Joe M said:
Does anyone knows of any other better Operating System cloning/imaging
software than Symantec Norton Ghost2003? In the past there was Imagequest,
but now they're bought by Symantec too.
I need another imaging software because on some computers ghost doesn't seem
to work because of the hardware components. Maybe having another imaging
software will solve the problem.
Hi:
I am constantly puzzled by the continuous negative comments (and frequent
misinformation!) I come across on the various newsgroups that deprecate
Symantec's Norton Ghost program. My experience with that program has been,
and continues to be, completely counter to the negative views expressed by
so many posters. I have often remarked that I wish every software program I
use was as simple, straightforward, and effective as the Norton Ghost
program. Let me state at the outset that I use Ghost for one and only one
purpose - to clone the contents of one hard drive to another. By making a
bit-for-bit copy (not technically precise perhaps, but correct for all
practical purposes) of one's working hard drive, you have, what seems to me,
the ultimate backup system. I have used various versions of Ghost over the
years, including the present 2003 version. During that time I estimate I've
cloned various hard drives more than a thousand times. And done so with nary
a hiccup. Ghost's ease of use together with reasonable speed make it a joy
to use.
I'm aware that many experienced and competent users who contribute to this
newsgroup prefer different software cloning programs, e.g., Acronis True
Image, BING, and Casper XP among them, as well as cloning utilities provided
by the hard drive manufacturers. No doubt these programs work equally as
well as Ghost, however, since my experience has been primarily with the
Ghost program, I will confine my remarks to that program.
As I've previously indicated, I use Ghost exclusively to clone one hard
drive to another. I rarely clone individual partitions, although there's no
reason why you cannot do so. I'm not a particular fan of creating hard drive
partitions since I frequently find them awkward to use; they seem to create
more problems than they solve; and they give the user a false sense of
security. In nearly all cases I set up my computers with a single partition
per hard drive. My computers are usually configured with two removable hard
drives in their mobile racks. I have found this arrangement just about the
best backup system for the average home user and even small business owner.
There are other advantages in having two removable hard drives on one's
computer but the most significant one is providing a near fail-safe backup
system. The speed, flexibility and peace of mind you get with this
arrangement far outweighs the relatively small additional cost of equipping
one's desktop computer with this hardware configuration. Note that the
removable hard drive mobile racks I am referring to are designed to be
installed in desktop computers and not laptop or notebook computers. The
size, weight, and design considerations of laptops/notebooks do not allow
for this hardware configuration.
I use the Ghost bootable floppy, rather than Ghost's Window's interface when
I clone the drives. I find the floppy easier and more straightforward to
use, and the portability aspect of the floppy is an important consideration
for me. The floppy is created through the Ghost Utilities program. It is
simple to use and effective in its operation.
Cloning one's hard drive will not solve any problems the user may be
experiencing with that drive. I mention this because I sometimes come across
users who have run into problems with the Ghost cloning process when I later
learn that the source disk was defective in one way or another. If you clone
garbage, garbage is what you'll get. Before cloning a hard drive you must
ensure that the drive is free of physical/system defects and virus-free.
If you do install the Ghost 2003 program on your computer, check the
version. The latest version as of this date is 2003.793. If necessary, use
Ghost's built-in LiveUpdate feature to update to the latest version. BTW,
there had been a problem with Ghost cloning to an USB 2.0 external hard
drive, however, Symantec has released two revised files that overcome this
problem. You can download and install the two revised files from:
http://service1.symantec.com/support/ghost.nsf/docid/2003011609192825?Open&src=w.
(I'm not absolutely certain these two revised files are actually needed if
you have the latest 2003.793 version.)
Art
