Is Ghost 2003 the right product?

[M.Siler]

I've just had to install a new HD as my old one crashed. I've currently have
just the OS on the system and would think now is a good time to create an
image of the system incase in need to get back to this point again. I've
run MS-Update & patched the OS todate. My file system is NFTS.

I've never used any imaging software before so that's why the questions:

1. Will Ghost 2003 let me store an image to CDs?
2. When it's time to restore, how easy is it if I'm restoreing over my
active runing OS or if like what I just did had to put in a new HD and there
isn't an OS?
3. Does my new HD have to match the size of my old HD?

Is there a better product than Ghost 2003 for this task?

 

[Harry Ohrn]

Ghost works well for me.
1. Yes you burn directly to CD-R, CD-R/W or DVD with Ghost 2003.
2. Yes you restore easily to your current setup or load the image to a new
drive
3. Your new drive or partition does not have to be the same size but
obviously it must be able to contain the uncompressed data in the image. For
example you can't expect to restore 4GB of data to a 3GB hard drive. But if
you have a 80GB hard drive that contains 2GB of data and create and image
you can load that image onto a 10 GB hard drive.

 

[Ian & Lorraine]

I've just had to install a new HD as my old one crashed. I've currently have
just the OS on the system and would think now is a good time to create an
image of the system incase in need to get back to this point again. I've
run MS-Update & patched the OS todate. My file system is NFTS.

I've never used any imaging software before so that's why the questions:

1. Will Ghost 2003 let me store an image to CDs?
2. When it's time to restore, how easy is it if I'm restoreing over my
active runing OS or if like what I just did had to put in a new HD and there
isn't an OS?
3. Does my new HD have to match the size of my old HD?

Is there a better product than Ghost 2003 for this task?

Have a look at this tutorial to see if Ghost seems like it does what you
want: http://ghost.radified.com/

Regards,
Ian.

 

[Mike Kolitz]

1) Yes, it will - but I've had limited success in actually getting that to
work.
2) With Ghost 2003, you can initiate the Ghosting process from within
Windows, but the computer will reboot and start Ghost in a weird DOS-mode
stub that it creates. This will allow you to Ghost over your existing
drive.
3) No, it does not. Obviously, it can't be smaller than the amount of
information that Ghost is trying to write, but Ghost will allow you to put
a - say - 20GB image on a 120GB drive.

--
Mike Kolitz MCSE 2000
MS-MVP - Windows Setup and Deployment

Remember to check Windows Update often,
and apply the patches marked as Critical!
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com

 

[Jim & Bettie Foraker]

Image 7 is a better pgm for backup

 

[sded]

I've just had to install a new HD as my old one crashed. I've currently have
just the OS on the system and would think now is a good time to create an
image of the system incase in need to get back to this point again. I've
run MS-Update & patched the OS todate. My file system is NFTS.

I've never used any imaging software before so that's why the questions:

1. Will Ghost 2003 let me store an image to CDs?
2. When it's time to restore, how easy is it if I'm restoreing over my
active runing OS or if like what I just did had to put in a new HD and there
isn't an OS?
3. Does my new HD have to match the size of my old HD?

Is there a better product than Ghost 2003 for this task?

Try Acronis True Image at www.acronis.com . Does the save from Windows
so you can continue to work. Boots to a Linux kernel to restore your OS
partition, or restores other partitions from Windows. I got my recovery
disk from Toshiba in Ghost, but use ATI myself because I think it is a
much easier product to work with. You can use CDs, but I use a USB2
external hard drive most of the time for convenience. And both will
restore to a larger hard drive.

 

[I'm Dan]

I've just had to install a new HD as my old one crashed. I've currently
have just the OS on the system and would think now is a good time
to create an image of the system incase in need to get back to this
point again. I've run MS-Update & patched the OS todate. My
file system is NFTS.

I've never used any imaging software before so that's why the
questions:

1. Will Ghost 2003 let me store an image to CDs?
2. When it's time to restore, how easy is it if I'm restoreing over
my active runing OS or if like what I just did had to put in a new
HD and there isn't an OS?
3. Does my new HD have to match the size of my old HD?

Is there a better product than Ghost 2003 for this task?

IMHO, there is not a better product. I also use DriveImage 2002 and
BootIt NG, and both are equivalent to Ghost 2003 -- each has some
quirks, better and not better in various areas, but all three are
equally good. (Stay away from the new DriveImage 7, though.)

Since you just reinstalled your OS, now is the time to gain some
confidence in how Ghost works. Install Ghost and start trying it out.
Make the Ghost boot floppies, create a backup image, take a deep breath,
and wipe out your OS partition. Then boot from the Ghost floppies and
restore from your backup. If there's going to be any problems or
confusion in how it all works, now is the time to sort that all out,
before you have a lot of time invested in customizing up your system.

 

[M.Siler]

Three follow up questions:

1. Will Ghost 2003 span CD-Rs if the image is greater than would fit on one
CD-R?
2. Can this CD-R(s) that is created that contains the HD image be made or is
already bootable so I can restore from it or do I need to have a Ghost 2003
boot floppy?
3. Can I use Ghost 2003 that is installed on computer A to backup the HD on
computer B?

Thanks for everyone's feedback and comments!

Mark

 

[Dwight Stewart]

Three follow up questions:

1. Will Ghost 2003 span CD-Rs if the image is greater
than would fit on one CD-R?

Of course.

2. Can this CD-R(s) that is created that contains the HD
image be made or is already bootable so I can restore from
it or do I need to have a Ghost 2003 boot floppy?

You use Ghost to create a custom boot floppy with your computer's drivers
(CD, USB, or whatever). To restore your computer, you insert the floppy and
start you computer. The DOS program on the floppy will walk you though the
recovery process. This involves selecting the drive your recovery image is
stored on and selecting the recovery image. You then sit back and watch the
program do its thing (inserting CD disks as needed).

3. Can I use Ghost 2003 that is installed on computer A to backup
the HD on computer B?

I don't think so. I suspect Ghost would have to be installed on each
computer. However, maybe someone else is aware of something I missed.


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

On Sun, 12 Oct 2003 12:16:28 -0700, "I'm Dan"

|create a backup image, take a deep breath,
|and wipe out your OS partition

And if it fails? OMG - but OK for those who haven't
spent much time 'installing stuff'

What I did (DI6 & ME) was just restore it to empty
space at end of 2nd HD so drive letters dont change &
made sure it was unbootable all under DOS. Then compare
size, folder and file count of partition & folders like
SYSTEM,..

I think the general idea of taking emergency
proceedures for a 'test drive' is well taken.

Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Larry

Any advice given is my attempt to show appreciation for all
the excellent help I've received here but I'm no MVP so it
may only apply NUGS. Personal attacks, nitpicking & criticism
of anything but content will NOT be responded to. Those
posters should spend their time taking the test @
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/ocdtrt1.htm

 

[I'm Dan]

:
|create a backup image, take a deep breath,
|and wipe out your OS partition

And if it fails? OMG - but OK for those who haven't
spent much time 'installing stuff'

What I did (DI6 & ME) was just restore it to empty
space at end of 2nd HD so drive letters dont change
& made sure it was unbootable all under DOS. Then
compare size, folder and file count of partition &
folders like SYSTEM,..

I think the general idea of taking emergency
proceedures for a 'test drive' is well taken.

That's okay for ME, but just comparing folders won't expose problems
with the registry, partition signatures, or boot.ini, which are typical
problem areas when cloning any of the NT-family OS's. And there's
nothing like that warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you successfully
complete an actual restore and can be 100% confident that you can do it
and it actually works.

 

[Dwight Stewart]

That's okay for ME, but just comparing folders
won't expose problems with the registry, partition
signatures, or boot.ini, which are typical problem
areas when cloning any of the NT-family OS's.
And there's nothing like that warm and fuzzy feeling
you get when you successfully complete an actual
restore and can be 100% confident that you can
do it and it actually works.

Very little can beat the feeling you get the moment after a successful
restart following a major crash and restore. To hear that startup sound and
see those taskbar icons loading is like having a huge weight lifted off your
shoulders. It's almost enough to make you want to get up and dance (okay,
yes, I've done it before).


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

http://www.qsl.net/w5net/

 

[W7TI]

Very little can beat the feeling you get the moment after a successful
restart following a major crash and restore. To hear that startup sound and
see those taskbar icons loading is like having a huge weight lifted off your
shoulders. It's almost enough to make you want to get up and dance (okay,
yes, I've done it before).


Dwight Stewart (W5NET)

_________________________________________________________

AMEN to that, brother! (Don't ask me how I know)

 

[M.Siler]

I purchased "Norton SystemWorks Pro 2004" as it was the exact same price as
"Ghost 2003". I've installed it and have had ZERO luck getting it to work.
After I create a "Drive Map Boot Disk" and reboot it tells me that it can't
locate the PCI LAN adapter. My NIC is an Intel Pro 1000 and it is in the
list. My computer is a 1 week old Dell running Windows XP Pro. Could I get
any more standard? I don't know what to do??? :-( Not impressed so far!

 

[valued customer]

I agree they are all good progs. Take 1 and get used to it. I have
used both ghost 3 and DI 2002 and prefer DI2002, personal choice. I
don,t like DI 7.

Locust

 

[M.Siler]

What's the difference in making a Disk Image & a Partition Image?

 

[Bob Harris]

DiskImage makes a copy of the files on the disk (or a parition, if multiple
partitions). This is saved as aone big compressed file, or a couple of
CD-sized files, your choice. If the disk (or partition) is ever erased,
attacked by virus, disk dies, etc, you can recover it via te image, assuming
that you stored it off the disk (or partition).

Parition Magic is a very different program. It does not back up files.
Rather, it change shte partition structure on a disk. Creates, erases,
merges, splits, resizes partitions. it can also chnage the format type,
such as NTFS to FAT32 and FAT32 to NTFS.

 

[M.Siler]

Not what I was asking - I know what Partition Magic is - I own it and love
it. But in Ghost 2003 I get the option to make an image of the disk or the
partition - what's the difference?

 

[R. McCarty]

Partition Magic - Creates/Deletes/Modifies and "Moves" partitions.
it has no provision to take data, compress it and encapsulate it into
a module similar to a .Zip file. The modifiers can be format, cluster
sizes, free space, etc. It also has some capabilities to correct Partition
table data and check for errors on the disk.

Ghost, Drive Image, etc - is an "Imaging" program. It takes an
existing partition or entire disk and creates a file or files that have an
exact copy of the data. Those modules can be stored on a hard
drive or written directly to some form of removable media (CD-R,
DVD-R/W.) All use a form of data compression so that the original
content can be stored in a much smaller size module.
Compression works by common string replacement
Cat -at replaced with ~ (Example)
Hat

PowerQuest should probably have combined PQMagic and Drive
Image years ago, but the revenue from having two products kept
the two apart.

 

[Airman Basic]

A disk may have multiple partitions while you only want to GHOST one.