Best Software to create a bootable Image disk

[DreamSkape]

Hi,

I have heard about Norton Ghost but do not have enough info on it. Can anyone tell me what software to use so that:

1. I can make a copy of my entire HDD.

2. Use it to boot and restore my HDD in case of emergencies (preferrably unattended)

I am tired of the process wherein you install XP and then all the software followed by custom settings. It eats up more than 6 hours to set up the computer to the state it was before installing XP.

Thanking you,

--

Regards,

Arun Kumar

Signed: Friday, April 24, 2009, 8:29:59 PM IST

[IcemanND]

Imaging software options other than Ghost:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=100299

Using Microsoft Windows PE:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=101383

[spacesurfer]

There's no such thing as "Best". What is the "best" depends on your goals and features you need and it doesn't come without compromises.

Ghost 2003 was great! It booted from a floppy (might be bad if you don't have one), which means it loads right from DOS. Was fast. Good compression. But it's got issues with Vista. For XP, it great. Disadvantage is that you cannot put more than 1 image to same file. Each image has it's own file. This means images won't be optimized. It's a sector-by-sector imaging process.

You can make Vista images, however, when you restore, you'll have to fix the boot loader. Newer versions of Ghost are not that great according to some. They use different tech to create images vs Ghost 2003.

ImageX on the other hand is free with WAIK and it is also great. Slower because it's a file-based imaging process. You can put more than 1 image in the same file - the images are indexed and so they are optimized, thus saving considerable space. Imaging and restoring is a hassle, however, since you have to boot to a winpe/vistape/bartpe environment that gives you access to NTFS volumes. I don't know of any other TRUE file-based imaging programs. Some say True Image is, but not according to my experiments - I couldn't save more than one image to a file.

[Arrow22]

Ghost 2003 IS a great program if you want stand-alone...

Warning, it does not recognize SATA drives or RAID arrays

(Both of which I use)

Email me if you want a copy of the floppy maker.

[DreamSkape]

Imaging software options other than Ghost:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=100299

Using Microsoft Windows PE:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=101383

Thanks a lot for the PE link. It sounds promising.

--

Regards,

DreamSkape

Signed: Saturday, April 25, 2009, 1:28:35 AM IST

[Andromeda43]

I have several options (back up programs) available to me, but being from the OLD SCHOOL, I prefer to make my backups of C: drive (Windows XP) using Ghost 2003, last build (793). I run it from a DOS boot floppy, Flash Drive or CD.

When run from a Floppy disk, the way it was originally written to be run, it will offer to put itself on a DVD along with the backup image file, thus creating a bootable C: drive restore disk. If need be, it will automatically span over multiple disks till the backup is complete.

Toshiba, uses the same program for its Factory Restore DVD's.

Ghost 2003 build 793 works just fine with SATA drives and USB external drives as long as the motherboard is up to date enough to be able to SEE those drives. Ghost will see everything that the motherboard can see.

For those who need more than Ghost 2003 can provide, there is Ghost 11.5, which will back up a Vista drive and also restore it with NO problems. I have Ghost 11.5 and I've used it with excellent results, to both back up and restore Vista and Win-7.

It runs exactly like Ghost 2003, so there was no learning curve involved in using it.

The only drawback is, that 11.5 is way too big to fit on a floppy disk and must be run from either a Flash Drive (my favorite method) or a CD.

Within Ghost 11.5 is also another option. It's Ghost32.exe that can be run right from the Windows desktop. It opens a window on the desktop and then can be run with your mouse, just as if it was running from a boot disk.

It's Quite ingenious, actually.

Recently, I've heard that Symantec is giving away Ghost 11.5 for free. That news really blew me away.

Well, they might as well give it away, as it's been all over the internet for some time now.

Cheers Mates!

[Arrow22]

is ghost 2003 a stand-alone image maker or does it need to be installed on the OS

before it can create an image?

The Image maker I have must not be 2003 as it does not accept SATA

Edited April 25, 2009 by Arrow22

[jaclaz]

Recently, I've heard that Symantec is giving away Ghost 11.5 for free. That news really blew me away.

FYI, I've often heard about flying elephants, not only recently.....

I would say post a Legal Link Now or Forever Hold Your Peace....

jaclaz

Edited April 25, 2009 by jaclaz

[FredMet]

You can create a bootable Flash dive using unetbootin. It's only for Linux and Windows

[radix]

Norton Ghost 2003 from bootable floppy. My tip: use it without compression.