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aplados
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Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Apr 25th, 2007 at 12:19am
 
I'm brand new to this.  I need some general info to get me started.  I've read alot of things on this site but just confused a bit.  

I have a laptop and would like to create a image for restoring in case something happens.  I do not have a floppy drive.  It does have a cd burner so which version would be the easiest to use for me for this purpose?
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #1 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 1:11am
 
aplados wrote on Apr 25th, 2007 at 12:19am:
I have a laptop and would like to create a image for restoring in case something happens.  It does have a cd burner so which version would be the easiest to use for me for this purpose?

aplados,

As you have noticed, everyone has their favourite. I suggest Ghost 12 which will be released in a week. It combines the best features of Ghost 9 and 10. I wouldn't buy Norton Save and Restore because I don't recommend the Files and Folders backup component. There are better ways to backup Files and Folders.

Do you have any partitioning software? It makes things easier. What about an external HD? These are much easier to use than imaging to DVDs. How large is your laptop HD and how much free space is available?
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #2 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 1:15am
 
So I guess what you are saying is that many versions are available since mine does not have a floppy. Guess I need to do a bit more reading.  Thanks for your reply.
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #3 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 1:17am
 
aplados wrote on Apr 25th, 2007 at 1:15am:
So I guess what you are saying is that many versions are available

The versions change yearly. Ghost 12 will be the latest version, next week. You don't need a floppy drive.
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #4 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 2:21pm
 
Brian wrote on Apr 25th, 2007 at 1:11am:
aplados wrote on Apr 25th, 2007 at 12:19am:
Do you have any partitioning software? It makes things easier. What about an external HD? These are much easier to use than imaging to DVDs. How large is your laptop HD and how much free space is available?

I have Partition Magic 8.  Just didn't know if I wanted to partition this laptop.  It won't hurt anything, would it?  I wanted to add Microsoft Office before I make a DVD for restoring.  I do have the original restore disk for the laptop but it doesn't have Microsoft Office on it.
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #5 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 4:14pm
 
Regarding partitioning. "Never leave home without it."    See....

http://partition.radified.com/

http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/notes.htm#13

You didn't mention your HD size and amount of free space. We need this to advise you on how to manage your backup images.
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #6 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 8:10pm
 
40 GB hard drive with only 37.2 showing.  I don't see any hidden partitions.  Free space is 28.3 GB without the Microsoft Office installed.

I saw where Norton Ghost 12 will be delayed.  I'd like to go ahead and buy a version that will clone the entire hard drive with the Office to a CDR.  Of all the versions out there is there a particular one that will work without a bunch of fuss or would I have to wait until Ghost 12 comes out?

I want it for restore purposes but mainly in case of hard drive failure so even if I partitioned it that would not do me any good if I used one of the programs that writes a image to another partition..

I only have a combo DVD reader and CDRW.  No DVDRW.
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #7 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 8:49pm
 
aplados,

Thanks for the detailed info. So you have around 9 GB of data. Your backup image will be around 6 GB. That is 9 CDs. The chance of a successful restore from 9 CDs is about zero in my opinion. Sorry, but forget it.

Do you have a desktop computer that you can network to your laptop? You could store the backup image on the desktop. I mentioned an external HD before. That's an easy solution.

A temporary answer is to partition your HD into two partitions. A 15 and a 22 GB partition. Write the image of your C: drive to the second partition. Then you are covered for OS corruption but not for HD failure. HD failure is far less common than OS corruption.

You need to sort out a backup location before you buy software. As for terminology, you will be making backup images (recovery points) and not clones.

http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/notes.htm#14
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #8 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 8:57pm
 
There are several imaging apps (trials) that you could use to write an image to the second partition while you are waiting on a final software decision.
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #9 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 9:24pm
 
Looks as though partioning the HD seems like the only solution since I'm selling the laptop soon.  What about networking the laptop and my desktop, and dumping the file on the desktop since I have a DVD writer on it? Could be written to 2 DVDR's.
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #10 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 9:40pm
 
aplados wrote on Apr 25th, 2007 at 8:10pm:
40 GB hard drive with only 37.2 showing.  I don't see any hidden partitions.  Free space is 28.3 GB without the Microsoft Office installed.

I saw where Norton Ghost 12 will be delayed.  I'd like to go ahead and buy a version that will clone the entire hard drive with the Office to a CD-R.  Of all the versions out there is there a particular one that will work without a bunch of fuss or would I have to wait until Ghost 12 comes out?

I want it for restore purposes but mainly in case of hard drive failure so even if I partitioned it that would not do me any good if I used one of the programs that writes a image to another partition..

I only have a combo DVD reader and CD-RW.  No DVD-RW.
Cry

One secret I found to using ghost (Ghost 2003, the DOS Version for me) is, try to avoid complexity.
KISS.....Keep it simple Sam!

Setting up an efficient and simple solution to system backups starts the day you set up the computer.
I've always built my own, so I have to partition and format my own HD's and then load the OS.
I made the decision years ago to just stay with FAT-32 for all my Hard Drives.  This gives me 100% control over every bit of info on that HD, and I can do it all from any simple DOS boot disk.

Then, after hearing the Horror Stories from guys trying to use the GUI versions of Ghost, I decided to go back to the DOS version of Ghost 2003, which is almost identical to the Ghost I used back in 1997.
 
Again, working with the KISS method, I set about getting the most use out of that old DOS version as possible.  I decided on Windows ME as the DOS boot disk that I'd use. Then I added my Ansi-Color menu system and a few other little utils till the disk (floppy) was pretty much full.
Then I found that Nero would burn that same Ghost Boot Floppy to a CD, creating my first Ghost Boot CD.  I willingly share copies of both to legal owners of Ghost.
I now have Ghost 2003 and my windows ME Utilities disks recorded on a Bootable 64 meg Flash Drive.  I can use that with Nero to make a boot CD which serves double duty as a Ghost boot CD and a Windows ME Utilities Boot CD all in one disk.  That one CD is all I need to set up a brand new HD.
I just used it to set up a new SATA II HD.

You mentioned partitioning.   Huh
By all means PARTITION!  One for your OS and common programs and one for your Suites, archives, pictures, movies and of course your Ghost Backups.
Installing Office?  Re-route the install, to put all the program files on your second partition.  You don't need all that BLOAT on C: and all your scans and backups will go much faster.
Office won't give a darn where you install it.

Once you've created your Ghost backups to your second HD partition (the fastest way to create backup images) you can save those files to external hard drives or to CD's later at your leisure.

If you had a tower instead of a laptop, I'd say 86 the combo drive and replace it with the latest DL DVD burner.  Oh well........ Roll Eyes

Many people are having troubles with the Ghost DOS version, because they don't have the latest Build.
Build 793 is required to backup AMD 939 or AM2 mobos.  All my disks use the 793 build.

Good Luck,
The Doctor  Cool
 

Norton Killer = http://www.symantec.com/symnrt/&&Don't WORK your Computer, Make your Computer WORK for you!&&...
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #11 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 9:54pm
 
aplados wrote on Apr 25th, 2007 at 9:24pm:
What about networking the laptop and my desktop, and dumping the file on the desktop since I have a DVD writer on it? Could be written to 2 DVDR's.

Great idea. You don't even need to partition the laptop. Just write the image over the network, remembering to split it at 4480 MB.

Why not do it today with Drive SnapShot?

http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/down.htm
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #12 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 10:57pm
 
Let me get the thing networked first, then I'll give it a try.

It seems that I would use Nero with the split.  Upon recovery would that prompt me for cd #2 since it will take two DVDR's to write it?
 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #13 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 11:08pm
 
No, you don't split with Nero. But when you write the DVDs with Nero, choose UDF mode as that enables 4480 MB to be written.

Download snapshot.exe to your laptop. Double click the file. Click Backup disk to file.
Choose the C: drive, Next
Browse to your network share and choose a file name,
Click Advanced Options, make Maximum Image single file size = to 4480 MB (this fits on a DVD), remove the tick from Always generate Hash file, leave the rest unchanged. Click Use these settings as the default. OK
Click Start Copy
Put a tick in Test Image after Backup.

Questions?

 
 
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Re: Need help deciding which Ghost to Use
Reply #14 - Apr 25th, 2007 at 11:13pm
 
I'll let you know how it goes.  Probably won't finish it today but look here in next couple of days as I've got to network the pc's first, then install Microsoft Office first. Thanks for your help as well as input from the other guys too.  Greatly appreciated!
 
 
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