]

Can't edit my post :x.

 

Anyhoo, just read a FAQ about backing up Steam games and it will give you the option to size the backup for CD (or DVD). This has nothing to do with MS Backup BTW.

 

My guess is that you'll end up with a bunch of files each at 650-700mb. You can then burn them with your favourite app.

 

[adamvjackson 0]

Correct me if I am wrong (could be, not a steam user), but the way I understand steam, you can (thoeritically) download steam (and/or HL2) onto any PC, using your steam logon...

 

Unless you're concerned about the bandwidth usage, you shouldn't need to make a backup, unless you really want to. I would also think that there would be registry keys that would pertain to steam/hl2 that would need to be considered for backup, too.

 

However, you should be able to split the folder down into smaller pieces by simply burning selected files at a time.

[ross_aveling 0]

Originally posted by adamvjackson:

Quote:

Correct me if I am wrong (could be, not a steam user), but the way I understand steam, you can (thoeritically) download steam (and/or HL2) onto any PC, using your steam logon...

Quite correct. You can log into Steam on any PC and play all the games you are entitled to (after downloading them of course).

 

The OP didn't want to have to download nearly 8Gb again though.

 

Also, as for registry keys, all important info about your account roams arounds with you. It only stores certain preferences locally such as auto starting when Windows starts.