I recently purchased an external hard drive for the purpose of backing up my PC. It did not come with backup software, so I tried 2 free programs I downloaded online. They are Macrium Reflect andDriveImage XML. The problem is that they both froze at the point where they say they were analyzing the hard drive. They did not unfreeze even after a couple hours. I tried turning off Windows Firewall, but cannot think of anything else that would make them both freeze. Does anyone know why my PC might be making them freeze? Or can suggest another free or low cost backup program that would not have this problem?My comp runs Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Pentium 4 2.8 GHz, 3.5 GB of RAM.Thanks in advance for any advice.1 person needs an answerI do too

Hi, ·What is the edition of Windows installed? You may refer the below links to know how to use Windows back up feature to backup data on external drive. Links: How to use the Backup utility to back up files and folders in Windows XP Home Edition:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422 Use Backup to Protect Data (For XP professional) :http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/security/learnmore/backup.mspx Regards:Samhrutha G S - Microsoft Support.Visit ourMicrosoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Good for you for deciding to image your drive!If those programs don't work, I'm not too sure others will. Your problem might very well be that your PC is compromised. If you have SP2 instead of SP3 plus all the subsequent security updates, there is a strong chance you have malware. That would certainly produce the behavior you are experiencing.In the event you don't have malware, there is probably a program running that is interfering. You can use msconfig to temporarily disable starup programs and processes and give it a try. This page might help:http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353

Daavee,The reason I have SP2 and not SP3 is because my wireless router (installed by my local cable company for broadband internet access) would not work with SP3.I have Norton AV 2011 which i believe takes care of all malware in addition to viruses. I will try scans with Spybot and AdAware just in case Norton didn't get them all.Instead of temporarily disabling startup items, could I just run a backup program from Safe Mode?Thanks again;Christine

Your router should work independent of Service Pack level. Actually, it should work independent of the OS you are running! Did you experience an actual issue with your router? What is the make and model?Norton has been known to interfere with a number of programs. Assuming you don't have malware, that would be my first guess as to why neither Macrium nor DriveImageXML are currently working as intended. Disable Norton (make sure you are physically disconnected from the Internet first) and I predict you'll be able to image your hard drive/partition. Also, you should be advised that not even Norton (which admitedly does have high ratings) prevents all malware from entering your PC,especially if you are still at SP2 level. Your OS has so many security holes by now, it might as well be Swiss cheese!I don't think Safe Mode would work in this case.