Ghost

  • Thread starter Thread starter Glenn
  • Start date Start date
I couldn't find my older copy, if I even had one, so downloaded a new
version. Unzipped it but it only flashes a small dos frame on the screen
and is then gone. Downloaded it again and unzipped it to a different
directory and I get the same thing. Can anyone guess what I'm doing wrong?
It doesn't have to be run from dos, does it?
Click to expand...
It's a command line program...
You need to open up a dos box in the relevant directory.
What's happening now is that when you click on the exe, the command
runs, punts up a lot of blurb then signals to windows that it's done -
and so the window disappears.

Regards,
 
(e-mail address removed) ( Steve H):[Re XXCopy]
It's a command line program...
You need to open up a dos box in the relevant directory.
What's happening now is that when you click on the exe, the command
runs, punts up a lot of blurb then signals to windows that it's done -
and so the window disappears.
Click to expand...

One approach, it's to get go to its prompt from Startmenu, RUN...

[W9] Run...> command /k xxcopy
[NT] Run...> cmd /k xxcopy

This assumes that it's in the path, which will be true if, for instance,
the user ran install.bat after downloading.

Another approach is using an editor that has an "execute" type command.
Win32pad, 44k, is one of those. Type XXcopy commands into it, save as a
..bat, then click "execute."
 
<OT>
Windows $ware notes:
From what I've read in the newsgroups,
Click to expand...

Quick aside. <comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage> was always one of my
favorite groups... It was they who let me in on the great solution of
Ghost, back when it was making its early rounds. Before the Symantec
acquisition...
there is no best drive imaging
software. True Image seems to be both easy to use and better than
PowerQuest's Drive Image in terms of reliability, but still does not do
SATA drives, unlike ghost (which works on some SATA drives). DriveImage
is capable of doing some stuff the others can't within windows, which
might make it a better choice than others in some situations. None of
these can do incremental backups as an image, like PowerQuest's V2i
Protector. True Image seems the best at working with XP, which puts
stuff in the Master Boot Record. BootIt Ng also had probs with XP.
Click to expand...

I cannot comment on most of this. I've not used True Image. My Ghost and
DI versions are about four years old. (They continue to serve my needs at
present. Tho' I'm conscious that I'll soon enough want to get something
newer.) It's just here I wanted to note one thing -

</OT>
Click to expand...
</OT>
 
Steve H said:
It's a command line program...
You need to open up a dos box in the relevant directory.
What's happening now is that when you click on the exe, the command
runs, punts up a lot of blurb then signals to windows that it's done -
and so the window disappears.
Click to expand...
I concede that it isn't a windows program and has to be run from dos.

Why then, does the uninstall window say it will remove the win 95 & 98
version (and incidentally, no mention of XP although the download site did
mention it).

It says it will also uninstall the 16 bit *DOS* version.

Wouldn't that make the average person think it ran under windows?? I guess
what it is trying to say is it needs the 32 bit version for windows programs
but it still has to be run in DOS. If that is true, why don't they say
o?? }:{)

I don't remember, does Ghost have to be run in DOS?

Glenn
 
Wouldn't that make the average person think it ran under windows?? I guess
what it is trying to say is it needs the 32 bit version for windows programs
but it still has to be run in DOS. If that is true, why don't they say
o?? }:{)
Click to expand...

Could be true...might have something to do with the long filename
format. I only use it in 16 bit mode as a simple backup tool
I don't remember, does Ghost have to be run in DOS?
Click to expand...

The earlier versions do - the most recent seem to be able to run in
windows.


Regards,
 
Steve H said:
Could be true...might have something to do with the long filename
format. I only use it in 16 bit mode as a simple backup tool

The earlier versions do - the most recent seem to be able to run in
windows.
Click to expand...
I should have looked at ghost first.

It does start in windows. I sat through a long demo they had on cloning.
T'aint simple as I remembered, but they do explain it thoroughly. BOTH
machines have to have the same ghost program installed, you program on # 1
for a while then go to #2 and program for a while, then back to # 1 and then
#2, then start it on #1. It then goes to DOS, does its thing and returns
you to win.

Glenn
 
But.... ghost will not clone in w2k or wxp in windows, you have to do
it from dos
Click to expand...

That's correct and also for other windows, inc. win98. Just boot up from
the Ghost floppy which you create using Ghost in windows. To restore I
use a Boot CD. IMO Ghost is a /must/ for any serious PC work.

Scrubbs/
 
That's correct and also for other windows, inc. win98. Just boot up from
the Ghost floppy which you create using Ghost in windows. To restore I
use a Boot CD. IMO Ghost is a /must/ for any serious PC work.
Click to expand...
===============================================

Ghost would be a great subject for a.c.f., if only it were freeware.

On the other hand, there does exist a freeware product that will
do what Ghost, Drive Image, TerraByte, and others will do ....
for XP systems. It is not quite as versatile as the others, but it
does accomplish the same end result. Get it here:

ftp://ftp.monash.edu.au/pub/winnt/dskutil/DrvImagerXPSetup_2.1.exe
 
IMO Ghost is a /must/ for any serious PC work.
Click to expand...

But not free. Here is alternative that seems worth checking.
Have not tried it my self (using a commercial program), but
maybe someone in this group have and can comment? ( I have
seen it mentioned here before, but can not remember if anyone
said they actually used it).

Partition Saving: <http://www.partition-saving.com/>
"(V2.80) was released on October, 8th."

<qoute>
"Partition Saving is a DOS program that is used to save, restore
and copy hard-drive, partitions, floppy disk and DOS devices."
[...]
"Partition Saving is able to compress data (using the gzip
compression algorithm) and split it up into several files (e.g.
if you need to save a 2 Gb partition onto a CD, this can be done
by compressing it and, if necessary, splitting it up into 650 Mb
files). Most partition types are supported. In the case of FAT
(12, 16 and 32), ext2 and NTFS partitions, you can choose between
saving all sectors or occupied sectors only."
</quote>

All the best,
Bjorn Simonsen
 
Vic Dura said:
This looks like a nice program. Has anyone successfully restored a
partition that was saved by this program?
Click to expand...

Yes, I played with an earlier version. It saved and restored properly.
Its compression wasn't quite as good as Ghost. I sent the author some
feedback and he replied and I noticed that he has incorporated some of my
suggestions in the newer version.
 
dsco said:
Yes, I played with an earlier version. It saved and restored properly.
Its compression wasn't quite as good as Ghost. I sent the author some
feedback and he replied and I noticed that he has incorporated some of my
suggestions in the newer version.
Click to expand...

Read his site though, especially what he says about boot partitions and
MBRs. Believe me, unless you're a whizz kid you don't want to risk
damage to MBR and boot record errors. For me, there comes a point when I
say, Ok something is free, but i'd rather spend the money for peace of
mind. Writing this kind of software is VERY difficult. The thing about
Ghost is that it has had mega-buck investment and is well proven.

I'm not knocking this guy or his software: it's great there is a
freeware alternative. All credit to him. Just beware, that's all.

Scrubbs/
 
Vic said:
This looks like a nice program. Has anyone successfully restored a
partition that was saved by this program?
Click to expand...

Yes, I have many times. I use it to restore a clean windows XP install
in a "test" partition, where I can install suspect software or
otherwise test something I don't want to put on my "production"
version of windows. I also use it to restore different versions of
windows (95, 98, me, 2k, etc.), so that I can test software under
different versions when necessary. This has worked well and been
reliable.

Terry
 
Yes, I have many times. I use it to restore a clean windows
XP install in a "test" partition, where I can install
suspect software or otherwise test something I don't want
to put on my "production" version of windows. I also use it
to restore different versions of windows (95, 98, me, 2k,
etc.), so that I can test software under different versions
when necessary. This has worked well and been reliable.

Terry
Click to expand...

How fast is Partition Save? Ghost is lightning-quick, and the
versions of Partition Save I've used are slower than gear oil
during an Alaskan winter.
 
Yes, I have many times. I use it to restore a clean windows XP install
in a "test" partition, where I can install suspect software or
otherwise test something I don't want to put on my "production"
version of windows. I also use it to restore different versions of
windows (95, 98, me, 2k, etc.), so that I can test software under
different versions when necessary. This has worked well and been
reliable.
Click to expand...

Thanks Terry! I'll give it a try.

Regards,
Vic Dura
 
Jrandom42 said:
How fast is Partition Save? Ghost is lightning-quick, and the
versions of Partition Save I've used are slower than gear oil
during an Alaskan winter.
Click to expand...

I'm using 2.70, not the latest 2.80, and it's pretty slow. I don't
have Ghost to do a comparison, but saving a partition is slow enough
so that I do something else while it's happening. 10's of minutes for
a 10 GB partition.

Terry
 
Terry Orchard said:
I'm using 2.70, not the latest 2.80, and it's pretty slow. I don't
have Ghost to do a comparison, but saving a partition is slow enough
so that I do something else while it's happening. 10's of minutes for
a 10 GB partition.

Terry
Click to expand...

Drive Image 5 is rather fast, it takes 2 minutes to restore 1 GB.
Terry talks about 10 GB.. That is a lot.
If I tried to copy 10GB with Drive Image I guess it would take
10-20minutes.

My computer is rather old and slow, but I think the speed of the hard disk
is the most important in deciding the speed in saving or restoring a
partitions content.

Maybe these programs are fairly close to each other speed-wise.
Because the speed of the program is determined by the speed of the hard
disk.
 
Read his site though, especially what he says about boot partitions and
MBRs. Believe me, unless you're a whizz kid you don't want to risk
damage to MBR and boot record errors. For me, there comes a point when I
say, Ok something is free, but i'd rather spend the money for peace of
mind. Writing this kind of software is VERY difficult. The thing about
Ghost is that it has had mega-buck investment and is well proven.

I'm not knocking this guy or his software: it's great there is a
freeware alternative. All credit to him. Just beware, that's all.

Scrubbs/
Click to expand...

That's why I have MBRtool, freeware from http://www.diydatarecovery.nl -
so I can easily save the MBR, or entire Track 0 and write it back if
anything goes wrong. Luckily, so far I haven't needed it.
 
qwelk179 said:
That's why I have MBRtool, freeware from http://www.diydatarecovery.nl -
so I can easily save the MBR, or entire Track 0 and write it back if
anything goes wrong. Luckily, so far I haven't needed it.
Click to expand...

Let's hope you never do :-) It's not very pleasant when MBRs get
corrupted.

On this subject,-- MBR -- it's well worth making a bakup. Another
freeware tool to do this is provided by Powerquest. FTP it from here:

ftp.powerquest.com

Go to /pub/utilities. The file you want is "head.zip". Unpack it and
you'll see the README. The workhorse exe is MBRUtil.exe. That will bakup
your Master Boot Record. Put it on a floppy - not your hard disk.

(from the README) MBRUtil.exe (and MBRUtilD.exe)

"This utility will save the Master Boot Record (the first sector on the
first
hard drive) to a file. It will also restore the contents of a file to
the MBR.
It can be used to save the first head (sectors 1 through 62 on most
drives)
to a file. It will also restore the contents of a file to the first
head."

CAUTION: For all (not just newbies!) I strongly recommend not to use
WipeTRK.exe or WipeTRKd.exe. The /first/ thing I did was to delete them.
They're VERY dangerous if used incorrectly.

Please reply to new thread where this is posted "Freeware MBR Utility
from Powerquest". TIA.

/Scrubbs
 
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