Using Norton Ghost with NTFS File System!

[LotusAstra]

Ghost runs from DOS and its my understanding that DOS can't see NTFS so...
I think Ghost can be used with NTFS but i think there are switches that i'd need to use... any ideas on how to do it?

also if that can be done with NTFS, then would i be able to Restore my Win98 or XP FAT32 Image over the top of the NTFS to basically convert it back to FAT32 at the same time if i want to use Win98 for something? or if after trying NTFS and find no benifits...

Is it as simple as that (i hope it is) or would i have to format it to FAT32 before restoring a FAT32 image!

TIA & Regards

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[Limerick]

Hi Lotus,

Ghost (Personal Edition) is not able to write an image so as to store it on a partition that is formatted NTFS. The destination media of such an operation must be either FAT or FAT32. (You can't see an NTFS partition when booted to DOS, and neither can Ghost.) However, laying an image down on an NTFS partition (that is, replacing the contents of the NTFS partition) is altogether a different matter. If you had a FAT32 image that you had created with Ghost, and you had an NTFS partition that you no longer wanted, and you desired to put that FAT32 image on the partition instead, yes, you can indeed do so. No formatting of the destination partition ahead of time is necessary.

Happy computing!

Limerick

[LotusAstra]

thx for the info Limerick, i'm glad to hear that i can put a FAT32 image onto a NTFS partition without formating...

...does it work the other way around too (NTFS ontop of FAT32)

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i should have made myself clearer with the first part of my question tho...

What i want to do is use Ghost to Backup a NTFS XP partition... and save the image on my usual FAT32, can that be done?

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When u/we say ghost can not see NTFS does that mean it can't back-it-up then, i guess it only see's the partition boundrys for it to be able to overwrite NTFS with FAT32...

Well at least i can try NTFS and go back to FAT32 with Ghost anyway.

I have heard PowerQuest-Drive-Image works with NTFS, but i know & trust ghost and wanna use that really!

Many Thx & Regards

[Limerick]

Hi Lotus,

Yes, you could take an image dumped from an NTFS partition and load it on to a FAT32 partition.

When u/we say ghost can not see NTFS does that mean it can't back-it-up then...?

No. Ghost can easily create an image of an NTFS partition. It just can't do a Local > Partition > To Image operation and write the image to a destination partition that is formatted NTFS.

Limerick

[This message has been edited by Limerick (edited 11-11-2001).]

[LotusAstra]

i'm using Ghost 2001 v6.5 at present b'cuz i had reboot probs with 2002 v7.0 on 1 of my PC's, but that can be overlooked if it works with NTFS... i'll have to try it.

am i right to asume that the XP partition u saved/imaged was NTFS then?

and do u mean that only 2002 will restore the image locally, or do the local restrictions apply to that version aswell? or is this something u will find out when u test.

BTW i have successfully saved and restored XP with FAT32 several times using Ghost 2001, i cant see any reason why it wouldn't work with any version...

Regards

[Limerick]

Hi Lotus,

I just now edited my previous statement, as I do not want to offer any comments on something that I haven't personally experienced. This is all FAT32 that I'm dealing with here. However, I plan to convert this XP install to NTFS later today and then do some Ghosting. Will report back later on this.

Limerick

[LotusAstra]

no probs m8, i look forwards to hearing your results!

Good Luck & Regards

[Limerick]

Hi Lotus,

Back to ya on this issue. I've now gained an even greater degree of confidence in the power of Ghost, even though it's true that I have long been an avid user and proponent of same.

A word of background as to how I have this machine set up. My main HD is a 20Gb that I have partitioned C thru G. (Need not go into the why of that; just my preference.) I've used Partition Magic to create two Primary partitions on this HD, and when I'm booting into one of them, the other one is hidden and separate from the Active partition. This is really cool, and again, it's just the way that I like to set my machine up. (The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, that way.) I have a second HD, a 60Gb, that I use for nothing but storing Ghost images that contain various configurations.

Though I have "tinkered" with NTFS from time to time, I've never really used it for any length of time. Anyway, this morning I created a Ghost image of the FAT32 install I had of XP Pro. Then I set out to do some earnest experimentation. I went ahead and formatted the drive that XP Pro had been on, and then reinstalled it. This time, I told it to go ahead and make the partition NTFS. After the installation, I installed a few basic things that I use, and then created an image of that NTFS partition.

After a couple of hours of "fiddling around" (is that term permissable to use in the UK? ), I'm satisfied that a couple of things that I've been believing all along are indeed true of Ghost. (I'm using version 2002 here.)

1) You can take an image that was dumped from an NTFS partition and load it back onto a partition that was previously FAT32, and it works fine. (No formatting required beforehand.)

2) You can take an image that was dumped from a FAT32 partition and load it back onto a partition that was previously NTFS, and it works fine. (No formatting required beforehand.)

The only caveat I discovered in these tests was this: I'm using the Boot Magic boot manager that comes with Partition Magic. For some reason, each time I overwrote the NTFS partition with FAT32 (and vice-versa), the machine loses its ability to load the Boot Magic menu. (This problem is easily circumvented by booting with a DOS disk, running fdisk /mbr to refresh the Master Boot Record, and then going into Boot Magic and reconfiguring it. That only takes a minute or so to do...)

So, to all you contented Ghost enthusiasts (and potential enthusiasts who have wondered about using Ghost), this product ROCKS! I simply wouldn't be without it!

Happy computing!

Limerick




[This message has been edited by Limerick (edited 11-11-2001).]

[LotusAstra]

Many thx Limerick, After reading the great news in your last post i went ahead and converted to NTFS with "convert C:/fs:ntfs" and tried ghost too, the ghost side of things went well!

but, if i run "chkdsk /v" after converting and using it for a bit it said "Detected minor inconsistancies on the drive, This is not a curruption" ...(this is before and after i restore the ghost image as well) i hope thas nufin to worry about...

do u or anyone else get that chkdsk prob? i'm going to do it all again and see how consistant it is! i was getting "lost chains" a few days ago too with FAT32 and i think its related to that, i need to run chkdsk in-between each step i take to narrow it down!

i did find that ONLY Ghost 2002 works with NTFS tho, but thas not a problem ... Ghost seemed to do the job well, but b'cuz of chkdsk prob i can't yet comfirm completly! b'cuz i need an error free partition to start with

Regards

[MarcIssa]

I use ghost 6.0 on a weekly basis on NTFS machines and it works fine. I even tried ghosting an XP ntfs machine successfully.

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[LotusAstra]

i done some searching and found its normal to see this inconsisency error with chkdsk when files are in use... heres the link http://support.microsoft.com/support.../Q109/5/24.asp

so yes, now i too can confirm that Ghost works with NTFS, i shall road test NTFS for a while... hopefully its better and i can keep it!

Thx for all your help/advice, this place is Great!