Guidelines

●When creating recovery media or backing up to discs, use any of the following types of discs (purchased separately): DVD+R, DVD+R DL, DVD-R, DVD-R DL, or DVD±RW. The discs you use will depend on the type of optical drive you are using.

●Be sure that the computer is connected to AC power before you start the recovery media creation process or the backup process.

Creating recovery media with HP Recovery Disc Creator

HP Recovery Disc Creator is a software program that offers an alternative way to create recovery media. After you successfully set up the computer, you can create recovery media using HP Recovery Disc Creator. This recovery media allows you to reinstall your original operating system as well as select drivers and applications if the hard drive becomes corrupted. HP Recovery Disc Creator can create two kinds of recovery DVDs:

●Windows 7 operating system DVD—Installs the operating system without additional drivers or applications.

●Driver Recovery DVD—Installs specific drivers and applications only, in the same way that the HP Software Setup utility installs drivers and applications.

Creating recovery media

NOTE: The Windows 7 operating system DVD can be created only once. Thereafter, the option to create that media will not be available after you create a Windows DVD.

To create the Windows DVD:

1.Select Start > All Programs > Productivity and Tools > HP Recovery Disc Creator.

2.Select Windows disk.

3.From the drop-down menu, select the drive for burning the recovery media.

4.Click the Create button to start the burning process.

After the Windows 7 operating system DVD has been created, create the Driver Recovery DVD:

1.Select Start > All Programs > Productivity and Tools > HP Recovery Disc Creator.

2.Select Driver disk.

3.From the drop-down menu, select the drive for burning the recovery media.

4.Click the Create button to start the burning process.

Backing up your information

You should create system repair media and your initial backup immediately after initial system setup. As you add new software and data files, you should continue to back up your system on a regular basis to maintain a reasonably current backup. You should also create Windows system repair media (select models only) which can be used to start up (boot) the computer and repair the operating system

134 Chapter 11 Backup and recovery in Windows 7