I use windows xp
I have the 2003 version of ghost which I have used for some time.
Is there any way to keep ghost from making two files? ...ghs and gho
The last backup was divided 2,147,478,166 and 610,679,810
Does this have to do with some Dos limitation?
I usually boot a floppy. Is there any benefit in starting the backup from ghost within windows and then allowing it to reboot and do its thing?
Thanks for any help and/or response

jer (the male half of jerliz)

Thank you for taking the time to respond. One additonal question that I hope is appropriate here. Reviews I've seen give newer versions of ghost mixed comments. I have used 2003 and/or earlier versions for about 9 years now. For the most part I am very happy with the results. I just recently learned about this forum.  Without your having to spend a lot of time on a reply, do your posters find much advantage in the versions above the 2003 vintage.  Again, thank you very much for responding. It is much appreciated.
Jer

Thank you, that was very insightful. I have never had a single issue with 2003 or any of the other older versions. But you know, when the new models come out, all the bells, whistles and other trappings are some times tempting.

So I'll stick with what works and is easy and straight-forward in its use. Again, thanks for your comments
Jer

Hi jerliz,

I am a recent user of Norton Ghost 2003, but have become a great fan of it. I have a single C: drive and no external drives, so my choice is to create Ghost Backups to Optical Media. Ghost 2003 does this wonderfully, although it is slower than creating Backups to other media.

The only problem that I came across was the unexplained rejection or incompatibility of certain types of Optical Media by Ghost 2003. I had success with Verbatim DVD-R 8x, Verbatim DVD+RW 1x-4x, and TDK CD-RW 4x-12x. I had failures with TDK DVD-RW 4x, and Verbatim DVD+R Double Layer. However Rad has reported success with the Double Layer Discs:
http://radified.com/blog/archives/000185.html.

Rather than purchasing a bundle of one type of disc, I would recommend getting single discs of various types and experimenting first. If you go that way, I would like to hear your results. From what I can understand, success with different types of discs seems to depend on the type of computer and/or optical drive.

On a single DVD, I have fitted a set of Ghost Images of Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, the Microsoft Office 2000 Pro suite, Adobe Reader and various other applications. I excluded all User Files like documents, music, pictures and music, which are backed up by other means. My desired Image Sizes have not grown to the point where I need to try "spanning" over several DVDs, so I can't advise on that topic. One day...

I simply ran Ghost 2003 with its default settings and options, and away it went - rebooting into the Virtual Partition to create the Image. And I have restored from the bootable DVD it created witout any adjustments or switches. It couldn't have been easier. I hope you have just as much fun!

Edited:

jerliz,

I have Norton Ghost 2003 installed on my Laptop. My method is:

Run Ghost
[Ghost Basic] > Backup
[Backup Wizard] > Next
[Bacup a Disk or Partition] >
             [Source] > Select ".... C:"
             [Destination] > Select "Recordable CD or DVD"
             Next
[Create a New Backup Image] > Next
[Device Information] Popup Window > OK
[Advanced Settings] > Next
[Important Information] > Next
[Disaster Recovery] Popup Window > Continue
[Norton Ghost Task Summary] > Run Now
[Norton Ghost] Popup Window ("Norton Ghost is about to run a task that will restart your computer....") > OK

Norton Ghost 2003 restarts into a Virtual Partition and creates a *Bootable* CD/DVD containing DOS ghost.exe and a set of Ghost Image Files (CDR00001.GHO, CDR00002.GHO, etc.) There is a set of files because each file is limited in size to 1.00 GB (1,048,576 KB; 1,073,741,824 bytes).

To Restore the Image, boot from the CD\DVD and, in Ghost, select the Image on the Optical Drive. There is no mouse functionality, so use keyboard's TAB and Arrow Buttons. If you require step-by-step instructions for restoring, let us know... I'll have to reboot and write the steps down with a pen and paper. If I can fumble through it, anyone can! That's why I am a fan of it!

A couple of points.
1. When using re-writeable CD/DVDs, the discs need to be formatted before running Ghost Backup. I like to re-use things where possible, so I use Rewritable Discs. But Write-Once (+R and -R) media is known to be much more stable and reliable. I have "significant" Backups on Write-once DVD-R Discs.
2. Insert the recordable CD/DVD before starting Ghost Backup. (Not sure if it is necessary. I read it as a "tip" somewhere.) Don't eject the CD/DVD until the end of the entire process.
3. When Ghost reboots to the Virtual Partition, there may be an error message stating that there is no Disc (or the likes). I think that the CD/DVD needs to "spin up" before Ghost can see it. By the time you select "Retry" (or "OK" or "Continue" or whatever?), it should be fine.