[Dominicc2003]

Hi everyone,

What programs can I use to make an EXACT backup that I can run from an external HD?

I want it to backup all the registry, installed programs, files, remembered passwords, browsers + plugins, settings, everything. And I want to be able to just run the backup and it will put the backup on without any problems.

The reason I want to do this is because I have my computer in a state where it is running fast, I've uninstalled all the crap and personalised it as much as I need to. Every now and then i'll muck something up or my laptop will encounter an error and i'll have to format, re-install media center, remove all the dell progs, install all my old ones and all this is after an hour of backing up!

Thanks


P.S. Can norton ghost do all this? Can I put it in to a partition easily? Can I add files to the backup once it's been made?

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Ghost will do it, but you can't add files to a Ghost file; you have to make a new image.

[Neil Jones]

Ghost will do it, but you can't add files to a Ghost file; you have to make a new image.

[Dominicc2003]

Ghost will do it, but you can't add files to a Ghost file; you have to make a new image.

Thanks. Would i need partition magic to add it to a partition?

[The Skeptic]

You can use Norton Ghost to create perfect copies of your present drives/partitions to another partition, Hd, cd or usb storage device. Latter you can recreate the ghosted partition/drive. You will loose everything that was added after the ghost was created.

A ghost is a compressed .gho file that cannot be used as is. I don't remember all the details now but you cannot add new files to an existing ghost. When you want to use it Norton Ghost will extract the files and will restore the drive/partition to the state it was in just before ghosting.

[Neil Jones]

One nice thing about Norton Ghost is that it preserves absolutely everything when you make the file - all the files, the configuration, the file structure, even the date stamps. It is literally one snapshot of a system at the time you make it. You can even restore a Ghost file to a hard drive that's never been formatted - and it will work. IT companies love Ghost because it saves them shed lots of time when shipping new computers - build, test, ghost, box it up.

[Dominicc2003]

Thanks guys.
Someone posted a link to a site that had a tutorial for making the ghost image the system restore (Ctrl+F11) for dells.

In that guide it says I need ghost 2003 (8.0). How can I get it?

[Neil Jones]

Any decent computer shop should be able to sort you out with any software product you need, this includes Norton Ghost.

[Dominicc2003]

Any decent computer shop should be able to sort you out with any software product you need, this includes Norton Ghost.

But i need ghost 8.0 - they'll give me 12.0!