XP pro and Ghost

[gerryR]

Hi all

We just got the Ghost solution suite so I'm pretty new at this.

I have an HP XP Pro desktop with the OS and all the apps and settings the
way I want them, I have the Ghost server set to create image so all I have
to do now (I think) is boot the XP Pro machine off a disk and start the
ghost client. My problem is I can't for the life of me get the machine to
boot. For a start it has no floppy drive, no problem it supports boot off
CD and USB pen drive so I create my ghost floppies and copy the contents
onto A and blank CD and B a USB pen drive but all it keeps saying is
"Missing Operatin System"

Can anyone help me with this ?

Thanks if you can
ATB
gerryR

 

[Bob Harris]

I presume that you have GHOST 2003 (verison 8), since if you had GHOST 9,
you would try to use the bootable CD that comnes with it.

You can not make a bootable CD be merely copying the files. You also need
to make the media bootable, and that can be tricky, if you try to do it
manually. But, if you have either Easy CD Creator or Nero, they will make a
bootable CD from a bootable floppy with just a few mouse clicks.
(Obviously, you need a PC with a floppy drive to do this.) If you have more
than one floppy in the GHOST set, which is typical of version 2003 (but not
earlier versions of GHOST), it gets slightly more complex.

The best I can suggest is to "play" with the floppy set, modfying them until
you can boot off the first disk, then >>manually<< initiate GHOST from the
scond. I did this a while ago, before I gave up on GHOST in favor of
Acronis True Image, which makes a bootable CD directly for you. As I
recall, the trick was to modify the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on both of the
floppies:

****new AUTOEXEC.BAT file on disk 1
@echo off
SET TZ=GHO+05:00
GUEST.EXE
MOUSE.COM
rem next line added from ghost 2002 boot floppy with CDROM support
rem see also config.sys changes
LH \MSCDEX.EXE /D:cd1 /D:cd2 /D:cd3
echo Loading...
cls
echo Change active disk letter to that for CDROM
echo then, invoke GHOST or a batch file

**** new AUTOEXEC.BAT file on disk 2
@echo off
SET TZ=GHO+05:00
GUEST.EXE
MOUSE.COM
echo Loading...
cls

Notes: "rem" or "REM" is for remark, or comment. these lines do not
execute and are totoally optional. Feel free to add/delete lines beginning
with "rem".

"echo" prints what is on the line to the screen. These are also optional,
but may help you remember what to do need.

In simple tersm, disk 1 boots the PC, and defines a DOS-existance for the
CDROM drive. The user then manual changes drive letters to the CDROM drive,
then invoke GHOST.EXE or a batch file that uns GHOST for me ith specific
options that I like. To invoke GHOST, just type GHOST.EXE at the command
line. But, be sure that you have first changed the drive letter, or you
will get a message about that program not found.

Given floppies like this, the trick to making a bootable CD is to use disk 1
to make the basic bootable part of the CD (option in Easy CD or Nero), thencreation field. After the CD is burned, the first part (disk 1 image) will
be treated as the A: drive when you boot form the CD, but the second part
will be treated as part of a CDROM, with a different drive letter. As I
recall, the DOS-drive-letter for the CDROM will be one letter higher than
the last hard drive partition. This could be different than what is in XP,
which allows the user to set drive letters non-sequentially.