Binary Code

If you’re a Windows user and you like it, skip this post.

Today I have the pleasure of spending most of a beautiful afternoon attempting to ressurect and back up a dying Windows XP machine to a USB drive.

External drive: check.
Drive is formatted: check.
Backup software: … Backup software? … Backup software…?

It seems that Microsoft perhaps didn’t think the average Joe installer would want to back up their computer so XP doesn’t install its backup software by default. Instead there is this helpful bit:

Windows XP includes its own backup program, although you may need to do some digging to find it. You can also take your pick of third-party programs (listed at the end of this column) that add bells and whistles you won’t find in the basic Windows XP Backup utility.

If you use Windows XP Professional, the Windows Backup utility (Ntbackup.exe) should be ready for use. If you use Windows XP Home Edition, you’ll need to follow these steps to install the utility:

1. Insert your Windows XP CD into the drive and, if necessary, double-click the CD icon in My Computer.
2. On the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen, click Perform Additional Tasks.
3. Click Browse this CD.
4. In Windows Explorer, double-click the ValueAdd folder, then Msft, and then Ntbackup.
5. Double-click Ntbackup.msi to install the Backup utility.

So let me get this straight: a default XP install comes with games, crippled third-party software and the most defective web browser in the short history of the web but not something so incredibly useful as backup software? And the only way a user can find said software is to Google an obscure article on microsoft.com?

And once installed this software that I would argue is rather valuable software, ends up here: Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup.

That PoS that is Outlook ends up at the root level of the Start menu and the backup software ends up buried deep in a directory most novice users would fear to tread.

I am disappointed, but not in the least bit surprised.

(If you’re a Windows user and have made it this far, I recommend you install that software and use it. And you really don’t want to know what I do to back up my Mac OS machines but I’ll give you a hint: it only requires one step.)

Update: I am fascinated by the fact that I can leave my office with a backup job running and Windows will dutifuly steamroll right over that job by putting the machine to sleep before the backup finishes. Yes, I do have it set to sleep after 30 minutes by default but would it be so hard to throw a routine into the sleep code that checks if any user-activated tasks are still running and, say, waits until they’re done?

I am also fascinated by the way in which the Windows Task Manager cannot kill a running job. And then the way in which the Windows Task Manager then also chokes up and though it still me to take all the appropriate steps to kill itself, will not do that either. Stupid pacifist program.

And my fascinating grows yet again with how Windows, on a machine with no internet connection, asks me if I’d like to send a crash report to Microsoft presumably about all the other freezing software on the system, and then have that error-sending software freeze up as well.

Windows, you fascinate me. In a bad way.