Is there imaging s/w that like this?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chuck U. Farley
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Chuck U. Farley

Is there a disk imaging proggie where I can:

1. Make a bootable DVD disk, _not_ a rewritable but a standard - or + DVD
(not CD) disk.

2. Put a recoverable_complete_ image of my hd (size is <4 gigs) _not_ parsed
out in separate 1.9 gig sections but a complete, full image of my hard
drive, on that boot disk.

3. Be able to insert that disk, re-boot my computer, have a menu come up
giving me the option to format my hard drive.

4. Put the image on that newly formatted hard drive without a hundred dialog
boxes.

5. Not require any other programs such as Nero, DirectCD, WinIso, IsoBuster
etc. to function correctly.


5. Not require the use of the .NET framework (that's what ruled out Norton's
Ghost).

I have just tried and deleted True Image because it, for whatever reason,
won't write to a DVD-R or DVD+R, but only to a RW and then it must be UDF
formatted, evidently with DirectCD because it won't recognize a UDF
formatted disk that I did with Nero. I don't want to use an RW because in
6-9 months when I need it, it probably won't be able to be read. Had that
happen with a CD-RW several years ago and vowed I'd _never_ use a RW for a
drive image again.

I'm looking at BootIT Next Generation but not sure about the company and
don't want to shell out $50, yet again, to do an evaluation and find it
won't do those five things. Got an email out to them but haven't received a
response yet.

I have just now re-installed XP and my base programs, configured the GUI the
way I want it and customized the programs the way I want them. All I want to
do is get an imaging program to put a image of my current hd on a bootable
DVD, let me insert that DVD in 6-8 months, get an option to format the hd in
NTFS and then install the image on the hd without a bunch of handholding,
selection boxes, install options, etc. Surely, that's not asking too much
but damned if I can find any program that'll let me do that.

Any recommendations appreciated!
 
Chuck said:
I have just tried and deleted True Image because it, for whatever reason,
won't write to a DVD-R or DVD+R, but only to a RW and then it must be UDF
formatted, evidently with DirectCD because it won't recognize a UDF
formatted disk that I did with Nero. I don't want to use an RW because in
6-9 months when I need it, it probably won't be able to be read. Had that
happen with a CD-RW several years ago and vowed I'd _never_ use a RW for a
drive image again.
Click to expand...

I use True Image in conjunction with Nero. Works great. You can do
pretty much any of the items that you listed.
 
That can be acomplished with Ghost and CD/DVD writing software, you just
need to do a proper planning and some assembly.
There is no need to worry about multiple image segments, as long as the
image installation runs uninterrupted (no prompts).
You do not even have to format your hard disk.
I would put a single, clear warning what that DVD is going to do to your
system, requiring to type a full word like "yes" or "agree" before it starts
to image your hard drive.
 
I use True Image in conjunction with Nero. Works great. You can do
pretty much any of the items that you listed.
Click to expand...

So you can write direct to a DVD +R or -R? That's interesting. See here:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=264750#post264750

where it says " If you read the FAQs in the TI User's Guide you'll see that
TI only writes direct to DVD+/-RW provided you have a compatible UDF packet
writing program running and the DVD has been UDF formatted. However, it goes
on to say that DVD-/+R formatting is currently only supported by Roxio
DirectCD so it seems it may be possible to image direct to DVD-/+R if you
have that particular software installed. I don't, so I'm unable to confirm
this point."

in addition to:

I've also concluded that you can't burn direct to DVD (any format) if TI is
running in boot rescue mode. See
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/show...4674#post264674 for further details.

Also, and I think this might be your post, as the names seem oddly similar:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=48186

where the author describes this process in order to make a bootable "rescue"
DVD:

This is an updated version of a post that I had made a short while ago.

Several people have asked, so here is how you can create a bootable rescue
DVD that also contains the TIB files.

1. Back up your system with TrueImage, and specify a 635MB image size. This
will give you the best space usage on the DVD, and also give you the option
of copying your images to CD if you're the masochistic type.
2. Create a Bootable Rescue CD using the Acronis software.
3. Install and open WinISO
4. In WinISO, click Actions -> Make ISO from CDROM, and save that ISO
somewhere.
5. Open that image file using WinISO
6. Save boot information to a file called "trueimg.wbt"
(Click "Bootable CD" in the lower left corner, and then select "Save boot
information to file...")
7. Get CD Shell and BCDW and extract it to a directory somewhere. Whatever
this location is, I will refer to it as [cdshell] from now on. For example,
replace [cdshell] with "c:\cdshell" if that's where you put it.
Now you're ready to create the bootable DVD.

8. Open Nero and create a new DVD-ROM (Boot) project.
9. On the Boot tab, select Image file, and select the file
[cdshell]\boot\loader.bin
10. Use the "No Emulation" setting, and the number of loaded sectors
should be 4. (Other values should be left at the default)
11. Create a DVD directory structure like this (TIB files in the root, and
two subdirectories called "boot" and "acronis"):

/ (root) (Put your TIB files here)
|
| + BOOT (Drag the contents of "boot" directory from your [cdshell]
directory here)
|
| + ACRONIS (put the trueimg.wbt file here)

That process kinda negates numbers 5 in my original post. <g> And unless you
are using a DVD -R or +R rather than a RW, that kinda negates number 1 in my
original post.

Judging by that forum, and I realize that it, like Usenet, is by it's very
nature where people go when they're having trouble, I think I made the right
decision to uninstall the s/w. I'm glad it works for you, but on my
standard, plain vanilla Dell box with a fresh install of XP only hours old,
the s/w simply will _not_ burn an image DVD, bootable or not as I put in
this post:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=55948

And 8 hours later there's no response from their tech support on that forum,
which speaks volumes afaic.

The search continues.
 
That can be acomplished with Ghost and CD/DVD writing software, you just
need to do a proper planning and some assembly.
Click to expand...

Ghost 9 requires the .NET framework, which is one of the causes (along with
SP2) of my having to re-format and re-install. I will avoid that at all
costs as long as I can. I'm trying to find an old copy of Drive Image before
the Symantec buyout to evaluate.
There is no need to worry about multiple image segments, as long as the
image installation runs uninterrupted (no prompts).
Click to expand...

This is what had me worried about the 1.9 gig limitation with True Image as
one of the purposes of what I'm trying to accomplish is to not have to sit
and feed disks and and answer dialog boxes just to install XP. If I wanted
to do that, I'd just do what I did last night, format and re-install XP and
all of my programs. said:
You do not even have to format your hard disk.
Click to expand...

But that's the point of what I'm doing. I evaluate a large number of
programs of various kinds so subsequently I install and uninstall a bunch of
them and after a while, no matter how meticulous I am in weeding out the
detritus of "uninstalled" programs from the registry, my sytem eventually
gets hinkey.
I would put a single, clear warning what that DVD is going to do to your
system, requiring to type a full word like "yes" or "agree" before it starts
to image your hard drive.
Click to expand...

The problem is finding a program to create that DVD, not what it's going to
do after I have it. <vbg>

Thanks for your input.
 
Chuck U. Farley said:
Ghost 9 requires the .NET framework, which is one of the causes (along with
SP2) of my having to re-format and re-install. I will avoid that at all
costs as long as I can. I'm trying to find an old copy of Drive Image before
the Symantec buyout to evaluate.
Click to expand...


I do not consider Symantec Ghost 9 as a Ghost product, it is Symantec
DriveImage release.
Lets stick to Ghost 8.0 and Ghost 2003.
This is what had me worried about the 1.9 gig limitation with True Image as
one of the purposes of what I'm trying to accomplish is to not have to sit
and feed disks and and answer dialog boxes just to install XP. If I wanted
to do that, I'd just do what I did last night, format and re-install XP and
all of my programs. <g>
Click to expand...

Yes, Ghost can run multiple image segments without prompting.
But that's the point of what I'm doing. I evaluate a large number of
programs of various kinds so subsequently I install and uninstall a bunch of
them and after a while, no matter how meticulous I am in weeding out the
detritus of "uninstalled" programs from the registry, my sytem eventually
gets hinkey.
Click to expand...

Ghost image restore can completely overwrite your hard disk partitions and
restore original partitions and filesystems you had when you saved disk
image.
The problem is finding a program to create that DVD, not what it's going to
do after I have it. <vbg>
Click to expand...

I doubt you find a program to do exactly what you want, but you can achieve
your goal by performing a relative small numbers of steps to create such DVD
disk.
Then, you will have a completely hands free restore procedure.
Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...

No problem.
 
Imaging programs, when restoring, format the HD partition without a prompt.
You're out of luck at the outset.

The other problem seems to be the UDF format thing. Need to burn in ISO
9660 format instead.

Boot DVDs/CDs can be made with Nero etc. If left open, the required
programs and files can be burned as well. These will appear as a non-A
drive stuff, IE the normal DVD access drive letter when booting from the
DVD. Then close session.

NET framework is only required for saving an image of open system files on a
boot partition. Restoration of a DVD image files(s), not needed. The DI
7.0/7.01, Ghost 9.0 DVDs are bootable and run in a modified XP environment.
 
I do not consider Symantec Ghost 9 as a Ghost product, it is Symantec
DriveImage release.
Lets stick to Ghost 8.0 and Ghost 2003.
Click to expand...

Ahh that explains an awful lot. We recently purchased another copy of Ghost
(as we wanted another license) and was surprised with the product that
arrived. I agree, Ghost 9 is not what most traditional users of Ghost would
recognise. I like the idea of on-the-fly hard disk imaging but call me old
fashioned but I just don't trust it :-)

Fortunately, Ghost 9 comes with a copy of Ghost 2003 as well which has all
our old favourite tools like GHOST.EXE and GDISK.EXE.

I didn't know there had been a deal on DriveImage - have they bought the
company?

Cheers, Rob.
 
Imaging programs, when restoring, format the HD partition without a
prompt.
You're out of luck at the outset.
Click to expand...

Alternatively, GHOST direct onto CD-RW. Can Ghost 2003 write to DVD-RW? If
so, then this would be even better as with CD-R/CD-RW, it usually takes a
lot of CDs :-)

Cheers, Rob.
 
This is what had me worried about the 1.9 gig limitation with True Image as
one of the purposes of what I'm trying to accomplish is to not have to sit
and feed disks and and answer dialog boxes just to install XP. If I wanted
to do that, I'd just do what I did last night, format and re-install XP and
all of my programs. <g>
Click to expand...

I can see your point, but this is still much faster than re-installing
XP, all patches, and all your programs, IME. It's the difference
between 20-30 minutes and several hours.

I use a different approach to accomplish nearly the same thing, since
TI uses a separate process to make the boot disk and the image disk,
and I'm not interested in spending the time to integrate them.

I image directly to an external HD, which has the benefits of being
able to keep multiple images in one place (I support several different
laptops and desktops) and is much faster for both imaging and
restoring than a DVD. It takes me less than 10 minutes to image or
restore a basic install with the HD.

I also keep the images under 1.9G, which TI spans automatically on
restore if they're on the same media. TI7 let you set a 4.3G chunk,
but they removed that capability in TI8 for some reason. I burn these
to DVD for backup, and you can use them for a 2 disk recovery - boot
to the recovery CD, then restore from the DVD. I haven't done this
yet, since the HD is much faster and has worked for me every time, but
it's not as portable.

YMMV, as always, but this works well for me. TI7/8 have saved me
hundreds of hours and much hair-pulling over the last year or so.
 
Lets stick to Ghost 8.0 and Ghost 2003.

Ok
Yes, Ghost can run multiple image segments without prompting.
Alright!

Ghost image restore can completely overwrite your hard disk partitions and
restore original partitions and filesystems you had when you saved disk
image.
Click to expand...

That takes requirement 3 out of the equation. I don't really need an option
not to format as that's what I always want it to do.
I doubt you find a program to do exactly what you want, but you can achieve
your goal by performing a relative small numbers of steps to create such DVD
disk.
Then, you will have a completely hands free restore procedure.
Click to expand...

I take it since 8.0/2003 doesn't use the .NET trash, it reboots into DOS and
performs it's thing from there. Since doing the image from directly in XP
isn't a requirement for me, this sounds like as close as I can get to what I
want.

One last question, 8.0/2003 does support DVD's as well as CD's, correct? It
looks like I can still find a copy of Ghost 2003 via the WWW, so as long as
it can write to DVD's, that's the way I'm going to go. Thanks for your
assistance.
 
YMMV, as always, but this works well for me. TI7/8 have saved me
hundreds of hours and much hair-pulling over the last year or so.
Click to expand...

Sounds like TI7 would have been close to what I want but the fact that TI8
can't, at least on my machine, burn to a DVD-/DVD+R or to a Nero UDF
formatted RW completely rules it out for me. For me, it's $50 USD down the
drain.
 
Well, Symantec Ghost 2003 (and 8.0) are not so great in terms of DVD or CD-R
drives support. If you do not have a drive listed on their site, chances are
50-50 that is going to work.
http://tinyurl.com/4vda8
And, they do not support DVD-RW.

The simplest approach to what you want to do is:
1. Boot PC in Windows, install Ghost.
Create CD/DVD Startup floppy disk Ghost.exe.
2. Boot your PC with that floppy.
Use Ghost to image your disk to DVD.

Now, verify your disk image stored on DVD.
3. Start PC in Windows.
Use ghost explorer to extract files from image on DVD, that is the simplest
verification.

You can uninstall Ghost before making a final image.

If your DVD fails the test, there are still some other ways to get disk
image to DVD, but it requires additional temporary storage (second hard
disk - internal or external, or a second PC and network between).
 
Chuck said:
Is there a disk imaging proggie where I can:

1. Make a bootable DVD disk, _not_ a rewritable but a standard - or + DVD
(not CD) disk.

2. Put a recoverable_complete_ image of my hd (size is <4 gigs) _not_ parsed
out in separate 1.9 gig sections but a complete, full image of my hard
drive, on that boot disk.

3. Be able to insert that disk, re-boot my computer, have a menu come up
giving me the option to format my hard drive.

4. Put the image on that newly formatted hard drive without a hundred dialog
boxes.

5. Not require any other programs such as Nero, DirectCD, WinIso, IsoBuster
etc. to function correctly.


5. Not require the use of the .NET framework (that's what ruled out Norton's
Ghost).
Click to expand...
Ghost 2003 can burn directly to DVD burners, but you'll need a boot
floppy CD to startup.

If you backup the partition to another HD partition, or external
device, you can then burn that Ghost image to a bootable, scripted DVD
disc that will do the menuing and formatting.

---

Doesn't Nero come with it's own bootable, HD backup making program?
Thought I used that years ago and that seemed to work on a laptop.

----
 
And, they do not support DVD-RW.

That's a shame.

As support for DOS gets less and less, we do need a reliable imaging
solution going forward. Imaging across the network is fine - we keep a
couple of older network cards which we know work with our Ghost boot CD-ROM.

Rob.
 
WinPE + Ghost32.exe might still have some future...

"> As support for DOS gets less and less, we do need a reliable imaging
 
The simplest approach to what you want to do is:
1. Boot PC in Windows, install Ghost.
Create CD/DVD Startup floppy disk Ghost.exe.
2. Boot your PC with that floppy.
Use Ghost to image your disk to DVD.
Click to expand...

If Ghost won't burn using my DVD burner, can I image my primary drive to a
second physical disk on my box or another drive on my network?
Now, verify your disk image stored on DVD.
3. Start PC in Windows.
Use ghost explorer to extract files from image on DVD, that is the simplest
verification.

You can uninstall Ghost before making a final image.
Click to expand...

I hope I don't seem dense here, but why would I want to uninstall Ghost
before doing the final image?
If your DVD fails the test, there are still some other ways to get disk
image to DVD, but it requires additional temporary storage (second hard
disk - internal or external, or a second PC and network between).
Click to expand...

Scratch that first question. <g> Time to go to the outlaws and eat some
turkey.

Again, thanks for all your help.
 
Doesn't Nero come with it's own bootable, HD backup making program?
Thought I used that years ago and that seemed to work on a laptop.
Click to expand...

I think it's more of a backup program rather than an disk imaging program
because it does it's think inside Windows... at leat I think it does.
 
Boot DVDs/CDs can be made with Nero etc. If left open, the required
programs and files can be burned as well. These will appear as a non-A
drive stuff, IE the normal DVD access drive letter when booting from the
DVD. Then close session.
Click to expand...

That's the route I'm gonna take with Ghost.
NET framework is only required for saving an image of open system files on a
boot partition. Restoration of a DVD image files(s), not needed. The DI
7.0/7.01, Ghost 9.0 DVDs are bootable and run in a modified XP
Click to expand...
environment.

The .NET trash was required to update my video card drivers and is what
started this whole process of needing to format and re-install XP. SP2
completed the mess, requiring the re-install now instead of the first of the
year like I usually do. Doing this inside of XP doesn't matter as I don't
care if I boot to DOS or Linux to do the image, as long as I get a valid
image and can restore my current config.
 
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