bowen2002
asked on
Norton Ghost 2002 - clarification
Hello there,
I have some questions about Norton Ghost 2002 (using primarily on win 98 but other os's as well) – sorry this is a bit sprawling, but I like to get these things clear in my head.
I was looking for a way a) to back up a functioning hard drive (either entirely or just windows and system directories) so that it could be quickly and easily restored in the event of problems and b) take an image of a computer which I am repairing in case my reparative efforts leave it in a worse state then when I started. I decided that a disk-cloning utility would be ideal for these purposes – despite hearing that powerquest’s drive image was more accessible I went with what I believed to be the industry standard - Ghost 2002. Despite being an experienced user, I found the manual to be inadequate – as such I would be very grateful for a brief - and more straightforward - walkthrough of the procedure for ghosting and then restoring a drive (including generating boot disks) and some clarification on the following issues:
· In the manual it states that the ghost boot wizard includes IBM PC-DOS on boot disks but that “this may not start on all computers” and that you can alternatively include MS-DOS if you have installed MS-DOS files on the computer on which you are creating the boot disk. I want to know what the difference between the two are, what the relative advantages are, and whether all computers will have the relevant files pre-installed for MS-DOS.
· Is it possible to selectively clone just the windows and system folders. Ideally so that in the event of registry corruption or system failure you could unpack the working OS over the old one whilst leaving all other files and folders intact. Or if it is not possible to preserve old data (due to Ghost rewriting the entire partition) at least allowing me to rapidly unpack a fresh windows installation with all drivers in place.
· I had planned to take my portable USB cd writer round to the computers I needed to clone, but I read in the manual that it does not support these. I reasoned that this was because the program runs in DOS which perhaps does not support USB – but it does support direct cable connection with a USB lead. Is there any inherent reason why USB Cd writers cannot be supported and is Drive Image the same. My only alternative on machines without integral cd writers is to use a serial zip drive which I would have thought would be extremely laborious – can anyone think of another option. One possibility I considered is setting up a separate partition and saving the ghost to this, then transferring the entire image to the USB cd writer from within windows – does this seem viable?
Thanks in advance people.
I have some questions about Norton Ghost 2002 (using primarily on win 98 but other os's as well) – sorry this is a bit sprawling, but I like to get these things clear in my head.
I was looking for a way a) to back up a functioning hard drive (either entirely or just windows and system directories) so that it could be quickly and easily restored in the event of problems and b) take an image of a computer which I am repairing in case my reparative efforts leave it in a worse state then when I started. I decided that a disk-cloning utility would be ideal for these purposes – despite hearing that powerquest’s drive image was more accessible I went with what I believed to be the industry standard - Ghost 2002. Despite being an experienced user, I found the manual to be inadequate – as such I would be very grateful for a brief - and more straightforward - walkthrough of the procedure for ghosting and then restoring a drive (including generating boot disks) and some clarification on the following issues:
· In the manual it states that the ghost boot wizard includes IBM PC-DOS on boot disks but that “this may not start on all computers” and that you can alternatively include MS-DOS if you have installed MS-DOS files on the computer on which you are creating the boot disk. I want to know what the difference between the two are, what the relative advantages are, and whether all computers will have the relevant files pre-installed for MS-DOS.
· Is it possible to selectively clone just the windows and system folders. Ideally so that in the event of registry corruption or system failure you could unpack the working OS over the old one whilst leaving all other files and folders intact. Or if it is not possible to preserve old data (due to Ghost rewriting the entire partition) at least allowing me to rapidly unpack a fresh windows installation with all drivers in place.
· I had planned to take my portable USB cd writer round to the computers I needed to clone, but I read in the manual that it does not support these. I reasoned that this was because the program runs in DOS which perhaps does not support USB – but it does support direct cable connection with a USB lead. Is there any inherent reason why USB Cd writers cannot be supported and is Drive Image the same. My only alternative on machines without integral cd writers is to use a serial zip drive which I would have thought would be extremely laborious – can anyone think of another option. One possibility I considered is setting up a separate partition and saving the ghost to this, then transferring the entire image to the USB cd writer from within windows – does this seem viable?
Thanks in advance people.
All of Lee's links are good and do check them out.
They may have all the answers you're loking for.
Your statement about the help files are correct. They absolutely leave much to be desired and answered.
The help files work on the assumption that you're a pc wizard,
especially with dos, as you've learned that these backup programs work in.
All that you wish to accomplish can be done.
IMHO ghost is a more thorough program than PQ, but PQ is more user friendly.
I think that what you're asking is too much to answer in one thread,
and may become too long and too involved to follow for anyone new
checking in and wanting to contribute.
You may want to look into the software a bit more and perhaps ask
some different and more specific questions, one at a time.
Only my opinion. Good luck.
They may have all the answers you're loking for.
Your statement about the help files are correct. They absolutely leave much to be desired and answered.
The help files work on the assumption that you're a pc wizard,
especially with dos, as you've learned that these backup programs work in.
All that you wish to accomplish can be done.
IMHO ghost is a more thorough program than PQ, but PQ is more user friendly.
I think that what you're asking is too much to answer in one thread,
and may become too long and too involved to follow for anyone new
checking in and wanting to contribute.
You may want to look into the software a bit more and perhaps ask
some different and more specific questions, one at a time.
Only my opinion. Good luck.
While I am not the one who uses the ghost 2002, I am working close with the person in my department who is. You can backup as much, or as little of the computer as you like. You can back it to a CDrom and use that CDrom to install the image back to the same PC, or any other PC. The gotcha that can happen when you restore to an unlike system are the obvious things. You can store the drive images on a partition on a hard drive and give them names to identify them. We find Ghost very easy to use, very flxible, and adaptable to all sorts of situations. Symantec offers very good support on their Ghost product, have you run your very spcific questions by them?
The Expert exchange, for as long as I have been using it, has been about helping with specific problems that have clear answers. Training is not easy to conduct in this type of forum. If you have a specific question, I may be able to give you a specific answer.
As for the questions you ask above, I think I covered the general answers. You can select what you want to backup. You can back it to a partition/Hard drive, or a CDRom drive. These ae the two best suggestions I have.
The last thing I can share with you is this: There are many reasons to use the Ghosting program, you can ghost when the system is new, before anything is done to it, or you can ghost after all applications are installed and everything is updated and debugged, and you can ghost just your user files and say the heck with the rest because you can install the applications from scratch at anytime.
Good luck.
The Expert exchange, for as long as I have been using it, has been about helping with specific problems that have clear answers. Training is not easy to conduct in this type of forum. If you have a specific question, I may be able to give you a specific answer.
As for the questions you ask above, I think I covered the general answers. You can select what you want to backup. You can back it to a partition/Hard drive, or a CDRom drive. These ae the two best suggestions I have.
The last thing I can share with you is this: There are many reasons to use the Ghosting program, you can ghost when the system is new, before anything is done to it, or you can ghost after all applications are installed and everything is updated and debugged, and you can ghost just your user files and say the heck with the rest because you can install the applications from scratch at anytime.
Good luck.
ASKER
Thanks very much,
Sorry the question was a bit general, but I came here instead of symantec because I find the process much more interactive - I will check out those tutorials and thanks for taking the time to answer my other questions.
I hate this bit - now I have to decide who to give the points to.
Sorry the question was a bit general, but I came here instead of symantec because I find the process much more interactive - I will check out those tutorials and thanks for taking the time to answer my other questions.
I hate this bit - now I have to decide who to give the points to.
I should have mentioned the problem you can have if you skip the registry and try to install part of your configuration. You might already know this.
I prefer to take an image of the computer before it is used and has any personel information in it. I also take like to make an image of a PC before the OS is upgraded, or changed. This is what I like about the speed of ghosting, and all the ways I can store the images.
I prefer to take an image of the computer before it is used and has any personel information in it. I also take like to make an image of a PC before the OS is upgraded, or changed. This is what I like about the speed of ghosting, and all the ways I can store the images.
If you feel that more than one person deserves the points, you can split the points. Here's how:
HOW TO SPLIT POINTS ON EXPERTS-EXCHANGE QUESTIONS
You can split points on questions, however you need the help of Community Support to do so. What you need to do is post a zero point question in the Community Support area by clicking on the link for Community Support near the top left of the Experts-Exchange web page, in the EE Community section. In the question you need to reference this question number, who you wish to split the points among, and what point values to assign, then Community Support staff will do the rest, normally by reducing the original point value of this question to allow you to post new questions for the other experts.
These questions would be titled points for whomever and paste the question's url in the comment block so the expert would know what it was about.
HOW TO SPLIT POINTS ON EXPERTS-EXCHANGE QUESTIONS
You can split points on questions, however you need the help of Community Support to do so. What you need to do is post a zero point question in the Community Support area by clicking on the link for Community Support near the top left of the Experts-Exchange web page, in the EE Community section. In the question you need to reference this question number, who you wish to split the points among, and what point values to assign, then Community Support staff will do the rest, normally by reducing the original point value of this question to allow you to post new questions for the other experts.
These questions would be titled points for whomever and paste the question's url in the comment block so the expert would know what it was about.
I used Ghost for a year and struggled with their manual and their site. They have a traveling 3-day Ghost class. You can find it on their site under training. Anyways - BEST class I ever attended! Learned so much, hands on lab for the three days. If you can manage it, go to the class and save yourself alot of grief. By the way - never did get their Ghost Boot Wizard to work with the clients on my network. I still create my boot disks using the NT Administrator on NT and editing the protocol.ini and putting the right drivers on the floppy myself. Ghost Boot Wizard works great in class though.
ASKER
Thanks for the point-splitting tip, also that's interesting about the course. Unfortunately it just wouldn't be feasible - I think I will be able to manage with what I have got here though.
One additional question - anyone know why it includes support for USB linkup but not USB cd writers?
One additional question - anyone know why it includes support for USB linkup but not USB cd writers?
Sorry, haven't had the need to , so haven't looked into usb. Someone else may have.
FYI, Some months back, or perhaps a year, I posted a step by step directions and files needed to be burned on a cd
in order to make a ghost bootable cd.
Can't seem to find the link at the moment, but perhaps you may be
able to by searching the database, most likely in this forum.
Good luck.
FYI, Some months back, or perhaps a year, I posted a step by step directions and files needed to be burned on a cd
in order to make a ghost bootable cd.
Can't seem to find the link at the moment, but perhaps you may be
able to by searching the database, most likely in this forum.
Good luck.
ASKER
Cheers mate, I'll check that out.
I use ghost where I work and it is great.
I use a backpack external CDRW.....portable , lightweight and quick....
You have to add CD ROM drivers etc to the autoexec and config files on the disk.
What I normally do is once the system is setup and all patches are uptodate and I install the standard software....our case is MS OFFice and some AS 400 Tools.
I reboot to Floppy Disk and make an image. Now there are some options you want to check first. You want to do all data and part of the partition information. This will backup all the data and leave the blank areas off. This way when you restore it wont matter the size of the HD. If it is configued wrong you can run into trouble. For example, 20GB HD IMAGE on a 40GB HD and after the restore your HD seems to be only 20GB.
Also make an image for each system TYPE. Dell Precision 420; Dell Precision 520 ETC>>> I would always recommend having 2 CD's per system. 1 with just OS and patches on it and the other with applications if you like.
The only problem we have found is that it does not like NTFS very much....
And i agree the documentation is poor.
I use a backpack external CDRW.....portable , lightweight and quick....
You have to add CD ROM drivers etc to the autoexec and config files on the disk.
What I normally do is once the system is setup and all patches are uptodate and I install the standard software....our case is MS OFFice and some AS 400 Tools.
I reboot to Floppy Disk and make an image. Now there are some options you want to check first. You want to do all data and part of the partition information. This will backup all the data and leave the blank areas off. This way when you restore it wont matter the size of the HD. If it is configued wrong you can run into trouble. For example, 20GB HD IMAGE on a 40GB HD and after the restore your HD seems to be only 20GB.
Also make an image for each system TYPE. Dell Precision 420; Dell Precision 520 ETC>>> I would always recommend having 2 CD's per system. 1 with just OS and patches on it and the other with applications if you like.
The only problem we have found is that it does not like NTFS very much....
And i agree the documentation is poor.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Thanks very much for all that, I will look into the manual (tituba) and I appreciate you relating your direct experience (msunder).
I never cease to be impressed by the spirit of knowledge sharing on this place.
I never cease to be impressed by the spirit of knowledge sharing on this place.
Poiints reduced for a split. Now you can accept an experts comment as an answer. After that, make another question in this topic area for the other exeprt.
Computer101
E-E Moderator
Computer101
E-E Moderator
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/ghost/ghost_2002_info_tutorial.html
Here's a Symantec site about the PC-DOS vs. MS-DOS problem, and what to do:
http://service4.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ghost.nsf/docid/2000092514554025
I have never used Norton Ghost, so I cannot answer most of your questions. But I found this very good site which has a complete tutorial on using Ghost 2002, complete with screen shots:
http://ghost.radified.com/ghost_1.htm
This is Powerquest's site on Drive Image 5. Some pertinent details: it operates in Windows, not DOS. There is a link listing the CD/RW drives it supports.
http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/didetails.html