Windows 2000 also allows you to backup all of the critical system files by choosing to backup something called System State. System State is just another option to choose within the backup program, as shown checked below:
System State can only be backed up for the local machine, since the Backup program does not allow for remote System State backups. System State includes the registry, system startup files, and COM+ objects on any system. On a system running Certificate Services, it also includes the Certificate Services database, and on a domain controller, it includes the Active Directory database, as well as the Sysvol folder.
One last thing you should be aware of with the Backup program is that this is where you now create an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD). These are no longer created with the Rdisk.exe command as in NT 4. Note that the ERD is not bootable. It is also worth noting that the ERD does not contain a copy of the local registry. This is stored in the local repair directory, and can be updated as part of the ERD creation process. To begin the emergency repair process, start the Windows 2000 installation process, and choose R to repair a damaged or corrupt system. The two repair options include Fast Repair and Manual Repair, as outlined below.
Fast Repair: this option requires no user interaction. Any errors relating to the startup environment, registry, or system files are fixed automatically. This option restores the registry from the repair directory. If the registry stored here is an old version, newer changes may be lost.
Manual Repair: This option requires user intervention, and allows you to choose to repair the startup environment, system files, or the boot volume. Note that this option does not allow you to repair the registry.
