Norton Ghost 2003

[Jim Brown]

I created a recovery backup with Noton Ghost 2003. Does this
backup have the system files on it? I do not have a XP CD and want to format
and and install the recovery set on my 'C' drive. I do not want to load the
original files that came with the system.

--
Thank you,
Jim Brown

Messages checked for Viruses
with Norton Anti-Virus

 

[Al Smith]

I created a recovery backup with Noton Ghost 2003. Does this

backup have the system files on it? I do not have a XP CD and want to format
and and install the recovery set on my 'C' drive. I do not want to load the
original files that came with the system.

If you mean that you created a full mirror image of your C drive
with Ghost, yes, it has all the system files, along with every
other file that was on your C drive at the time it was created.
When you restore it to your C drive, it will overwrite whatever is
on the C drive and return it to the same condition it was in when
the mirror image was made.

 

[Crhoff]

Norton Ghost also has a program with it called explorer that will let you
selectively restore files from the image.

 

[Crhoff]

I've seen 2 cases where Ghost failed in the image restore. So if it's
critical, you better have two backups

 

[Leythos]

I've seen 2 cases where Ghost failed in the image restore. So if it's
critical, you better have two backups

As with any backup, if you don't test the backup once you've created it,
you really don't know if the backup worked.

 

[R. McCarty]

Here is another "Quirk" with Image savesets that can happen from
time-to-time. You burn the data to CD-R/DVD-R disks. Run a
verify operation on the saveset - Everything works OK. However,
when you go to Recovery the read operation from the removable
drive fails with the dreaded CRC failure. This can be anything from
a dirty Laser lens to a scuffed or smudged disk.
So just because the saveset has been validated, isn't a guarantee
you can retrieve the data when needed. Sometimes after I make a
set, I actually copy the content from the removable disks back to the
hard drive to make sure they are fully readable.
At the very least, if you burn images to CD/DVD disks put each
one in the drive and Autoplay it (Explore) to make sure you can see
the data. If I've learned nothing else working with PCs, it's that
absolutely nothing is foolproof & they (PCs) have a wicked sense
of irony.

 

[WTC]

Here is another "Quirk" with Image savesets that can happen from
time-to-time. You burn the data to CD-R/DVD-R disks. Run a
verify operation on the saveset - Everything works OK. However,
when you go to Recovery the read operation from the removable
drive fails with the dreaded CRC failure. This can be anything from
a dirty Laser lens to a scuffed or smudged disk.
So just because the saveset has been validated, isn't a guarantee
you can retrieve the data when needed. Sometimes after I make a
set, I actually copy the content from the removable disks back to the
hard drive to make sure they are fully readable.
At the very least, if you burn images to CD/DVD disks put each
one in the drive and Autoplay it (Explore) to make sure you can see
the data. If I've learned nothing else working with PCs, it's that
absolutely nothing is foolproof & they (PCs) have a wicked sense
of irony.

My Ghost Images are backed up on a network drive. When it is necessary to
restore the images, I simply boot with the Ghost CD with networking
protocols to retreive the images from the network.

A 20 GB images takes about 20 to 30 minutes to backup and 40 minutes to
restore.

 

[Leythos]

Here is another "Quirk" with Image savesets that can happen from
time-to-time. You burn the data to CD-R/DVD-R disks. Run a
verify operation on the saveset - Everything works OK. However,
when you go to Recovery the read operation from the removable
drive fails with the dreaded CRC failure. This can be anything from
a dirty Laser lens to a scuffed or smudged disk.
So just because the saveset has been validated, isn't a guarantee
you can retrieve the data when needed. Sometimes after I make a
set, I actually copy the content from the removable disks back to the
hard drive to make sure they are fully readable.
At the very least, if you burn images to CD/DVD disks put each
one in the drive and Autoplay it (Explore) to make sure you can see
the data. If I've learned nothing else working with PCs, it's that
absolutely nothing is foolproof & they (PCs) have a wicked sense
of irony.

And the above is true with any backup process - again, if you don't test
the backup you don't really know if it worked. I never rely on the
validate function of any backup process, I actually read the backup and
make a test restore once a month from random sample tapes/cds/dvds/etc..

 

[R. McCarty]

Yes, the preferred method is probably disk to disk imaging. I do
that and then burn the DVD-R copies to store off the PC. It's just
that most people do not have a 2nd drive. Sometime ago, we had
a thread about how responders forget that most questions come
from users that don't all have Broadband, Fast CPUs and other
newer components in their setup. More and more folks are using
imaging software and that's good, I just wanted to impress the idea
that having an image you can rely on is important. I've encountered
the CRC error(s) on both Ghost and DImage disk sets.

 

[Bob Davis]

Yes, the preferred method is probably disk to disk imaging. I do
that and then burn the DVD-R copies to store off the PC. It's just
that most people do not have a 2nd drive. Sometime ago, we had
a thread about how responders forget that most questions come
from users that don't all have Broadband, Fast CPUs and other
newer components in their setup. More and more folks are using
imaging software and that's good, I just wanted to impress the idea
that having an image you can rely on is important. I've encountered
the CRC error(s) on both Ghost and DImage disk sets.

I've been using Ghost for years and it has been rock solid, bailing my butt
out of a few spots that would've otherwise required a complete reinstall.
For example, I once installed Outlook 2003 after uninstalling 2000, then
decided to reverse the process, which resulted in an appalling aberration,
corrupting XP to a level that rendered it useless. I just popped in my
latest clone and in 15 minutes was up and running again.

Of course, any files loaded since the clone was made will not be in the
newly created configuration. I run a batch file every hour that copies
important files (business databases, docs, photographs, etc.) to my second
permanently installed drive (D. After the cloning operation (restore) I
must update the new drive with these files. All this must be carefully
thought out in advance, of course.

 

[Trent©]

I've been using Ghost for years and it has been rock solid, bailing my butt
out of a few spots that would've otherwise required a complete reinstall.
For example, I once installed Outlook 2003 after uninstalling 2000, then
decided to reverse the process, which resulted in an appalling aberration,
corrupting XP to a level that rendered it useless. I just popped in my
latest clone and in 15 minutes was up and running again.

Of course, any files loaded since the clone was made will not be in the
newly created configuration. I run a batch file every hour that copies
important files (business databases, docs, photographs, etc.) to my second
permanently installed drive (D. After the cloning operation (restore) I
must update the new drive with these files. All this must be carefully
thought out in advance, of course.

I pretty much do the same as you, Bob.

You might try lookin' at xxcopy. It'll do all kinds of incremental
(or full) backups. I use it to add any new mp3's and other programs
to my backup drive. Much faster than recopying all the files again.

One caveat that you should be aware of with Ghost...or any imaging
program where you go from drive to drive...

If the source drive quits on you during a cloning, ALL data will be
lost...on BOTH drives. All your data will be gone. Such an
occurrence will indeed be rare...but ONCE was enough for me! lol

I now clone to 2 separate drives...and alternate each week. That way,
I at least have a viable drive to fall back on...even if it is 2 weeks
old.

Just my 2¢...


Have a nice one...

Trent

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