Greetings rainman1,
I'm happy to put together a guide for you on how to use Norton Ghost
to create a backup image of your primary boot partition and also how
to restore that image as necessary. Ghost is the program I have been
using for years to do that very thing and it's saved me on more than
one occasion.
Before I get started on the guide, I want to first recommend that if
you plan to use Norton Ghost on a regular basis, upgrading to the
newest version of the software would probably be a good idea. Going
from Ghost 2000 to Ghost 2003 should give you more options, better
compatibility and will probably result in faster image creation and
restoration. I always upgrade to the newest version each year as this
application has proven to be a true lifesaver for me.
You can buy it online for an average of $62.75 with a $20.00 mail-in
rebate when upgrading from an earlier version. That would get it down
around $42.75. You could also search Google's new product price finder
called "Froogle" (http://www.froogle.com) and probably come up with
significantly lower prices for it.
Here's one store that lists it for $62.75 with the $20.00 mail-in
rebate:
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=20348576&loc=105
Now, on with the guide. Please keep in mind that this guide was
written using Ghost 2003 as a reference so some of the exact steps and
wording may be *slightly* different. Having used Ghost 2000 several
years ago, I don't believe the primary portions of the application
have changed in appearance much.
As I mentioned in my clarification requests, instead of backing up
your primary partition to a batch of CDs, I think you'll be better off
backing up to either another partition on the same hard drive, or even
better to another hard drive in the same system. Backing it up to hard
disk is much faster and easier to manage than multiple CDs. You can
create your backup image on ANY partition other than the one you're
backing up, as long as it has enough space to hold the image file(s).
So, you can either use one that you already have, or it might not be a
bad idea to create a new partition just for holding your backup
image(s). Just be sure to create the partition large enough to hold as
many images as you wish to keep at a time. The image files may be as
large as the amount of data you have on your primary partition when
it's backed up. However, they can be compressed when backed up to take
up considerably less space if necessary.
Once you have a space picked out to hold your images, you're ready to
get started. Norton Ghost runs from DOS mode only. You cannot run
Ghost from Windows. So, you'll need to either boot to DOS from a
floppy boot disk, or if you're running Windows 98, you can hit [F8]
when your computer says "Starting Windows 98" to bring up the Startup
Menu, then select "Command Prompt" from the menu.
Besides your floppy boot disk, I recommend that you also put your
Ghost executable file on a separate floppy disk so that it can be run
from a floppy disk as well. You'll just need to use Windows Explorer
to go to the Norton Ghost folder (wherever you installed it) and copy
the file GHOST.EXE (might be GHOSTPE.EXE or some variation) along with
the file GHOST.ENV (if it exists) to a blank floppy disk. These are
the only two files needed to run Ghost from DOS.
2003 NOTE: Versions of Ghost later than 2000 included a new program
called the "Ghost Boot Wizard" that you run from Windows which will
create for you a DOS boot disk with the drivers necessary for backing
up to CDRW, Firewire, etc. It also put's the GHOST executable on the
floppy and boots to it automatically when it's loaded.
BACKING UP THE PARTITION
STEP 1: Boot to DOS (using either method as mentioned above). Insert
the GHOST floppy disk that you made and type GHOST.EXE (or GHOSTPE.EXE
or whatever the name of your executable was that you copied over --
they used several different ones depending on the bundle). This will
start Norton Ghost.
STEP 2: Once Ghost is running, select OPTIONS. There should be an
option called "AUTONAME" (Auto names the next span file without
prompting). You'll want to check this option. Ghost can only create
2GB files before it has to create a new file. What this option does it
tell it not to stop and prompt you for a filename when this occurs.
This is purely optional for you as you may want to name the files
yourself and/or this option may not be present in Ghost 2000, but I
believe it is. After selecting this option, select SAVE SETTINGS (if
it exists) and then OK to exit back to the main menu. The only other
option you may want to check would the one concerning CRC errors. You
can have it ignore CRC errors if you wish, but it will prompt you
otherwise when it gets one and will ask you if you want to continue. I
would leave it unchecked until it becomes a problem for you.
STEP 3: From the MAIN MENU, select LOCAL -> PARTITION -> TO IMAGE.
Select the drive which holds the partition (it may skip this if you
have only 1 drive). Next, select the partition you want to backup by
pressing ENTER to make it highlight, then TAB down to the [OK] button
and press it. Now, select where the image file will be stored. Select
the drive letter and or the folder, then the filename you want to give
it. You don't have to add the .gho to the end, it will do it for you.
I always do something descriptive like "CDRV0420" so that I know
what/when it was created. There's also a description box for you to
use if you want. Next, press [ENTER] to continue on. It will ask you
"Compress Image File?". You have 3 options: No, Fast, High. This is
just your personal preference and/or how much time/space you have on
the destination drive. Use HIGH if space is limited or use NONE if you
want it to go as fast as possible and you have plenty of space. Choose
FAST for an equal balance. Next it will say "Proceed? Yes No". Just
look at the settings towards the bottom of the screen to verify that
they are correct (should say like partition from disk 0 to
D:\backup\cdrv0420.gho or something similar). After that, press YES to
proceed and then sit back and relax as it works. Once it's done, hit
OK, then QUIT back to DOS. You can then reboot back into Windows as
normal.
RESTORING THE PARTITION
STEP 1: Boot to DOS (using either method as mentioned above). Insert
the GHOST floppy disk that you made and type GHOST.EXE (or GHOSTPE.EXE
or whatever the name of your executable was that you copied over --
they used several different ones depending on the bundle). This will
start Norton Ghost.
STEP 2: From the MAIN MENU, select LOCAL -> PARTITION -> FROM IMAGE.
Select the image file that you want to use (browse to the drive where
you have it stored) and press [ENTER]. Next, select the drive and
partition that you want to restore the image to. VERY IMPORTANT TO
SELECT THE CORRECT PARTITION HERE. Again, using [ENTER] to highlight
the partition, then TAB to the [OK] button and [ENTER] again to
continue on. You'll be asked "Are You Sure? YES NO". As you did when
creating the image, verify the settings at the bottom of the screen
(image file to the partition that you chose -- good way to know if
it's correct is by looking at the size of the partition you chose).
Press YES to continue with the restore process. After you're done,
you'll be asked to REBOOT or CONTINUE. You should be able to reboot
and Windows should be back at the way to had it stored on the day of
the backup.
** Remember, your Windows partition contains your system registry,
profiles, etc for the operating system. Anytime you install something
or make cosmetic changes to the system, that information is stored
here. So, even though you may install a program to a different
partition, important information is written to the registry on the
boot partition about the installation. This info is almost ALWAYS
necessary to make the application function properly. My point here is
to make sure that you install all of your necessary
applications/games/etc before creating your backup. Otherwise, you'll
still need to re-install whatever applications were installed after
the backup was created once it's restored. **
That's pretty much all there is to creating and restoring images with
Norton Ghost. It's a pretty easy to use application once you get the
process down. One other thing worth mentioning is a program called
"Ghost Explorer". I believe Ghost 2000 included this program. You can
use Ghost Explorer to open up the images that you've created in
Windows and restore single files and folders at a time if you'd like.
This program can also be used to split the image files into smaller
files that can be burned to a CD (your initial request). This program
is great for retrieving just a few files instead of having to restore
the whole partition if necessary.
If you ever need additional help with the application, while the
included documentation may not have been very helpful, Symantec's
online knowledgebase is actually pretty good and contains several
documents with helpful tips. I'll leave you with a few links to them
at then end of this answer.
I was happy to help you with this question and I hope my guide will
start you on your way to creating and restoring images with ease. If I
wasn't clear enough about anything or you need additional assistance,
please use the "ask for clarification" button and I'll be happy to
assist you further.
Sincerely,
PWizard
Symantec Support Assistant
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/activedata/asa_index.html
Ghost 2000 Online Tutorials (demonstrates DRIVE image instead of
PARTITION image)
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/ghost/ghost2000pe_info_tutorial.html
Norton Ghost Support Options
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/ghost/discontinued.html
How to Split an Image File to Burn to a CDROM
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ghost.nsf/pfdocs/1999020412133425?Open |
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