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I am new on the field of Ghost or Drive Image.
I have WinXP. My HHD has C:\ and D:\, and both are NTFS. I have programs and files in both drives.
1-Would it be possible to image my whole C:\ and D:\ programs and files, at the same time, to D:\? (Does the idea of imaging files from D:\ to D:\ make sense?)
2- Would it be possible to image my HHD to CD disks?
Thank you
Hi.. you have to store the images on a different drive. C to D is no problem but D to D won't work because the image you'd be using to replace the old one would be deleted before it could be used...
In other words if the image is stored on D and you want to replace D then the image would be deleted by Driveimage before you could start (although you'd get a warning that you can't do that)
Another option would be to store in on CDR. Also the latest version of Drive image will create a new partition if you need it.. D could be divided into two to store both C and D images on the new backup partition.
Here's an excellent tutorial on Ghost:
Guide to Norton Ghost
Thank you, Fink. You answered my questions.
Thank you, SuperSparks. I will print the Ghost tutorial and read it.
With Ghost, you need a FAT16 or FAT32 formatted drive or partition to save an image file to. The easiest way is to plug on another drive and make an image file of the main drive to it. Use the switches to split the image file into file sizes that are burnable onto a cd. Example:
ghost -SPLIT=650 -AUTO
This splits the image file into 650MB files ready to burn to cds and the auto switch is simply there so it doesnt prompt for the next file while creating the image file. 650MB size is used so there is a safety zone to fit on a 700MB cdr.
Wow! It is getting complicated. So Ghost goes by FAT16 or FAT32. How about Drive Image?Quote:
Originally posted by shadow1
With Ghost, you need a FAT16 or FAT32 formatted drive or partition to save an image file to. The easiest way is to plug on another drive and make an image file of the main drive to it. Use the switches to split the image file into file sizes that are burnable onto a cd. Example:
ghost -SPLIT=650 -AUTO
This splits the image file into 650MB files ready to burn to cds and the auto switch is simply there so it doesnt prompt for the next file while creating the image file. 650MB size is used so there is a safety zone to fit on a 700MB cdr.
Thank you, Shadow1.
I'm not aware of any file system restrictions with Driveimage. I've used it on fat16, 32 and NTFS drives which covers pretty much every kind of modern hard drive format you're going to find.
Having said that, needing fat16 or 32 for Ghost isn't exactly a restriction since win9x would be one of those two by default and win2k/xp would very likely be NTFS unless it was a non-factory custom installation to fat32. Both Ghost and Driveimage would deal with all that.
Ghost 2003 is quite capable of saving images to NTFS partitions - I do it every couple of weeks. And it can burn CDR's directly without needing to split the image on a hard drive first. It can also create images over a network.
I think it might be time for an upgrade, shadow 1 ;)
I was just reading the help files for Ghost 2003 last night. Here is one of the new features:
"NTFS support: Norton Ghost now writes to NTFS partitions. You can store
an image file on an NTFS drive and restore from an image file located on an
NTFS drive."
I imagine the folks at Symantec realized that NTFS is becoming more popular.
I suggest to use Acronis True Image. It can hadle with drive covered by bad sectors , while others ,like Norton Ghost ,can't.
What sizes are your partitions and what kind of files are on each?
If D is just data, I wouldn't ghost it. I'd burn all of it directly to CD's.
Then I'd also store a ghost image of C on D. I'd also burn a ghost image of C to CD.
"Norton Ghost now writes to NTFS partitions"
Quick related question...
Does Ghost 2003 write to NTFS after directly booting the "Ghost Boot Floppy" in DOS... or does it only work from the Windows GUI?
Also while at it :) same question for "PQ Drive Image" and "Acronis True Image" if anyone knows?
Regards :)
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...hreadid=129258
you will learn so much (I did :) )
regards
Thanks for the link ahmedalmatook, it had the answer i needed :)
From that i gather Ghost 2003 will only write to NTFS when using its GUI within Windows. Which is what i thought since i can't find anything to the contrary but wanted to confirm... I suspect the same applies to "Drive Image" and "Acronis True Image" too? Yes?
I don't find having a FAT32 partition for storing images a problem tho, just trying to clarify what is meant by "NTFS support".
Regards :)
DI will burn NTFS directly to cd.
PowerQuest Instructional Videos
I came back home from work flooded with advices and discussions about Ghost and DriveMagic.
Thank you all.
Thank you, Qhash, for suggesting Acronis True Image. I will give it a thought.Quote:
Originally posted by qhash
I suggest to use Acronis True Image. It can hadle with drive covered by bad sectors , while others ,like Norton Ghost ,can't.
Hi! DVOM. Sorry to get back to you that late. I had to leave for work.Quote:
Originally posted by DVOM
What sizes are your partitions and what kind of files are on each?
If D is just data, I wouldn't ghost it. I'd burn all of it directly to CD's.
Then I'd also store a ghost image of C on D. I'd also burn a ghost image of C to CD.
I have a Sony Vaio. The HHD has two partitions C:\ 16.0GB (it only has 6.24GB left), the D:\ 95.7GB (it has 93.0GB left). I did not do anything to my HHD. This was the manufacturer partitions
The C:\ drive has all the manufacturer stuffs, including WinXP.
The D:\drive had practically nothing in it. I did put in mainly MS office and programs and files.
LotusAstra got me wondering about Ghost's capabilities, so I put it to the test. I booted with the Ghost floppy, and the program saw all my partitions, FAT and NTFS. I had Ghost create a backup image of one NTFS partition and save it to another NTFS partition with no problem at all. My USB mouse even worked, which is very nice. It's very comforting to know that the whole Ghost operation can be run from a floppy if necessary.
That's great news Gerdog, thx for trying it, just what i wanted to here... so Ghost 2003 does fully support NTFS from the boot floppy after all... :) i'm sure nganvu and others will find this info useful too. Thx again :)
Regards :)
Yes, in fact tha GUI bit of Ghost 2003 is merely the wizard where you choose whaere you want to save the image, level of compression and all the other (many) options. As soon as the Wizard is completed the PC is booted into DOS and uses exactly the same app as is on the floppy.
Before anyone buys Drive Image 7, they should have a look at this article, Mr Langa was not impressed:
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-07-03.htm
I have used both Norton Ghost and Acronis True Image and to me both are excellent. Aside from the bootable Ghost floppy disk I would also recommend making a Ghost bootable CD, which is faster anyway. I don't trust floppys, period!
Also, I am a firm believer in two hard drives, instead of one. Better to have two 80GB drives than one 160GB drive. Save your Ghost images to the second drive, and also your swap file. I have created a 2GB partition solely for the swap file and it works like a charm.
I have also found that having a C partition for the OS only and a D partition for apps only works really well. A 6GB C partition should be sufficient and the same for the D partition. When you save a Ghost image of the C partition do the same for the D partition so they will always be matched.
I know it's probably easier to have a C partition big enough for both the OS and the apps, that's personal preference. Then you could just image the C drive and be done, whatever works for you. I'm sure you will find that booting from a Ghost bootable CD is much better than a floppy.
True Image is nice because you can make your image from within Windows. I was skeptical at first about this but I have tried to restore from that image and it really works. You will find yourself having more peace of mind knowing that you have a reliable Ghost or True Image image available to bail you out. Good luck!
http://www.electriceyes.us
I use both Ghost 2003 & Acronis TrueImage 6.0 (most recent version). Both are great programs but with different attributes.
GHOST
Ghost is much faster and can clone a drive in one step. Typically I can make a drive image of 5GB in about 5 minutes. Highest compression doesn't take much longer and doesn't compress much further.
What I use Ghost for: When I back up any CLIENT computer, I usually use Ghost. I can get the program inexpensively and so it goes onto every computer I sell. It enables quick, easy backups and restores.
:-)PROS: Works fast. Can make a clone in one step.
:-(CONS: Doesn't compress image files very well. Must take computer to DOS to operate. Uses difficult, arcane DOS networking command and naming conventions. Doesn't work in NT Server. Image file checks must also be done offline. Breaks image files up into 2GB sections and uses the first five characters of the original file name to build the extra section file names, which can cause deletion of prior image sections.
TRUEIMAGE
TrueImage is a very useful backup program for a server since it operates totally within Windows, even when backing up the System drive. TrueImage can make considerably smaller image files and does NOT require that you leave Windows to use it. I can make a 10GB backup image in a little more than an hour at maximum compression.
What I use TrueImage for: I use TrueImage on my server computers since it can work within Windows without requiring any shutdown to DOS. TrueImage is considerably slower than Ghost but runs from within Windows, including NT Server (which Ghost won't do). Also can save files across a LAN using standard Windows networked drive connections.
:-)PROS: Makes smaller image files. Don't need to take a computer offline to do a backup (Great for servers!). Makes the file as one large file unless told to do otherwise, so each image is ony one file, not several as in Ghost. The CD Boot Disk is easy to make and will work with any computer from NT thru XP and from FAT16 thru NTFS. Can easily put the image file onto another computer's hard drive across a LAN.
:-(CONS: Much slower than Ghost (about 20% of the speed). Can't do a clone in one step so it can take over ten times as long to do a clone action. Requires a lot of manipulation to clone a single partition drive onto another single partition drive.
I have no experience with PowerQuest's Drive Image. If someone wants to extoll the attributes of it, I'd like to read that.:)
I agree with AutumnLord.
I also use two drives on most client comptuers and more than two on the server to enable easy manipulation of the backup image files.
When a client insists on economy, I use a single disk on the client computers partitioned into two drives. All system and data goes onto either the first partition or a network drive. The second partition is where the backups go, to be later transferred to the server. This makes for an easy backup system.
DI 2002
I use it to make what I call restore cds. I use the rescue floppies, boot to them and then select Image and made my cds.
It does it directly to the burner in DOS. And the 1st disk is bootable. Takes about 30 minutes to restore 3 Gb , but that sure beats 7 days to get things right again.
Cloning, I use Ghost.
So you folks cans see them, PowerQuest Instructional Videos , just select your product.
I have used Drive Image for years and I recommend it;
Here is a link for backing up methodology.
http://www.ugr.com/organize_files/frame.htm
PowerQuest has a new product called V2i Protector, Desktop Edition, Version 2. V2i has all the features of DI plus it will do a series of incremental backups, so that you can restore to the latest incremental backup or go back 4 backups.
Not only does this take up less space but it comes in handy when you suddenly start gettomg BSODs.
Backups are simplified when the C partitiom only has the OS and there is a separate partition for data and a third partition for programs.
For more information on V2i, check out this link.
http://www.powerquest.com/v2i/protector/desktop/
Cheers,
Linda
:D :D