Ghost 14

Hi All, I just joined this form.

Will Ghost14 allow one to clone two hard drives (from two different computers, via network) to the same target drive using two different partitions?

My wife and I each have a WinXP-Home machine. I installed an external 1TB external via SATA and would like to use it for back-up of both machines. I want the drives to be cloned, not imaged.

Many thanks,

Jim

 

Welcome to Wilders!!

I think Acronis is the only company that's ever made a big deal about a "cloned" drive and an "imaged" drive being two different things.

What difference do you see between the two? (As far as what you're wanting to accomplish.)

I wish I could help with the Ghost 14 question but I haven't used Ghost since the DOS days.

By chance, when you say "cloned" do you mean it in the sense that your drives are basically just copied (including all system files) versus imaged into a proprietary file and then restored?

 

poor_roger,

You can create a backup image but not a clone with Ghost 14 over a network.

Just so we both agree on terminology...

http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/notes.htm#note14

 

Brian, That's a good link and says exactly what I'm thinking about the difference between the "clone" and "image". With fast bare-metal imaging these days that can be imaged and restored within - literally - minutes, the old way of "cloning" seems positively old-fashioned.

 

Actually, Norton does both. I just don't know if it will do what I want.

You said it below, sort of.

I want to clone/replicate/mirror a drive so that if it should go bad, I can just replace it with the drive to which I cloned it and keep right on going.

Difference is, no need for any restore. I guess one could always make a clone of the clone and have it laying around.

Perzactly! I know Ghost can do it disk to disk, but just wondering about doing two partitions on the target drive.

Acronis does mirroring/cloning/duplicating now, BTW.

Thanks for your input.

Regards,

Jim

 

poor_roger,

I mean no disrespect, but it's usually a beginner who wants to use a clone for a backup. Cloning is really for upgrading to a larger HD.

I agree with LockBox. Use images.

The following post discusses cloning for backups.

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1132968474;start=7#7

 

No offense taken. I've been kicking around on these things for more than 20 years, but don't consider myself "there", that's for sure. I don't have very much experience with backups, but I have been lucky .

Ok, then, tell me this: If one images a drive with Ghost, etal, it doesn't image all the files on the drive, does it?

So, if my C:\ drive goes south, I not only have to restore all those images of data files, I will also have to re-install my 2700 applications, right ?

That's what I'm trying to avoid. I love spending time on the computer, but I don't like "re-work" of any kind .

Tanks for the reference. And thanks to "all" who have replied.

Regards,

Jim

 

That answers part of my question.

So then, if Ghost will not clone/replicate/duplicate a drive over a network, this is what I can do (if one can use two different partitions): My external drive is connected via the internal SATA. I just add the same setup to my wife's computer, unplug the target drive from my computer and plug it into her computer and clone her drive as well.......assuming that I'm gonna stick with the idea of cloning rather than imaging.

How does that sound?

Regards,

Jim

 

imaging creates a backup of the whole of the partition you select for example C: so it windows fails to load you can restore it and all applications will work as before. it stores all that info in one compressed file. just simply store the images on to the external and if windows fails just stick in the bootable cd you created and restore an image from the external.

 

Thanks!! This is great info!

This is the first time I had heard anything like that! I was thinking that doing imaging only backed up data files; that everything would have to be installed, etc, etc.

Based on what you just wrote, yes, I'd think it rather dumb to clone a drive for backing up, especially given that imaging is so much quicker.

I was just messing around the other night and copied "all files" from my C drive to another drive and I think it took 16-18 hours to complete. That was using XX Clone, though, and it may be slow.

Now, one more thing before I become an expert, can I image my C drive to one partition on the target drive and then image my wife's C drive to another partition on the same drive?

Can I do it via network or must I physically plug the target drive unto her computer?

Again, many thanks.

Jim

 

you can image any partition to a file on any partition other than the partition you are imaging.

if you image within an installed imaging program and can see the other computer partition using network shares you can image to it.
where you can restore over the network depends on where the boot disc of the imaging program has networking options or not.

btw depending on which imaging program you use you can browse the image file and extract any file you wish from it.

Norton ghost does work well and also has separate file backup as well which is very fast. i find it slow to startup thou.

if you want just pure imaging and network backup and restore try image for windows
the purchase of image for windows includes the image for linux restore disc which is a recovery disc based on linux and allows you to map network shares and restore over the network.

image for windows takes around 30mins to backup around 27gb from internal sata drive to a second internal sata drive.
ive created a batch file to do this daily for me at 6pm.


do you keep your data on the same partition as your OS?
of course its better to seprate the data from the OS and then use karen's replicator to backup your data to your external drive. i use karen's replicator for data backup and it only backs up the changes.

 

Jim,

lodore has provided very helpful information. Yes, an image of your OS partition contains "everything". You can throw away the original HD, replace it with a new HD and then restore the OS image. Everything will function the same as with the old HD.

I agree with the comments regarding data separation, Karen's Replicator and Image for Windows. IFW gives you a license for 2 computers. You only get 1 computer license with Ghost.

 

Hey Brian,

Do you happen to know anyone from the above forum?

I have tried to join three or four times and get no answer.......automated or otherwise.

What's up with that? If you can contact the moderator, please mention this to him. I tried with two or so different names.

Regards,

Jim

 

Jim,

Did you try from this page?

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl

Send me a PM if it doesn't work and I'll contact the Administrator. There's probably no hurry to join the forum, you will just get another reply from me.

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1148252120;start=