Use Clean Backup History to delete the log file entries and backup images for Norton Ghost events prior to the last full backup you made (or the last base image you made with incrementals).

For example, if you back up a machine every Sunday morning, and clean the backup history on Sunday afternoon, the history prior to last Sunday's backup would be erased.

When you use Clean Backup History, be aware that all backup history entries and associated backup image files prior to the last backup are deleted. 

Hello Gentleman- its the gooberator here once again in need of your superb direction, insight and valuable knowledge!

Does cleaning the "backup history" mean that the images made that are stored on the computer or dvd or external hd are rendered unusable?

Thank you for your help,

Sincerely-
Goober

Brian

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Actually, I think the Ghost 9 User Guide is being very specific and literal....any backups that are in the *History* and are still on the media that the *Backup History* is monitoring, and that are older than the most recent *full backup*, will probably be deleted!

Goober has quoted the User Guide on page 20:

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I would expect everything being monitored by the Backup History prior to the most recent full backup, or base image with incrementals would be deleted.  I do not use Ghost 9, but I think the intent of the wording is precise enough that I would believe it!

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Assuming you do not necessarily want to loose those backups, then I would suggest, rather than *moving* the images, make copies elsewhere other than where Ghost 9 is monitoring the backup history, leaving the originals in that monitored sub-directory.  Then run the *Clean Backup History* and see what happens!  (Report back here to let us and everyone else know what happened--okay!?)

goober

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Well, if the *Clean Backup History* deletes the image files in that directory where the images are being saved (and monitored), then those images will be gone and therefore *unusable*--unless you have manually created a *copy* of those elsewhere for safe-keeping before running the *cleanup*! 

But, any images plus their incrementals that are on DVD can not be *deleted* unless the disc is a rewritable (but, I don't know if Ghost 9 will offer to erase a rewritable disc or not?--but, even so, if the disc is not in the drive, then it can not be erased by this process anyway), so they will still be there on the disc and usable--but, they will no longer show up in that *History* log--because you will have deleted the log.  So you will have to manually find the image files on the DVD and tell Ghost to use that image--rather than possibly using a more *automated* procedure that Ghost 9 might offer if it was still part of the *monitored* image history.  (I'm not sure Ghost will monitor any images that are saved to optical discs--being as the media is *removable*--however!)

For images saved to an external HDD--again because the media is removable, I'm not sure Ghost will be monitoring those image files.  But, again you can simply not hook up the external HDD while doing the *cleaning* and those files will be protected from any possible deletion.  And, again those images can be manually located and used by Ghost to do any restore procedure from them that you might wish in the future.

Gentlemen - Thank you...The Radministrator (NIGHT OWL) nailed it!!! His answer was PERFECTLY thorough!

As long as any stored image is being monitored in the "backup history" -THEN- officially DELETED from its prescribed storage area if and when the "backup history" is cleaned, except for the most recent image made.

If an image is in the "backup history" One MUST assure that the stored image is not accessible by Ghost 9 to monitor its location at the time of cleaning the "Back Up History". to avoid deletion of the image.

IF  the image is no longer apart of the "backup history" it is safe and will not be targeted to be deleted, thus readily accessible to use in times of crisis!

In other words, if you can see the image which you made a week or month ago is in the "backup history" and that image is on the external hd you have plugged in at the moment and you CLEAN the "backup history" then that image will be Deleted from the drive.

Thank you all very much... especially Night Owl for further enlightening my quest to understand the AWESOMENESS of Ghost 9....

Sincerely,

Goober