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Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore (Read 229118 times)
Grizzly
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Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Mar 5th, 2006 at 1:59pm
 
After reading stories on the net regarding installation problems when installing Ghost10, I decided to try using the Symantec Recovery Environment on the install CD to create an image of my hard drive.  After plugging in my Iomega 160GB USB2.0 external hard drive, I restarted the computer and booted from the CD to the Recovery Environment.  It took approximately 4 minutes.  Once there, I selected Restore Ghost Legacy Image, which brought up Ghost8.2.  I then clicked Local-Disc-To Image and proceeded to backup my entire C: drive to the external drive.  The image was created successfully and passed the Integrity check.  Next, I proceeded to attempt a Restore of the just created image.  This was done up until the final step of an actual Restore. Everything seemed fine.  Of course, the acid test will be an actual Restore of the image file.  I am interested in any comments regarding the viability of this procedure for creating and restoring image files.  My system is a Dell Dimension 8400 with P4 3.0ghz with 1GB of ram and a 160GB SATA hard drive running XP Home.  Thanks for a very informative forum!
 
 
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Brian
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #1 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 2:46pm
 
Grizzly,

I'm really pleased you posted as you have discovered something that I and maybe all here didn't know. In Ghost 9 the imaging function of Ghost 8.2 is disabled. You can only restore. I never bothered to look at Ghost 8.2 from the Ghost 10 RE because I assumed it would be the same. I checked and it isn't. Imaging is available.

I think this change in Ghost 8.2 usage will provoke a lot of discussion. For example, you can image a newly installed OS before installing any apps including Ghost 10.

Grizzly, your computer is almost the same as mine. Why don't you now install Ghost 10 and make some Ghost 10 images.
 
 
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NightOwl-
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #2 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 2:50pm
 
Grizzly

Quote:
Once there, I selected
Restore Ghost Legacy Image
, which brought up Ghost8.2.  I then clicked Local-Disc-To Image and proceeded to backup my entire C: drive to the external drive.  The image was created successfully and passed the Integrity check.

That's extremely interesting!  On my Ghost 9.x installation CD, when booted to the *Recovery Environment*, the above mentioned copy of Ghost 8.2 is also present--but all functions except *Restore* and *Integrity Check* are crippled (*disabled*)--so no image creation is allowed or possible!

Notice that the above *quoted* function says only *Restore*!

Very interesting if Symantec did not cripple Ghost 8.2 on the Ghost 10.x installation CD!

Quote:
I am interested in any comments regarding the viability of this procedure for creating and restoring image files.

Based on your description of what you have done--sounds *very* viable!!!!

Any other Ghost 10'ers--can you verify the ability to create Ghost 8.2 backup images?!!!!
 

No question is stupid...but, possibly the answers are  Wink !
(This is an old *NightOwl* user account--not in current use.  Current account is NightOwl without a dash at the end.)
 
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #3 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 2:54pm
 
Brian

You usually have *extra* HDD's and images around--can you confirm that the Ghost 8.2 on the Ghost 10 installation CD will actually create and restore an image without difficulties.
 

No question is stupid...but, possibly the answers are  Wink !
(This is an old *NightOwl* user account--not in current use.  Current account is NightOwl without a dash at the end.)
 
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Brian
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #4 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 2:56pm
 
We crossed over. See above.
 
 
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Pleonasm
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #5 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 2:56pm
 
In the spirit of "provoking a lot of discussion," consider this:  the corporate version of Ghost 2003 (i.e., Ghost 8.2) runs under Windows and creates an image using "hot imaging" – not unlike Ghost 10!

(Will wonders never cease?)
 

ple • o • nasm n. “The use of more words than are required to express an idea”
 
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Brian
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #6 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 3:33pm
 
NightOwl,

I successfully restored the image with Ghost 8.2 after adding a few text files to that partition so I could see that the restored partition was different.

[Rad comment]:
Now, *there's* a trooper!
  Smiley
 
 
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Pleonasm
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #7 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 4:06pm
 
Brian, I had a "live chat" with Symantec Technical Support some time ago, in which they implied that Ghost 8.2 on the Ghost 10 recovery environment CD could create images.  At the time, I dismissed the comment, thinking that it was simply an ill-informed statement by Symantec, given what NightOwl had previously posted about Ghost 8.2 on the Ghost 9 recovery environment CD.

Based on your experimentation, I see now that Symantec was indeed correct:  Ghost 8.2 on the Ghost 10 recovery environment CD can both create as well as restore Ghost 2003 format images.  That could be a very handy piece of information, and – to some extent – mitigates the absence of a Ghost 10 plug-in for BartPE.

Question:  Brian, does Ghost 8.2 in the recovery environment recognize external USB hard disk drives?  FireWire hard disk drives?  DVD discs?
 

ple • o • nasm n. “The use of more words than are required to express an idea”
 
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #8 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 5:09pm
 
Brian

Did you see this in Pleonasm's last post:

Quote:
That could be a very handy piece of information, and – to some extent – mitigates the absence of a Ghost 10 plug-in for BartPE.


Yikes!!!!!  Can the Ghost 8.2 on the Ghost 10 CD be used to create a Bart PE using the Ghost 8.x plug in!!!!!

Here is where the *crippled* Ghost 8.2 is on the Ghost 9.x Recovery CD:

X:\I386\START\ADVANCED\EN\
RESTOREGHOST.EXE


Where is it on the Ghost 10 CD?
 

No question is stupid...but, possibly the answers are  Wink !
(This is an old *NightOwl* user account--not in current use.  Current account is NightOwl without a dash at the end.)
 
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Grizzly
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #9 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 5:29pm
 
Thanks for your comments on this post.  Brian, I am still leery of installing Ghost 10.   I'm no computer geek by any means, and subscribe to the theory of it it ain't broke don't fiddle with it!   I had actually installed Ghost 2003 from the Ghost10 package after reading of user problems with the Ghost10 installation, and had previously made a Ghost 2003 image from the Windows interface.  After reading that the Ghost10 Recovery Environment would allow one to restore images from older versions of Ghost, I just decided on a whim to see if it could also create them.      Pleonasm, my external USB 2.0 external hard drive seemed to be recognized just fine in the Recovery Environment.

[Rad comment]: Re: "
decided on a whim
". What a stroke of luck .. for all of us.
 
 
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John.
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #10 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 5:29pm
 
Grizzly,

This is really a great find.  Shocked

NightOwl, Brian, Pleo, and others -- there was one question some time ago about whether or not a NTFS external USB2 hard drive contains the drive letter in the DiskID signature:

Erase DiskID on external USB drive

I don't think the question was ever answered.  But from I saw in my testing today, I would say YES.  I booted from the Ghost 10 RE CD, and invoked Ghost 8.2 which is essentially the Windows version of Ghost, as I understand it.  

I checked the Ghost 8.2 option to recover and opened the window to look for .GHO images.  All my local drive letters (c, d, e, g) were present and my external usb drive (k) was also present.  Note, that f was not present because I no longer have an f partition; and g wasn't assigned f by default.

The Windows Pre-environment is loaded prior to Ghost 8.2.  My Windows XP Pro Registry is NOT loaded.  My opinion is that no drives are opened.

So the answer (in my opinion) is that DiskID, stored physically on the drive, contains a signature plus a drive letter.  Otherwise, how else would Windows PE or Ghost 8.2 know the correct one?

Grizzly, move to the head of the class.
 

Ghost4me  Ghost 9, 10, 12, 14, 15.  Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7
 
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Brian
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #11 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 5:36pm
 
Quote:
Brian, I am still leery of installing Ghost 10. 


Grizzly, you are famous.

What I'd do is create a Ghost 8.2 image then install Ghost 10. If you don't like Ghost 10 it can be uninstalled and if that doesn't work properly you could restore your image.

I think you will like Ghost 10.
 
 
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Brian
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #12 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 5:50pm
 
Pleo,
John has answered the question re external HD's. Writing to DVD's is crippled but I'm sure restoring from DVD's would be OK.

NightOwl,
i386\Shell\Ghost contains restoreghost.exe and ghostexp.exe as well as other files. I extracted both files, renamed restoreghost.exe to ghost32.exe and put both in the Files folder of the BartPE plugin. I opened ghost.inf and deleted these lines
files\ghostsrv.exe=a,,3
files\ghostcdr.dll=a,,3
I then built a BartPE CD and the Ghost 8.2 plugin works fine and I created an image.
The practical value of this I'll leave to others.

We still need a BartPE plugin for Ghost 10 because Ghost 8.2 doesn't allow one to restore a Ghost 10 image stored on an external HD if that HD can't be seen from the RE.


 
 
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Brian
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #13 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 6:02pm
 
Quote:
there was one question some time ago about whether or not a NTFS external USB2 hard drive contains the drive letter in the DiskID signature.




John,

Have a think about Method #2.

http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/partsigs.htm

In my Registry under \DosDevices\ I have all my drive letters including the external HD even though it's not connected. It's beyond my understanding but what do you make of it?
 
 
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John.
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Re: Using Ghost 10 CD to Create and Restore
Reply #14 - Mar 5th, 2006 at 6:14pm
 
Brian wrote on Mar 5th, 2006 at 6:02pm:
Have a think about Method #2.
http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/partsigs.htm
In my Registry under \DosDevices\ I have all my drive letters including the external HD even though it's not connected. It's beyond my understanding but what do you make of it?

I think that XP remembers (in the registry) all drive letters that it has ever used.  When I looked at mine, I saw several I hadn't used in ages.  In your
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
do you see drive letters for devices like usb card readers?

I don't know the full answer.  Maybe Dan will be able to comment.  I think method #2 is just to clear the drive letters in XP so the next time you boot, you take what's available.  For example, in my case, I think if I cleared the key and data values, my cdrom would not show up as r: at the next boot, which is what I have had it for ages.

I don't think that WinPE is loading the hives or registry of XP.  How could it know?  Suppose you had multiple boot partitions?  Which registry would WinPE load?

I've tried several times searching for information about the format and contents of DiskID.  Google and Microsoft searching and I can't find anything.  

(I'll gladly move to the back of the class if someone can find it!  Smiley  )
 

Ghost4me  Ghost 9, 10, 12, 14, 15.  Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7
 
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