Loading an XP image after re-installing XP

[jldodge]

I have an Acronis 10 image of my hard drive. I also have an earlier tape backup using Windows backup/recovery utility in System Tools. Both were created without errors and have been verified.

I reached a point in XP where I had to reinstall Windows. After re-installing, I reinstalled Acronis but could not get the image to load (it would hang without any error messages). I then used the tape backup and "replaced" all files. However, my Program Files menu cannot load any of my software programs that were installed at the time of the tape backup. Cannot understand why the tape backup did not restore my computer to the same condition on the date it was created. Note: the purpose of the tape backup was to get me to a better working state with respect to previously loaded software.

Ultimately, I would like to load the Acronis image. Last night I tried to "repair" the installation and it would not let me complete, even when I did so as the administrator. Can anyone give me some advice/counsel on what might be wrong with my ability to use the Acronis image???

Thanks in advance ...

[glc]

The best way to restore an Acronis image is boot with the Acronis CD and restore it to a freshly formatted hard drive, not do it from within Windows.

[jldodge]

Can someone tell me if a Windows Backup (using the System Tools utility) on tape is essentially equivalent to an image backup through Acronis? I am particularly interested in restoring the settings, including those for the installed programs.

Appreciate any help here ... Thanks in advance ...