I made the cd from the ISO of Ghost 11.5 and my question is this: Since this runs Ghost directly from the CD will this create or be able to restore an image of a Windows 10 64 computer ? I have my hard drive set as NTFS and Secure Boot is disabled .. Has anyone been able to test this ? ? Thank you

@ bruce_b

We partly discussed Ghost 11.5 in one of your previous threads. Does the CD boot in your computer? Is your Win10 installed in Legacy or UEFI mode? Can you tell us which partitions are present in Disk Management? This will help in knowing whether Ghost will work.

Brian ---  Have not yet tried it on the Toshiba C855-S5347 .. also not quite sure if we are in UEFI or Legacy mode ... Tried the CD on my Dell 8200 and it boots fine, but it will not see my Logitech Wireless USB Mouse or the Dell USB Keyboard
Also for some reason, I did not get a notification from your forum, even though I asked it to do so. Will recheck my profile. -- Found an option to notify of responses was not enabled .. Also attached a pix of the disk management screen from the Toshiba Win 10

---

Bruce,

Great screenshot. That partition layout indicates the OS in installed in UEFI mode. Ghost 11.5 doesn't support GPT disks and while it appears to backup the disk, the restored image isn't bootable.

Regarding Secure Boot. Why it it disabled? It protects against the current ransomware. 

Bruce,

In your screenshot the 9.35 GB rectangle is the fifth rectangle but in the text at the top it shows as Disk 0 partition 6. This is because Disk Management does not show the Microsoft Reserved Partition which is positioned after the EFI System Partition.

You have several Recovery partitions. To determine the one in use run this from an Admin Command Prompt...

reagentc /info

On the Windows RE location: line, what is the partition number?

Here is what your command returned:

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.15063]
(c) 2017 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>reagentc /info
Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) and system reset configuration
Information:

    Windows RE status:         Enabled
    Windows RE location:       \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition5\Recovery\WindowsRE
    Boot Configuration Data (BCD) identifier: 858f2308-3527-11e2-be71-20689dd6ae64
    Recovery image location:   \\?\GLOBALROOT\device\harddisk0\partition6\Recovery
    Recovery image index:      1
    Custom image location:
    Custom image index:        0

REAGENTC.EXE: Operation Successful.


C:\WINDOWS\system32>

Note: This laptop originally came with Windows 8 and was then upgraded to Windows 10 using the free upgrade provided by Microsoft. Personally, I do not delete system partitions unless I absolutely need to and I am sure it will not mess something up.

As to secure boot, I personally do not like it or think it is needed. Same for UEFI unless your primary drive is like larger than 3GB ... For my needs standard boot and NTFS are just fine

Bruce,

Thanks. Your Recovery partition is the 819 MB one. Partition 1 is redundant. If you ever need extra space for your OS partition you could delete Partition 6 and add that space to the OS partition. But have the system imaged just in case you make a mistake. Which imaging software will you use for this UEFI system?

You have a GPT disk, not a MBR disk. Your OS is installed in UEFI mode. It boots in UEFI mode whether Secure Boot is on or off. If by standard boot you mean MBR, you don't have it. Secure Boot prevents unauthorized boot code from running. For example, some of the recent Ransomware malware.

Brian, No intention of deleting any partitions at this time.
As to imaging software not sure yet what to attempt to use on the Toshiba laptop. I do have the Ghost 15 SSR files, not sure if it needs a license code or not or if it will work properly in Windows 10 .. worst case would be Acronis Tru Image which is said to work with Win 10

Bruce,

Ghost 15 doesn't work on Win10. SSR 2016 works but I'm not sure about SSR 2013. Acronis TI works but it has the worst reputation of all imaging apps. Buggy.

Do you prefer online or offline imaging? How often would you image?

I prefer imaging with no programs running, like how the original version of Ghost worked. It booted back to PC-DOS or in some cases, MS-DOS and then made the image. As to how often, I usually make an new image when a major change has been done. Say Windows 10 updates to a newer version, or lots of new programs have been added or updated. So maybe every couple of months or so. Data files I copy to another location now and then.

Bruce,

Then I suggest you trial Image for Linux. GUI version. It works with Linux and Windows OS.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-linux.htm

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/index.htm

It's fast, reliable and is updated about five times per year. Licensed for 5 home computers.

Initially, I'd use Simple Operations mode. Three clicks to backup and three clicks to restore. 

IFL instructions for Simple Operations Mode

Download and unzip the Trial file
double click makedisk.exe
Simple - Allow program to control most options
I accept
Choose your UFD or Optical drive (drive letters)

Boot UFD or CD
Backup this computer to an alternative drive
Choose the Source drive
Choose the Target drive
Choose the partition on the Target drive
Start

For the second and subsequent backups
Boot UFD or CD
Backup this computer to an alternative drive
Choose the Source drive
Start

It doesn't get any easier than Simple Operations Mode.

I've been using Ghost in one version or another to backup and/or clone hard drives since 1997.

Today, have Ghost 11.5 (DOS Version) on both CD's and Flash Drives. 
I use it to back up everything, from XP to Win-10 Pro/64.  It doesn't seem to care what the OS is.
My software guru says he uses it to back up his Linux Server.

Sometimes booting into Ghost from a Flash Drive works better than booting from a CD, and vise versa.
So I keep both media handy.

I never cease to be amazed at how old things work better than newer things.... backup programs included.

Cheers Mates.  It's nice to see that some folks still use Ghost.

Casper  8-)

OldCasper wrote on Jul 24^th, 2017 at 2:50pm:

I never cease to be amazed at how old things work better than newer things

Have you tried Ghost 11.5 (DOS Version) with a UEFI system?

That would be good if OldCasper can tell us if Ghost 11.5 will work with the Windows 10 Creators update and UEFI type BIOS ... Just because it creates an image, does not mean you can restore it. The UEFI BIOS might stop you. But I suppose you could always boot into the BIOS and change it to Legacy to do the image restoral and then change it back after it works.
Note: Ghost 11.5 does not support a USB Keyboard or Wireless USB Mouse (at least not on my Dell Dimension 8200) not sure how to get around that except to have old style keyboard and mouse around.

Also a note to forum admins: I still do not get email notifications of replies and all the options in my profile are correctly set. Please check this. Thank you

I can still remember that crazy kid (drug addict) that did the Dell commercials.
"Congratulations, you're getting a Dell"!   Sorry, that was a while back, but some memories die hard.

I build my own 'Personal' computers, because with an aftermarket motherboard, like my Gigabyte, you have many more options and abilities, many more than I will ever use in my lifetime.

On my mobo, I set it to UEFI/Legacy, and it always sees my WiFi Mouse and USB Keyboard.
The OS makes no difference. 

I have successfully backed up every OS from XP to Win-10 Pro/64, and Ghost 11.5, run from my DOS boot disk, doesn't seem to even notice or care.

The way Ghost is written, it backs up ones and zeros as it sees them and doesn't seem to make any ID of the OS, or type of data.

My webmaster used to back up his Linux Server with Ghost 11.5.

As for the Restore, on Windows 10..... I can't guarantee that.  I have not actually tried it yet.
But I can, if you'd like.

8-)

OK Bruce, this one's for you....

First let me say that I don't normally run Windows 10.  I much prefer Win-7 Ultimate/32.

Having said that, I do have Windows 10 Pro/64 on an old 80GB Seagate drive.
So I unplugged my W7 HD and plugged in the Win-10 drive, booted it up and made sure it was working properly. 
Then I rebooted the system with my DOS boot disk containing Ghost 11.5 and I proceeded to do a Ghost backup to a second partition on the W-10 HD.  The backup went off without a hitch, and my WiFi Mouse and USB Keyboard worked just find through the process.

Following the creation of the Backup Image File with FAST Compression, I immediately did a Restore of "Image to Partition".  So my C: partition was completely overwritten.  That too ended without any errors.

Then I shut down the system, removed my Ghost CD, and rebooted to the HD.  Windows 10 came up absolutely normal.  So I have to conclude that both the Backup and the Restore worked 100%.

I hope that answers at least some of your questions.

EPM tells me that the C: partition is formatted NTFS/ Basic MBR.

That's the way Windows 10 installed itself on this HD.  I had nothing to do with that.

Cheers Mate!

8-)

Thank you for the information. I am sticking with Ghost on my old Dell 8200 as it does just fine on that. I did burn the Ghost 11.5 ISO and while it will boot, it does not see the USB Keyboard or USB Mouse ... So how do I fix that minor glitch ?  As to my laptop, I decided to buy Acronis True Image 2017 and it creates a Bootable USB Drive or Bootable CD which does see the USB Keyboard and Mouse .. Have not yet made the Image as it will need to go to an External Hard Drive and that will take some time with a USB 2 drive.

I don't know if I've ever gone into detail about my Ghost 11.5 boot disk (CD, Flash Drive or SD card).

My DOS boot disk comes up in an Ansi Color dos menu, with many options, on just how I will run Ghost.
I also have utilities like the Universal Low Level Formatter, and NTFS4DOS.  I even have a Windows Password removal tool on the disk.

I even have cleanup utilities to clean up an old FAT32 formatted HD, like with XP on it.
I always ran XP on a FAT32 hard drive, contrary to the self proclaimed Experts who said that wouldn't work.  Hey dudes, it works just fine and gives me far greater control of my data.

Like the same guys who said I couldn't use Ghost to Defrag my hard drive.  lol lol lol
But think about it...if you do a Ghost backup and follow that with a Ghost restore....Ghost overwrites the C: partition, laying down the files in perfect order, with NO spaces between them, effectively Defragmenting the HD.  I've done it hundreds of times and it works GREAT.

Most importantly, I run "Mouse.com" from the Autoexec.bat file on the Ghost Boot disk.  So even though I'm running a DOS program, I still have my mouse.  I can run Ghost from the keyboard, but it's much easier and faster to run it with my mouse.  If your keyboard is plugged directly into your motherboard, it should work OK with Ghost.  I can't imagine that it wouldn't.

Ghost 11.5 was an upgrade to Ghost 2003, to make it compatible with NTFS formatting.
But truly it was never upgraded to deal with UEFI, which I just don't use.

So if anyone says that Ghost 11.5 won't work with an OS on a UEFI formatted HD. that may well be true.
OH well, that doesn't affect me! 

Y'all have a great day now, Y'hear?

Casper  8-)

OldCasper wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2017 at 7:43pm:

I can run Ghost from the keyboard, but it's much easier and faster to run it with my mouse.

Ah, man ... I was with 'ya right up to that point! I had you pegged as a fellow DOS junkie, but no self-respecting command-line jockey would *ever* agree that a mouse is faster.

If keyboard commands are supported, they're *always* faster than a mouse could ever be. (Have you ever tried "typing ahead" with a mouse? You can with a keyboard.)




Quote:

Ghost 11.5 was an upgrade to Ghost 2003, to make it compatible with NTFS formatting.

I have to disagree with that. Ghost 2003 and even 2002 had no trouble with NTFS file systems.

My understanding is v11.5 was principally an upgrade to support Vista/Win7. Ghost 2002/2003 could understand XP's boot.ini file (and manipulate it when necessary), but not Vista/Win7's BCD. Ghost 11.5 fixed that shortcoming.

I think v11.5 may have also fixed v2003's disk size limit, which IIRC was something like 1.1 TB or thereabouts, but since I long ago switched to Terabyte Image I haven't tested Ghost 11.5's limits.




Quote:

if anyone says that Ghost 11.5 won't work with an OS on a UEFI formatted HD. that may well be true.

Setting aside the fact that UEFI is not a "format" (I think you meant GPT--which isn't a format either, but is the issue you're really talking about) ...

Whether or not Ghost 11.5 (or any other utility) can manage partitions in a GPT partitioning system is dependent on the OS being booted. In your case, your boot media is booting DOS, but DOS does not understand the GPT system so cannot pass along to Ghost the information it needs to know where the partitions are.

The partition itself is actually no different on a GPT system than it is on a MBR system, but in order to locate that partition you have to be booting an OS that understands the partition indexing system in use. DOS understands the MBR system but not the GPT system. So while v11.5 might otherwise have no trouble backing up a GPT partition, it can't back it up if it can't find it, and it can't find it if the underlying OS can't.

Hmmm!
I've been using Ghost since 1997, and I've always loaded a mouse driver from the Autoexec.bat file on the boot disk, since I first discovered that Ghost could be run with a mouse.

I have friends who like the keyboard, but I never have.  That goes back a very long ways.

So a Mouse is my choice of weapon, and I don't appreciate being bad mouthed for it.  OK.

However your Technical expertise is much appreciated, although redundant since I have figured out how to best run Ghost 11.5 on all my 20 PC's.  If I have bad information, it's probably because most of what I know or think I know about Ghost was learned right here on this forum.

Like when N.B. said that Symantec never wrote a Ghost 11.5 version.  He wasn't here very long after that.

I hope that we can all just agree to 'Get Along', without the Bad Mouthing.

Cheers mates!
8-)

It's not bad-mouthing when it's correcting the spread of incorrect information.

Well, I consider it badmouthing when you try to make me feel stupid for using a mouse, instead of the keyboard to run Ghost.  Actually it's none of your business what I use. Eh?

OldCasper wrote on Sep 7^th, 2017 at 9:32am:

Actually it's none of your business what I use. Eh?

Agreed. I wonder who brought it up?

Regardless of "he said, she said", it's a year later and I'm still using Ghost 11.5 every week to do all my HD backups, regardless whether the OS is Windows 7, Win-8.1, or Win 10 32 or 64.

The process works just as well as it did years ago, on Windows 98 or Windows XP.

I love something that just "WORKS"!  ;)

Cheers Mates!

:cool:

Well, it's now 2019, and a hot summer, and lo and behold, I'm still using Ghost 11.5, booting up my PC from either a CD or Flash Drive and doing my weekly (not weakly) backups.

It works great, backing up my SSD to a 1TB external HD.  I can back up the whole drive (cloning) or just the C: partition of the SSD.  Either way, it still works great.

Cheers Mates!
Y'all have a great summer now, Y'hear?
Casper 8-)

I'm still using Ghost 2003 to backup my Windows 7 Pro 64-bit system.

To backup my Windows 10 Home 64-bit system, I have started using Terabyte Image for Linux. It works from a USB-stick and Linux as the OS but creates images, incrementals, clones and "whatever" you wish on any OS, file system and BIOS/UEFI.

Christer wrote on Jul 31^st, 2019 at 2:57am:

I have started using Terabyte Image for Linux

Agreed!
IMHO, nowadays, Terabyte tools are one of the most reliable and complete set
among all those dedicated to multiOS system backup.

I can't believe that it's been almost two years since I last posted here.
WOW!  How time flies when you're having fun, Eh?

I have NO changes to report.  I still use Ghost 11.5 on a DOS Boot disk to do my weekly backups and an occasional CLONE of my main SSD to a backup drive.  It works great to back up my Windows 8.1/Pro/64 OS.

End:

Nice to see that you check in every now and then. Maybe more "then" than "now" but anyway ...  ;) ... !

I myself have actually abandoned Ghost since I "upgraded" my DeskTop from Windows 7 Pro to Windows 10 Pro. The question is if it really was an upgrade ...  :-X ... ?

Windows 10 Home is installed on a LapTop and I regret not choosing one with Pro. For us "tinkerers", Home is so limited compared to Pro.

EDITED: To clarify, I upgraded Windows from 7 to 10 on the old hardware from 2010.

I think that the main problem with "old" editions of operating systems (specially regarding the  Windows environment) is the availability for upgrading the hardware drivers, at the point that, nowadays, if you need a new motherboard/system, you are almost constrained to upgrade the operating system, too.

Just due to the above reasons, from my side it's since a long time I switched to Windows 10 PRO on most of my systems (even if using both Linux & Mac, too) and for system backups I currently use Macrium Reflect (for its reliability and simplicity), but also Terabyte tools, even though these last are under evaluation yet (for production environment), due to their stepped learning curve; anyway, I'm confident that Terabyte tools are more powerfull than Macrium Reflect ones (potentially, at least).

As per UEFI/MBR choice, I'll stay with MBR (until possible), having the feeling that it seems more "flexible" than UEFI, specially for multi-boot systems.

To use IFW in Simple Operations Mode. This will create Entire Drive backups...

    For the first backup

    Backup
    Select the drive to backup
    Select the partition to contain the backup
    Start


    For the second and subsequent backups

    Backup
    Select the drive to backup
    Start
    

Just in defense of an old friend, I have to report that I still use Ghost 11.5 to backup the C: partition on all ten of my PC's.  They range from XP on an Acer One Netbook, to Windows 10/Pro/64 on a desktop PC.
I also run Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on various PC's.
And Ghost backs up them all.  It doesn't care what's there, it just backs it up.

I've been using Ghost since 1997, and I guess it's just too late to stop now.

Cheers mates!

8-)

Something New:
I didn't know where to put this, so here goes:

Just poking around the internet, I ran into a new 'Ghost' offering from Broadcom.com
It's called "Ghost 12.0.0.11379"  Copyright 2021, Broadcom Inc.

Well, I just had to take a look!
It came as an ISO, which I downloaded and burned to a 32GB Flash Drive.
It booted up my PC just fine, but came up with a screen with the bright Blue Windows in the center of an all black screen.
I sat there staring at that for a moment, wondering if my PC was booting up in Windows, or just what.
Then came up a screen like I've never seen before.  There was the old familiar Ghost 11.5 window, inside a blue frame, centered in a light blue screen.  It looked like Ghost was running in a Windows shell, or some such.  Weird!  But on the first screen of Ghost, it had all the ownership info as I noted in my opening paragraph.

So what gives?  Did Broadcom buy the rights to Ghost from Symantec?  Did they HiJack it?  Eh?

Well, it runs exactly like Ghost 11.5, and is workable with a mouse.  And is also customizable, just like the old Ghost, as long as it was run from a writable media.

So, I'm just wondering, if anyone else has seen this new Ghost yet?
RSVP!

:-/

I was under the impression that most people, including Symantec, had forgotten about Ghost but obviously not. I myself switched to TeraByte when I upgraded (?) Windows 7 to Windows 10.

RSVP?

Christer Übermensch

I know I must have missed a few, but I've tried 'Almost' every backup program that has come down the road since 1997, when I was first introduced to Ghost.
Before 1997, I used the backup routines in "PC Tools".

And, I've never found one that will do what Ghost will do, and so simply too.
I've used it to back up every version of Windows since '98.  It also backs up Linux and 'Server'.
It even backs up a data drive, with no OS at all.

I did have to upgrade from Ghost 2003 to Ghost 11.5 to accommodate the NTFS drives.
And, since then I've picked up "Ghost Explorer" and "Ghost for Windows".

Now, after all these years, I have a revised version of Ghost, from Broadcom.com
It's exactly like Ghost 11.5, but in a different wrapper.

I don't know if it was supposed to be a Retail Software, because where I found it, I downloaded it and installed it for FREE.

I can't imagine that I'm not in a pretty good-sized Group, of Ghost users.

8-)

Maybe I'm the one who doesn't get around too much, testing different software and versions but I went from Ghost 2003, running from a floppy to Terabyte, running from a USB-stick.

What do you meen by RSVP?

Do you have a link to the Broadcom page?

This is a Yo Ho Ho version of ghost64.exe in a WinPE, extracted from Ghost Solution Suite 3.3. An Enterprise product.

Ghost 12 has been in GSS for about 6 years. And updated. It's not related to "Ghost 12" the home product. Ghost64.exe doesn't run in DOS.

Christer,
This might be what you asked for.  Sorry, if not.
https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/175846/download-the-latest-version-of-symantec.html

Further web searches revealed this page, complete with a FREE Download.
https://getintopc.com/softwares/backup-recovery/symantec-ghost-boot-cd-2021-free-download/

OldCasper  8-)

The apps are free because it's a pirate site...

https://www.techmediatoday.com/getintopc-software-downloader/

OldCasper wrote on Sep 29^th, 2021 at 4:32pm:

Christer, This might be what you asked for.  OldCasper  8-)

Yes, thanks for the link. I assume that you need a valid license to run the software downloaded from there. Since I currently have a licence at Terabyte, these questions are mostly out of curiosity.

One last attemnpt - what do you mean by RSVP?

@ Christer


Christer wrote on Sep 30^th, 2021 at 3:53am:

One last attempt - what do you mean by RSVP?

I have to guess--never know for sure--but this seems a likely interpretation:


Quote:

The abbreviation R.S.V.P. comes from the French phrase répondez s'il vous plaît, which means "please reply."

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/RSVP

I think Old Casper was requesting a response to his posted information.

I think the more common usage of RSVP is  *to respond to an invitation*.

NightOwl

Thanks, without realizing that I did, I complied with his wish ...  ;) ... !

License?  What license?  Are you kidding, or just wanting to start a fight?

Just kidding.  I do have a lifetime lic. for Windows Utilities.  And, one for Super Anti-Spyware.
Two great programs that I don't like to be without, when running any OS.
Other than that, I do like using software that I can get and use for FREE.

And, it never ceases to amaze me, just how much software is out there, that is available for FREE.

Y'all have a great day now, Y'hear?

Casper 8-)

PS:  My RSVP which I thought you would surely understand, was just an invitation for you to "Please respond to my post".  Originally RSVP was FRENCH, but has become in common use in the United States for longer than I've been alive.  Pardon moi!

I guess it's OK if I reply to myself, isn't it?

To add just a little VOILA to what's already been said.

Just for testing and experimenting purposes, mind you, I'm running Windows 11/Pro/64 on three different PC's, one of those being an older HP Laptop.

Regardless, When I go to do a backup I still use a DOS boot disk (or Flash Drive) with Ghost 11.5 on it.
Ghost 11.5 backs up Windows 11 just like it has for every OS since Windows 7.  It doesn't seen to care what the OS is, as long as it's got ones and zeros, Ghost will back it up.  ::)

Little did I know, when I first used Ghost, back in 1997, that 25 years later, I'd still be using it.

Cheers Mates!
Casper  8-)

Update:
It's now April of 2023, and I'm still using Ghost to do my weekly backups, on all my Windows 11 PC's.

With a few improvements, it still works as good as the first time I tried it back in 1997, when I worked in a small PC shop, where we used Ghost on a 3.5" floppy disk to clone small and slow HD's to larger and faster HD's.  Cloning, is the first thing I ever did with Ghost.

On most of the computer forums, Macrium Reflect is just about the only program mentioned in regards to backing up hard drives.  But people seem to be having all sorts of problems with that program.
Anytime I mention Ghost, and how simple it is, I get Booed Down by the MR fanboys.

So, they just keep having their problems and I keep having my success.

Ain't life great?

Casper  8-)

OldCasper,

Thanks for the update!

I myself abandonded Ghost a few years ago and started using TeraByte Image for Linux. It's operating system is Linux but it works fine on Windows installations.

Last week, I had a SSD-crash on my LapTop. Disconnected from the internet, I restored my clone (disk-to-disk) to the new SSD and was up and running within a couple of hours. The backup had been created in 2019 (version 1909 if memory serves me). I had the update to 22H2 downloaded as a preparation and it  updated the computer to current without a hitch. When I connected to the internet, a few other updates were automatically downloaded and I also had to update a few installed programs.

I don't understand all that nonsense about having to be fully updated to go from one version (in this case 1909) to the next. I took a shortcut to 22H2 and I believe that staying disconnected from the internet when doing the job is the key. Microsoft has no chance interfering ...  ::) ... until the deed is done.