I followed instructions and was sucessfully able to creat a bootable CD to launch ghost 2003 with a system without a floppy drive. YAHOOO!!! 

Now for the problem...

Intention = image c:\ drive to USB 2.0 drive

#1 Problem:  Using the newly created CD-R Ghost boot disc, once in Ghost 2003, I can see both drives (C & USB) when I have to select source drive.  But when I go to the next window to select location to put image file, the drive (USB) that was visible, is no longer seen.  Incidently,  when I try to use the USB drive as Source, and select a location on the c:\ drive I CAN do it.

What is up with this??? 

#2 Problem: I should also mention, my monitor/display is very hard to read on boot up of ghost.  I've never seen that before either.

I hope to hear some good leads solving this problem. 

Thanks for posting the great instruction on the bootable CD/DVD  without a floppy drive...I've been wrestling with that for literally YEARS. I am so glad I found this sight.  http://nightowl.radified.com/bootcd/steroids.html

Thanks, G!

Thanks for the response. Here's my answers to your questions with some commments:

1 -  The usb drive that I want to write the ghost image to is "invisible" and has only 1 partition.  The only other drive on the system is the drive that  I want to backup/image is an NTFS drive with 4 partitions (created by Dell).  I want to clone "Disc to Image" but cant get the USB drive to be seen in the dialog box that says "File name to copy image to" and selecting the "Look IN" dialog.  I tried using the down arrow, but it will not work at all.  The mouse finds my DVD drive and a 1.44.  I don't even have a 1.44 drive onboard. Weird to me.  Maybe it's a virtual drive created by the CD boot disc i created, I have no idea.

The USB drive IS however visible in the "SELECT SOURCE DRIVE" WINDOW.  I can see details of size, type cylinders,  etc.  They all seem accurate especially SIZE.  This is the part that doesn't make sense.  WHY CAN'T I SEE THE DETAILS OF THE DRIVE AND WRITE TO IT?

Is there a USB driver that needs to be added to the Bootable Ghost '03 CD i created?  When I checked, I don't think I saw one?  

Lastly, I know the Dell laptop i am trying to clone has USB emulation turned on in the Bios.  I thought this was good news...but perhaps a USB driver that is normally copied to the 1.44 floppy when created inside create boot disc in ghost is needed.  If so, I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO DO THIS and could use some help.  If so, should I turn off USB emulation?

Thanks for helping me!

Cheers,

G!man

I tried disabling the USB emulation...no good. didn't work.

I then tried following trying what you suggested in the following link -below :


__________________
You're looking for 'USB-DOS files' down at the bottom on the left side.


So, using the same outine in the Creating Bootable CD/DVD's Without A:\Floppy Drive Project #1, you would add the following two lines to the config.sys file:

[config.sys]

Device=usbaspi.sys /e /v 
Device=di1000dd.sys

Then add the following two files to the other list of boot files that you are injecting using WinImage:

[Added files]

Di1000dd.sys 
Usbaspi.sys

Unfortunatly, that makes the total MB greater than the 1.44 of a floppy disk.  So you have two choices:

1.  Use WinImage to make the emulated disk size 2.88 MB instead of the 1.44 MB, leave Ghost.exe in the group of files being injected into the bootable image.  Your burning program has to allow you to change form 1.44 MB floppy emulation to 2.88 MB floppy emulation.  All other steps would be the same.

2.  Leave WinImage at the 1.44 MB disk size, and now remove Ghost .exe from the list of files.  Instead, put the Ghost .exe on the data part of the CD you are about to burn.  This brings you back down below the total of 1.44 MB that can fit in the boot sector.  Because your CD can be accessed after booting and the Guide had you include drive 'X:' in the path statement, you should have Ghost up and running with USB support.  Again, the other steps remain the same.

Questions?   

Report back with your results.
___________________________________

I added the two files, and updated config.sys


A few problems:

I can't make or figure out how to make my cd burner software Nero express 6 use 2.88 format instead of 1.44MB.  I couldn't even find an option to select 1.44 or anything else.

Although I did select 2.88 in WINimage.

Then I went to plan B - go with 1.44 in WinImage and take out Ghost, and try to burn bootable CD and then add Ghost.exe as a data file after creating the boot disc.  The boot disc sucessfully completed, but the burn of ghost afterwards was not allowed - with a message that said you can not write to this disc. 
This didn't work out. 

Any suggestions?

I did copy the USB drivers and added them to the files that I burned on CD.

I even tried using the disc without ghost to boot. Then took my CD data disc with only ghost on it and launch ghost.  That worked, but the "invisible drive" didn't appear. 

My thought is that there must be  driver that I'm missing on boot to get that drive seen.


I tried burning a data disc with ghost.exe first then tried creating a boot disc from the same disc.  Unfortunately,  the message I got said the data portion would not be accessible if I create a boot disc.

Is there a step that I missed?

What's the correct step by step procedure to get ghost on the CD first, the create a boot disc without disturbing the ghost file?

Thanks Nightowl!  You're awesome!

Quote:
Nero should ask for the boot image file after you have indicated that you want a bootable disc.  Then you should be presented with the standard Nero interface for burning data to an optical disc--that's where you add *ghost.exe*.   

So you do both at the same time--setup the bootable disc + add the data to the disc--then you *burn, baby, burn*!

I tried this and still have  USB drive that I can not select in order to write to it.  What the heck is going on? 

I don't know, but it sure sounds like a driver issue to me.  I have written may gho files to this disc before using a boot floppy with no problem.  Please help!!

Sorry for the delay....and thanks for your suggestions so far

Here is the file data that you have asked for:

WORKING USB 3.5" FLOPPY DISC

FILE NAMES:

GHOST FOLDER
   GHOST.EXE
   GHOST - CONFIG SETTINGS

USB FOLDER
   aspiohci
   aspiuhci
GUEST
IBMBIO
IBMDOS
MOUSE


THERE ARE NO OTHER FILES ON THIS 3.5" DISC INCLUDING "HIDDEN FILES".  Config.sys and autoexec.bat are not listed on the floppy.



NON-WORKKING CD-R BOOT DISC
FILE NAMES:

AUTOEXEC.BAT

path=a:\;x:\
mouse.com
mscdex.exe /d:nightowl /l:x /m:16 /v
ghost.exe




CONFIG.SYS

device=oakcdrom.sys /d:nightowl
lastdrive=z
Device=usbaspi.sys /e /v
Device=di1000dd.sys



files put into boot image IMA file:

autoexec.bat
command.com
config.sys
di1000dd
io.sys
msdos.sys
oakcdrom.sys
mscdex.exe
mouse.com
USBASPI


Ghost.exe was added as a data file, not as part of the boot image file in win-image.

FYI - I wound up running Sonic CD burner software in addition to the Nero express 6 and have come up with the same result.   can see USB drive and select it as source for image but can not select it to WRITE data.

Hi Nightowl...

it's been a while since my last post and I've continued to struggle with my problem with my CD boot disc for ghost.

Here is an update that hopefully will shed some light on making some tweaks that will get me secure to create an image file.

I started over.  And, I bought the new Easy Media Creator 10 by Roxio.

I took my NEW boot image file and made it bootable and burned it. Low and behold, it WORKED like MAGIC on my Desktop PC to make a ghost image file.  I verified the image integrity and it's fine. 

NOW, for the problem....I tried using the same disc in my Dell Laptop and upon boot into ghost, again, I can select the USB drive as source but it is not seen in the "destination" dialog box.

Since we know the CD is good, are there setting I can change in CMOS or something that will help me.  Keep in mind, I've enabled USB emulation, still no change.

I hope to hear from you....I'm getting bald on this one.  Do you know anyone who makes a good wig!

PS - I even installed Roxio on y laptop and burned a CD on its CD/DVD burner.  This didn't make any changes. When I verified in DOS file names, sizes etc. they all matched up as mirror images.

Please Please Please throw me a bone on this one.
Kind regards,

Gil

Thanks for the quick reply...

I downloaded all 3.  I have them stored in a temp directory.

I'm not sure what to do with all the extracted files and where to "put them" or locate them on my system and which one(s) I should use.

Please tell me what to do and how to check what version of USB driver I currently have installed. 

YOU're awesome!
Thank you.