Ghosting

[archierob]

Are there any Freeware 'Ghosting' programs out there?

Or something that will copy an entire computer to CDs, DVD, or another
hard drive and is then rebootable when disaster strikes.

 

[Morten Skarstad]

Are there any Freeware 'Ghosting' programs out there?

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ has tools for cloning and imaging.
Alternatively, a Linux or BSD based floppy with dd, bzip2 and support for
the required file systems or network protocols should get you a long way.

 

[miggie]

Are there any Freeware 'Ghosting' programs out there?

Or something that will copy an entire computer to CDs, DVD, or another
hard drive and is then rebootable when disaster strikes.

Get the real thing, it's a "no brainer" to use!

 

[Roger Johansson]

Get the real thing, it's a "no brainer" to use!

You get approximately the same performance with
the freeware Partition Saving

http://www.partition-saving.com/

The difference between Partitionsaving and Ghost is
that Partsave is faster. Ghost has an explorer function
if you want to search, copy and paste files in the image.

For the basic task of backup of partitions they are
very similar. Both have some minor problem with NTFS
drives, both have special procedures to handle these
problems. Read the faq's if you use NTFS.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

Get the real thing, it's a "no brainer" to use!

The real what?
Do you mean "Ghost?"
And do business with Symantec?

Hell will freeze before I'll ever give them another dime.

Richard

 

[Slowhand Hussein]

And do business with Symantec?

nah, just STEAL from 'em. they can afford you a free copy...

 

[Kittie Spit]

You may also want to Google "migration," "migrate" etc along with
"freeware" OR "clone" and "freeware" to find programs that will work
for your situation. As far as bootable, go with the afore-mentioned
UltimateBootCD. One cool feature of UCD is that you can also add apps
to the startup menu of that program, eg, freeware not incl with the
package, your own REGISTERED software that you have a legit right to
put onto bootable CD, etc. Then, you'll need to burn to CD, so you'll
need a CD-DVD burner & software & of you modify the app, you may need
burning software that can ALSO write BOOTABLE cd-dvd's -- not all
burning software can do this. Also, be sure to test CD-DVD afterwards
to ensure full compatability with your system & that it's in fact
bootable.

Finally, you may not really need to migrate everything to CD-DVD for
backup & bootable. EG, your Internet cache may not be good to backup,
temp files, etc. You may decide to only migrate/backup certain apps and
leave the rest for manual re-install. One problem with some migration
software is that it sometimes doesn't catch everything, dependencies,
miscl DLL's etc., so you may THINK you've got a full bootable backup
for restore or whatever, but down the road you may find some function
of some app may not work correctly because it wasn't migrated or done
properly. Also, problems with the registry may affect
migration/backup-restore as well.

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

nah, just STEAL from 'em. they can afford you a free copy...

Actually, Slowhand, you got a point there. After all, whether you pay
for a Symantec product or steal it, you'll get exactly the same customer
support.

Richard

 

[Sparky]

Actually, Slowhand, you got a point there. After all, whether you pay
for a Symantec product or steal it, you'll get exactly the same customer
support.

Richard

On the contrary Richard;

Symantec's support ("free" or otherwise) ends up costing the user: time,
frustration, wrong information, et al.

Once a user needs even the lightest support from Symantec <bingo!> It
just cost more than it's worth.

imo,
-Sparky

 

[Richard Steinfeld]

On the contrary Richard;

Symantec's support ("free" or otherwise) ends up costing the user: time,
frustration, wrong information, et al.

Once a user needs even the lightest support from Symantec <bingo!> It
just cost more than it's worth.

imo,
-Sparky

No, Sparky:
That's what I meant. We're not in disagreement.

Now, I'll spell it out:
If you're an unregistered user, you get no support.
If you're a registered user, you get no support.
It's the same either way.

And your description assumes that you can, after actually reaching a
"contact us" window, get any answer whatsoever.

See?

I've found that companies as arrogant as this often advertise
"Award-Winning Support."
However, they never say who gave them the award. It wasn't me.

I once bought an HP CD burner. The box said "Award-Winning Support" (I'd
already been there with Symantec). Upon opening the box, I discovered
that phone support was mine for $2.50 per minute. I promptly repacked
the CD drive and got a refund. Shot themselves in the foot, didn't they?

Richard