Alternative to Norton Ghost?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Allan Gould
  • Start date Start date
A

Allan Gould

Can anyone recommend an alternative to Norton Ghost? I do a little work
for the local Museum (charity) and am trying to help them with their
computer. They haven't got a huge amount of money and Ghost doesn't
come cheap. At present, they have no backup system in place.

I use Ghost myself and like the way the backup can be done from a floppy
booting into PC-DOS. I have always felt that backups should be
done with the 'system' brought to its lowest level so that there is
absolutely no problem with read/write conflicts. I also have a feeling
that if you need to do a full reinstall from a backup, having to put the
operating system back on (e.g. Windows) because you've done the backup
from within that operating system (e.g. Windows) is self-defeating.

So, any recommendations for a (cheap?) alternative to Norton Ghost, and
possibly one offering backup from bootable floppy, and possibly even one
that will backup to DVD?

A google of groups & the web has found:
- http://www.xxcopy.com/
- http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/index.htm
- Acronis TrueImage
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
- Powerquest (bought by Norton)
none of which seem to fit the bill?

TIA

Allan
 
Can anyone recommend an alternative to Norton Ghost?
Click to expand...

One obvious alternative is True Image.

BUT its actually much more expensive than the cheapest legal ghost.
I do a little work for the local Museum (charity) and am
trying to help them with their computer. They haven't got
a huge amount of money and Ghost doesn't come cheap.
Click to expand...

It does actually, dirt cheap if you get it as part
of SystemWorks Pro 2003 off ebay, peanuts.

Got to be Pro, its not included in standard SystemWorks 2003.

Thats not the latest version of ghost, but its dirt cheap.
At present, they have no backup system in place.
Click to expand...

You dont say what OS, the NT/2K/XP family come with a decent backup app.
I use Ghost myself and like the way the backup can
be done from a floppy booting into PC-DOS. I have
always felt that backups should be done with the
'system' brought to its lowest level so that there
is absolutely no problem with read/write conflicts.
Click to expand...

In that case you dont need the latest ghost
9 anyway, it does it at the Win level.

Doing it at the Win level has a number of advantages tho,
any device that is visible at the Win level can be used for
the image file and backup to a drive on the other side of
the lan is MUCH easier to setup at the Win level.
I also have a feeling that if you need to do a full reinstall
from a backup, having to put the operating system back
on (e.g. Windows) because you've done the backup from
within that operating system (e.g. Windows) is self-defeating.
Click to expand...

You dont have to do that with either of the most popular
imaging apps. They both have a bootable CD that restores
the system partition, no need to restore Win first.
So, any recommendations for a (cheap?) alternative to Norton Ghost,
Click to expand...

See above.
and possibly one offering backup from bootable floppy,
Click to expand...

Ghost and True Image allow that.
and possibly even one that will backup to DVD?
Click to expand...

Both allow that too.
A google of groups & the web has found:
- http://www.xxcopy.com/
Click to expand...

Thats pretty crude in comparison and isnt a true
complete backup so if the system drive dies,
you cant just boot the CD or floppy and restore.
- http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/index.htm
Click to expand...

Dunno anything about that.
- Acronis TrueImage
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
Click to expand...

That fits fine. It actually a bootable version of linux on the bootable CD.

No cheaper than Ghost tho and much more expensive than the cheapest ghost.
- Powerquest (bought by Norton)
Click to expand...

Thats basically what ghost 9 is now, the powerquest product.
none of which seem to fit the bill?
Click to expand...

ghost 9 doesnt if you want to be able to image outside Win.
It wont image from the bootable CD, only restore.

True Image will tho.
 
Allan said:
Can anyone recommend an alternative to Norton Ghost? I do a little work
for the local Museum (charity) and am trying to help them with their
computer. They haven't got a huge amount of money and Ghost doesn't
come cheap. At present, they have no backup system in place.

I use Ghost myself and like the way the backup can be done from a floppy
booting into PC-DOS. I have always felt that backups should be
done with the 'system' brought to its lowest level so that there is
absolutely no problem with read/write conflicts. I also have a feeling
that if you need to do a full reinstall from a backup, having to put the
operating system back on (e.g. Windows) because you've done the backup
from within that operating system (e.g. Windows) is self-defeating.
Click to expand...

If they're running XP or Server 2K3 you might want to take a look at BartPE
<http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/>.

Also, I have no idea if their products are any good but
 
On Wed, 02 Feb 2005 22:37:43 +0000, Allan Gould

I notice none of the responders have mentioned Drive Image - I use
D.I.2002 and haven't had problems.


B.N.
 
That's because it doesn't exist anymore, as Symantec bought PowerQuest in
2003....
Ghost 9.0 is actually ~ a mix of DI2002 and V2i.......


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One obvious alternative is True Image.

BUT its actually much more expensive than the cheapest legal ghost.
Click to expand...

At $50, it's definitely more expensive than the cheap bundled Ghost
versions, but it's still not very expensive in the grand scheme of
things. When I look at the amount of time and trouble it's saved me,
I consider it quite a bargain, and I'm a cheapskate.

I did buy the Systemworks bundle with Ghost 8.0 for something like
$15, used it a few times, and put it away. Money down the drain for
me, but others like it just fine, of course.
 
Thomas Wendell said:
That's because it doesn't exist anymore, as Symantec bought
PowerQuest in 2003....
Ghost 9.0 is actually ~ a mix of DI2002 and V2i.......
Click to expand...


Ghost 9.0 is virtually Drive Image 7.0x, the last version by
PowerQuest that was written to run under Windows XP and
which requires MS's Framework.net to work.

*TimRDaniels*
 
Neil Maxwell said:
At $50, it's definitely more expensive than the cheap bundled Ghost
versions, but it's still not very expensive in the grand scheme of
things. When I look at the amount of time and trouble it's saved me,
I consider it quite a bargain, and I'm a cheapskate.
Click to expand...

Sure, but an operation like that can have other ideas on that.
I did buy the Systemworks bundle with Ghost 8.0 for something like $15,
Click to expand...

Its currently available buy now for $3.80, less than a tenth of the cost of TI.
used it a few times, and put it away. Money down
the drain for me, but others like it just fine, of course.
Click to expand...

It would do what he wants fine.
 
That's because it doesn't exist anymore, as Symantec bought PowerQuest in
2003....
Ghost 9.0 is actually ~ a mix of DI2002 and V2i.......
Click to expand...

Thanks - I didn't know that .

B.N.
 
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