Backing up OS and programs !

[Siberian]

I would like to know if there is a 1,2,3 backup solution for OS and the programs on it so that if you had to, reinstall windows, upgrade windows you could just load the backup and resume your regular work ? Even if you upgrade Windows from ? I'm looking for some suggestions or maybe the 1,2,3 solution so one can back up everything and know there data can be restored with ease if it's a program or a physical drive or both?

[mvmalderen]

Acronis True Image is definitely the way to go !!

[Siberian]

True Image can backup your OS and programs and even though you upgrade your OS you can still restore all your programs onto the new OS ?

[samarudge]

I like AceBackup if you're looking for a free solution but if you want absolute simplicity and don't mind paying a bit Google NTI Shadow

[airbourne]

I use CloneZilla Live CD. It's free, and I run it once a week. If my machine runs into problems, I can just restore from backup and pickup right where the backup left off.

To save space when making an image as Vista being such a pig, I even turn off memory dump and clear my restore points & temp files (cache) before making a backup, though I admit there is some risk involved with that.

I mitigate that risk by placing all of my data (documents, photos, etc) on an old PC running Samba, which is backed up separately, and only use CloneZilla to make a snapshot of my OS and Programs (no data).

[mvmalderen]

True Image can backup your OS and programs and even though you upgrade your OS you can still restore all your programs onto the new OS ?

For that purpose I actually would recommend you using Genie Backup ...