Running a one-time backup from Symantec Recovery Disk

Using a valid license key, you can create independent recovery points using the Back Up My Computer feature in Symantec Recovery Disk. Sometimes known as a cold backup or offline backup, you can create recovery points of a partition without the need to install Norton Ghost or its agent.

To run a one-time backup from Symantec Recovery Disk

  1. If you intend to store the resulting recovery point on a USB device (for example, an external hard drive), attach the device now.

  2. Start the Symantec Recovery Disk CD on the computer you want to back up.

  3. On the Home panel, click Back Up My Computer, and then click Next.

  4. If prompted, enter a valid license key, and then click Next.

  5. Select one or more drives that you want to back up, and then click Next.

  6. In the Backup Destination panel, set the options you want, then click Next.

    Folder field

    Lets you browse to and specify the location where you want to store the independent recovery point.

    Map a network drive

    Lets you map a network drive by using the UNC path of the computer on which you want to store the recovery point.

    For example, \\computer_name\share_name or \\IP_address\share_name.

    Recovery point file names field

    Lets you edit the recovery point file name. To do this, select a drive, click Rename, type a new file name, and then click OK.

  7. In the Options panel, set the desired compression level for the recovery point.

    None

    Use this option if storage space is not an issue. However, if the backup is being saved to a busy network drive, high compression may be faster than no compression because there is less data to write across the network.

    Standard (recommended)

    This option uses low compression for a 40 percent average data compression ratio on recovery points. This setting is the default.

    Medium

    This option uses medium compression for a 45 precent average data compression ratio on recovery points.

    High

    This option uses high compression for a 50 percent average data compression ratio on recovery points. This setting is usually the slowest method.

    When a high compression recovery point is created, CPU usage might be higher than normal. Other processes on the computer might also be slower. To compensate, you can adjust the operation speed of Norton Ghost. This might improve the performance of other resource-intensive applications that you are running at the same time.

  8. If you want to verify whether the recovery point is valid after its creation, select Verify recovery point after creation.

  9. In the Description text box, type a description that you want associated with the recovery point.

  10. Click Advanced.

  11. In the Advanced options panel, set the options you want, and then click OK.

    Divide into smaller files to simplify archive

    You can split the recovery point into smaller files and specify the maximum size (in MB) for each file.

    For example, if you plan to copy a recovery point to ZIP disks from your backup destination, specify a minimum file size of 100 MB, according to the size of each ZIP disk.

    Disable SmartSector copying

    SmartSector technology speeds up the copying process bycopying only the hard-disk sectors that contain data. However, in some cases, you might want to copy all sectors in their original layout, whether or not they contain data.

    Lets you copy used and unused hard-disk sectors. This option increases process time and usually results in a larger recovery point.

    Ignore bad sectors during copy

    Lets you run a backup even if there are bad sectors on the hard disk. Although most drives do not have bad sectors, the potential for problems increases during the lifetime of the hard disk.

    Use password

    Sets a password on the recovery point when it is created. Passwords can include standard characters. Passwords cannot include extended characters, or symbols. (Use characters with an ASCII value of 128 or lower.)

    A user must type this password before he or she can restore a backup or view the contents of the recovery point.

    Use AES encryption

    Encrypts recovery point data to add another level of protection to your recovery points.

    Choose from the following encryption levels:

    • Low (8+ character password)

    • Medium (16+ character password)

    • High (32+ character password)

  12. Click Next.

  13. Click Finish to run the backup.

  14. When the backup is finished, click Close to return to the main Symantec Recovery Disk window.

More Information

Starting a computer by using Symantec Recovery Disk