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Rad Community Technical Discussion Boards (Computer Hardware + PC Software) >> Norton Ghost 2003,  Ghost v8.x + Ghost Solution Suite (GSS) Discussion Board >> Are there some recommended USB drives for Ghost?
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Message started by richkl on Apr 23rd, 2007 at 10:23pm

Title: Are there some recommended USB drives for Ghost?
Post by richkl on Apr 23rd, 2007 at 10:23pm
Reading the guide for making the Panasonic USB driver for Ghost 2003- I will want to make a bootable Ghost CD for a new XP pro PC I am getting from Dell  with Dual Core Technology- I guess that's Intel.

I understand there can be hardware issues with the driver.  Well, not that I understand that much about all this  ::)

Are there some suggested external USB drives that are best, or better, for use with the Panasonic driver?  What about USP 2.0 cards?  I will need to add some ports anyway.

I did make a bootable CD for an external HDD so I guess I'm not hopeless.

Thanks,
Richard

Title: Re: Are there some reccommended USB drives for Gho
Post by El_Pescador on Apr 24th, 2007 at 7:34am

Richard K wrote on Apr 23rd, 2007 at 10:23pm:
"... Are there some suggested external USB drives that are best, or better, for use with the Panasonic driver?  What about USP 2.0 cards?  I will need to add some ports anyway..."

Use the SEARCH feature on (All Posts) for the target phrase PHR-100AC  ::)

You will get more opinion on that model Macally external HDD enclosure than you will be able to assimilate, albeit nowadays I would go for the USB2/eSATA model referenced below:

http://www.macally.com/spec/usb/storage_device/phr_100su.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817347003

EP :'(

Title: Re: Are there some reccommended USB drives for Gho
Post by richkl on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:05pm
El Pescador,
Unless I am missing something that Mcally device is an enclosure for a hard drive.  Does the particular drive I put in there matter to the Panasonic USB driver?  Have I got this right?

Rlichard

Title: Re: Are there some reccommended USB drives for Gho
Post by richkl on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:13pm
OOPS!, never mind. I finally got the search function to work.  

It wanted to look for the phrase, not the word "PHR-100AC ".  So I can get a hard drive and an enclosure and get to work.

Out of curiosity, how is this combo different from the many store-bought USB external storage devices on the market now?

Richard

Title: Re: Are there some reccommended USB drives for Gho
Post by El_Pescador on Apr 25th, 2007 at 10:32am

Richard K wrote on Apr 23rd, 2007 at 10:23pm:
"... Are there some suggested external USB drives that are best..."


Richard K wrote on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:05pm:
"... Unless I am missing something that Macally device is an enclosure for a hard drive..."

Oops, my bad - tunnel vision and all that when it comes to using HDDs externally.  I only have the one "purpose-built" Iomega 80GB USB External HDD, but I have corresponded via these boards with folks using other brands who required NightOwl's Panasonic Universal USB Driver routine in order to function.  Be advised that difficulties arise when either the Enhanced USB Host Controller or the USB Mass Storage Device Controller is at fault, and the file system format of the target HDD can also be an issue as noted below:

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1121910396/1#1

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1170107348/0#0


Richard K wrote on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:05pm:
"... Does the particular (internal) drive I put in there matter to the Panasonic USB driver?..."

Although I have eventually succeeded with Seagate, Maxtor, Hitachi, and Western Digital internal HDDs, the latter
has on occasion required tweaking as described in the links above.  Amazingly - whether as an internal slave HDD
or a resident HDD of an external enclosure kit - once tweaked, the Western Digital surpassed all the others in my "cold-imaging" benchmark tests.  Before Hurricane Katrina, I literally conducted hundreds of Norton Ghost 2003 Backup and/or Restore timed and documented iterations but I fear such activities are now all "gone-with-the-wind".


Richard K wrote on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:13pm:
"... So I can get a hard drive and an enclosure and get to work..."

Yup!


Richard K wrote on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:13pm:
"... Out of curiosity, how is this combo different from the many store-bought USB external storage devices on the market now?..."

Most importantly to me is knowing precisely what brand and model HDD it is that I am mounting.  One thing I often notice is that the "purpose-built" HDDs only have a 2MB cache which is fine for that application but is limited should that HDD be transferred out and recruited to serve as a MASTER HDD where a 16MB cache is now de rigeur.  After all, such devices are sealed and whereas it may say 'Name Brand' on the outside, such does not constitute a guarantee against 'lowest bidder' being on the inside.

It used to be that store-bought devices were limited in selection and more expensive than building your own external HDD from a kit.  With the promotional Mail-In Rebates seen nowadays, the converse is now the case.  Personally, I like the flexibility of external enclosure kits and I went so far as to convert a USB2 unit with it own fan and power supply to a SATA 150 external HDD that any SATA-compatible PC I link it to regards it as an internal asset and not an external device.  One extremely useful aspect of the kit is the instant availability of a target destination for a true cloning operation (as opposed to a whole-disk-to-image backup).

EP :'(

Title: Re: Are there some reccommended USB drives for Gho
Post by Rama on Apr 25th, 2007 at 4:11pm

Richard K wrote on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:13pm:
"... Out of curiosity, how is this combo different from the many store-bought USB external storage devices on the market now?..."


HDs in the market have warranties ranging from 1 to 5 years, whereas the store-bought USB externals generally have only one year. This tips the scale in favor of assembling an external HD.

*  ;D

Title: Re: Are there some reccommended USB drives for Gho
Post by El_Pescador on Apr 25th, 2007 at 5:12pm

Richard K wrote on Apr 24th, 2007 at 9:13pm:
:... So I can get a hard drive and an enclosure and get to work..."


El_Pescador wrote on Apr 24th, 2007 at 7:34am:
"... albeit nowadays I would go for the USB2/eSATA model..."

My dream combo is illustated below for the reasons stated in the text.





EP :'(

Title: Re: Are there some recommended USB drives for Ghos
Post by NightOwl on Apr 26th, 2007 at 1:31pm
richkl

I have used the Adaptec Duo-Connect USB/Firewire PCI card, and the purpose built Iomega USB 2.0 HDD, and the Adaptec USB/Firewire combo external HDD kit (ACH-200 ? model #), + I now have the Adaptec 160 GB purpose built USB 2.0 HDD--all have performed flawlessly--with the Panasonic driver and the Symantec driver--but the Panasonic is faster!

Title: Re: Are there some recommended USB drives for Ghos
Post by El_Pescador on Apr 26th, 2007 at 6:27pm

NightOwl wrote on Apr 26th, 2007 at 1:31pm:
"... all have performed flawlessly--with the Panasonic driver and the Symantec driver--but the Panasonic is faster!..."

In my experience, whenever USB2 external HDDs and internal HDDs mounted in external enclosure kits were found to be compatible with both the Symantec/Norton/Iomega drivers and NightOwl's Panasonic Universal USB Driver routine, benchmark comparisons consistently proved the Panasonic software the faster.

EP :'(

Title: Re: Are there some recommended USB drives for Ghos
Post by richkl on Apr 26th, 2007 at 7:50pm
I'm convinced!  I am going to order a Macally enclosure and maybe a Seagate 250G drive soon.

Now I guess I will need to buy Winimage, right?  My demo expired long ago.  Actually I hate to buy it for one project- cheap, cheap, cheap.  Also I am pretty dyslexic when it comes to typing complicated computer instructions.  

Is the Panasonic USB driver general enough that a ready to burn image could be posted on the Ghost Guide?  Say, modern Intel mother board with integral USB ports?  Or does it still need tweaking for an individual system?

Richard

Title: Re: Are there some recommended USB drives for Ghos
Post by El_Pescador on Apr 26th, 2007 at 10:03pm

Richard K wrote on Apr 26th, 2007 at 7:50pm:
"... Is the Panasonic USB driver general enough..."

NightOwl's Panasonic Universal USB Driver is just that - Universal  - albeit I have seen it stymied a couple of times during Norton Ghost 2003 GUI Backup attempts by a combination of a lousy USB2 enhanced host controller, a rotten bridge chipset matched with an ALi-compliant USB2 device controller and a file system format that was less than ideal for the task.

The Symantec/Norton/Iomega drivers should be reasonably compatible with any "up-to-date" Macally combo 3.5-inch HDD enclosure kits when using the USB2 mode, but the Panasonic drivers will perform a job faster in my experience.

EP :'(

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