Does anyone have any experience with Norton Ghost?

Azure101

Azure101

Azure101

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16 Apr 2009
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Hey guys,

I've recently purchased a new pc from Overclockers and i was wondering, if i use Norton Ghost to create an exact replica of my hard drive.. Will it copy all of the Operating system files also, so when i get my new hard drive I will have Windows 7 + all of my files ready to go? Or Will i need to install an OS onto the hard drive 1st?

Cheers,

Azure
 
In my experience Norton Ghost isn't great, there are better alternatives out there. Products like Norton Ghost are really for backing up and restoring drive images on the same computer

Personally I'd just do a fresh install of Windows 7 on your new system, that would save problems when it comes to differing motherboard chipsets, graphics drivers etc. Then just connect up the old drive and transfer the files over, sure it is a longer process but a better way of doing it in the long run.
 
Ghost or Acronis (my prefered imaging app) would do the job just fine.
Though tbh with a new drive I always tend to just start from new :D
 
Venares said:
Ghost or Acronis (my prefered imaging app) would do the job just fine.
Though tbh with a new drive I always tend to just start from new :D
Click to expand...

It would yes, but I wouldn't recommend it. Not so much because of the new drive, but because of the new hardware, better to do a fresh install and then put the latest drivers on.
 
Alright, i can understand why starting from new would be better, but it would copy my OS over right... Circumstances mean i would be unable to install my OS again, that's why I'm asking! ^^
 
Yes it would, it takes a complete image of the drive, so that is everything on it including the OS. Although you will more than likely get into problems with drivers etc which is why it is recommended to do a fresh install for your new hardware.

What is stopping you installing the OS on the new drive when the PC arrives, then putting the old hard drive in as well and transfering the files that way?

Like Venares, I prefer Acronis over ghost however.
 
Acronis True Image Home 11 is what most people swear by mate. Simplicity at it's best.

I tried to dabble with Ghost and was terribly dissapointed by what it did compared to what it was formerly known to do. Apparently after Norton acquired the company they changed it into more of a backup utility.

Using Acronis is so easy that to take a simple image of a HDD you just click next and select your drive and click next again. Haha, or just follow these instructions which explain why you're clicking next. It will compress and save an image of your entire HDD which you can restore from within windows!! In fact, you can access files in that HDD image by just double clicking it.

Isn't it funny when you recommend software and you feel the need to proclaim that you're not a salesman. I'm not btw, I've just done a ton of research on this and come to the conclusion of what works best for me. Might be different in your individual case.
 
trentlad said:
Acronis True Image Home 11 is what most people swear by mate. Simplicity at it's best.

I tried to dabble with Ghost and was terribly dissapointed by what it did compared to what it was formerly known to do. Apparently after Norton acquired the company they changed it into more of a backup utility.

Using Acronis is so easy that to take a simple image of a HDD you just click next and select your drive and click next again. Haha, or just follow these instructions which explain why you're clicking next. It will compress and save an image of your entire HDD which you can restore from within windows!! In fact, you can access files in that HDD image by just double clicking it.

Isn't it funny when you recommend software and you feel the need to proclaim that you're not a salesman. I'm not btw, I've just done a ton of research on this and come to the conclusion of what works best for me. Might be different in your individual case.
Click to expand...

Can you make a restore boot disk that lets you select the backed up image?
I am saying supose I use Acronis to back up my entire C Drive onto drive D as an image file on a monthly basis, now say my C Drive dies if I replace my C Drive with an exact drive make and size and if I could boot from a CD and select the image from drive D to restore to the new C is all this possible with Acronis ?

If not what is the best software to use?
I use to use PowerQuest Disk Image (PQDI) several years ago, just wondered if there was one now that works with larg hard drives.

Thanks in advance
Paul
 
Yes you can. In Acronis True Image you have the option to create a "Bootable Rescue Media" as shown on this site here or in the video below.


Saying that, I've never used this option. When my laptop HDD died (one month before handing in my thesis!!) I hadn't created a boot CD so I installed Windows just for the sake of installing Acronis and choosing the image file to restore. It obviously wasn't the preferred method but at least I was able to restore my system regardless.
 
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trentlad said:
Yes you can. In Acronis True Image you have the option to create a "Bootable Rescue Media" as shown on this site here or in the video below.

Saying that, I've never used this option. When my laptop HDD died (one month before handing in my thesis!!) I hadn't created a boot CD so I installed Windows just for the sake of installing Acronis and choosing the image file to restore. It obviously wasn't the preferred method but at least I was able to restore my system regardless.
Click to expand...

Man thats just what I need, it also looks like i can have my backed up ISO image stored on my NAS :)

*** Update ***
Just ordered a copy from Amazon for approx £27 :)

Thanks.
Paul
 
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If the hardware is different (which I'm guessing it would be as its a new PC), it probably won't boot? Or you have a new PC and just got a new HD as well??
 
TheMightyDude said:
Man thats just what I need, it also looks like i can have my backed up ISO image stored on my NAS :)

*** Update ***
Just ordered a copy from Amazon for approx £27 :)

Thanks.
Paul
Click to expand...

You're welcome mate! Acronis is pretty phenomenal, I'm sure you'll be singing it's praises after you get into it too.

I have had a very faithful laptop for nine years and it used to take an entire day to manually reinstall everything from scratch. I pretty much fell off my seat when I found out about Acronis, being able to do all that in 15 minutes flat!!
 
If you have a Western Digital drive you can get a free (albeit cut down) version of Acronis here.

Seems to be provided so you can safely image your old drive to your NEW AND BETTER Western Digital drive :D

It checks for a WD drive attached to the system before letting you do stuff.

I'm currently scanning an old IDE drive before I copy it over with the above to my newer SATA drives.
 
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Nice find!!

Imagine if your WD HDD messed up and you bought an non-WD HDD and tried to restore. :(

I wonder if TheMightyDude has a WD HDD and is smashing his room to peices because you mentioned this AFTER he paid for it. HAHA.
 
trentlad said:
Nice find!!

Imagine if your WD HDD messed up and you bought an non-WD HDD and tried to restore. :(

I wonder if TheMightyDude has a WD HDD and is smashing his room to peices because you mentioned this AFTER he paid for it. HAHA.
Click to expand...

LOL, yeah both my drives are Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA 6Gbs 64MB Cache (WD6402AAEX) as RAID0.

Also that sofware doesn't support Windows 7, sure it may work on it but might have issues, Acronis True image Home 2010 is for Windows 7.

Supported Operating Systems
  • Windows XP
  • Windows Vista
Click to expand...

Also I am using both drives as RAID0 so Windows cant see the indivual drives so the sofware won't detect them (unless it scans the SATA Ports).

I only paid £27 so its not that bad.
 
I have a question about Acronis.

It has arived today and I have read the entire manual (12 pages) and it doesn't say how many computers it can be installed on.

I have a couple of PC's that would require backups every now and then, can the restore boot CD create backups as well as restoring them?

I have a funny bad feeling that the sofware installed on windows only creates the backup image.

Sorry for hijacking this Ghost Thread.

Thanks in advance.
Paul
 
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