How to Make a Backup Copy of Your XP Operating System

1. Right click on the 'Start' menu, and select the 'Explore' button.
2. Click on 'Tools,' select the 'Folder Options' entry, highlight the 'View' tab and tick off the option to 'Show Hidden Files.'
3. Insert the Windows XP disk into the computer.
4. Right click on your desktop, select the 'New' option and select the 'Folder' option. Label this folder 'XP Files.'
5. Open the 'My Computer' menu, double-click on your CD drive, and drag and drop all of the files on the CD to the 'XP Files' folder you just created.
6. Run the boot image extractor program, and extract the boot file from the Windows XP CD to your 'XP Files' folder.
7. Open your CD burner, select the option to create a boot CD, set the boot file to the boot image file extracted during step 6 and burn the files in the XP Files folder to a CD, using a program such as Roxio or Nero (that is capable of making boot CDs).