Image restore from external device

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I recently purchased a 160 GB SimpleTech SimpleDrive (external-USB) for
backup purposes. The enclosed software StorageSync (Pro) did a satisfactory
job of backing up, although a little slow (1 hr - 40 min for 11.5 GB, no
compression).

Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore is
possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring restoration
from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about preparing a "Recovery
CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more advisable to backup the image
file; and would Ghost see the external HD from its Recovery CD?

I'm not even sure that StorageSync makes an "image" file, since when I
accessed the drive after the backup, I could see the directory structure and
files and the manual speaks of restoring individual files; so perhaps this
isn't a satisfactory solution for disaster recovery. Ghost has given me 2
reliable recoverys in the past.

Would appreciate any insight/advice that might guide me.

One observation: My machine has a hard disk recovery system, so I wouldn't
be able to boot from a WinXP CD.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

I can't speak to Ghost 9, but Image for Windows and its companion program Image for DOS support restoring images from an external USB2 device.

--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows Media Center\Windows Powered Smart Display\Security
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
--------------------------------
Per user Group Policy Restrictions for XP Home and XP Pro
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm
--------------------------------
Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.

"Gene Hora" <geneho12(no-spam-remove)@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message news:OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>I recently purchased a 160 GB SimpleTech SimpleDrive (external-USB) for
> backup purposes. The enclosed software StorageSync (Pro) did a satisfactory
> job of backing up, although a little slow (1 hr - 40 min for 11.5 GB, no
> compression).
>
> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore is
> possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring restoration
> from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about preparing a "Recovery
> CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more advisable to backup the image
> file; and would Ghost see the external HD from its Recovery CD?
>
> I'm not even sure that StorageSync makes an "image" file, since when I
> accessed the drive after the backup, I could see the directory structure and
> files and the manual speaks of restoring individual files; so perhaps this
> isn't a satisfactory solution for disaster recovery. Ghost has given me 2
> reliable recoverys in the past.
>
> Would appreciate any insight/advice that might guide me.
>
> One observation: My machine has a hard disk recovery system, so I wouldn't
> be able to boot from a WinXP CD.
>
>
>

 

[anna]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Gene Hora" <geneho12(no-spam-remove)@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>I recently purchased a 160 GB SimpleTech SimpleDrive (external-USB) for
>backup purposes. The enclosed software StorageSync (Pro) did a satisfactory
>job of backing up, although a little slow (1 hr - 40 min for 11.5 GB, no
>compression).
>
> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore
> is possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring
> restoration from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about
> preparing a "Recovery CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more advisable
> to backup the image file; and would Ghost see the external HD from its
> Recovery CD?
>
> I'm not even sure that StorageSync makes an "image" file, since when I
> accessed the drive after the backup, I could see the directory structure
> and files and the manual speaks of restoring individual files; so perhaps
> this isn't a satisfactory solution for disaster recovery. Ghost has given
> me 2 reliable recoverys in the past.
>
> Would appreciate any insight/advice that might guide me.
>
> One observation: My machine has a hard disk recovery system, so I wouldn't
> be able to boot from a WinXP CD.


Gene:
I think you would be best served by using a disk imaging program like Ghost
to "clone" the contents of your internal day-to-day working HD directly to
your USB external HD. Through the cloning process you would be creating, for
all practical purposes, a bit-for-bit copy of your source drive, including
your OS, registry settings, programs & data -- in short, everything that's
on your source drive. If & when the time comes when you have to restore your
internal drive (assuming, of course, it's mechanically/electrically sound),
you would clone back the contents of your USBEHD to that internal drive thus
having a bootable, functional working drive once again. (Unfortunately, in
an XP environment the USBEHD is not bootable).

While you can use Ghost 9 to do the cloning, I prefer to work with
Symantec's Norton Ghost 2003 since I find the simplicity &
straightforwardness of the 2003 version as it involves direct disk-to-disk
cloning (such as what I'm recommending) much more appealing to me than Ghost
9, especially since I can use (and generally prefer to do so) a Ghost 2003
bootable floppy disk or Ghost 2003 bootable CD to undertake the cloning
operation.

If you have the retail, boxed version of Ghost 9, it came with a separate
installation CD of Ghost 2003. That version works just fine with XP. Using
Ghost 2003 (or, I would guess, Ghost 9), you should be able to clone at the
rate of about 600 to 700 MB/min, so you should be able to clone the 11.5 GB
you mentioned in about 20 minutes or less.

If you're interested in using Ghost 2003 along the lines I described, and
you want any "how-to-do-it" guidance, so indicate.
Anna

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Thanks for the response. I'll take a look at that program.

"Doug Knox MS-MVP" <dknox@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:OzCXVhxrFHA.4040@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
I can't speak to Ghost 9, but Image for Windows and its companion program
Image for DOS support restoring images from an external USB2 device.

--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows Media Center\Windows Powered Smart
Display\Security
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
--------------------------------
Per user Group Policy Restrictions for XP Home and XP Pro
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_securityconsole.htm
--------------------------------
Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.

"Gene Hora" <geneho12(no-spam-remove)@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>I recently purchased a 160 GB SimpleTech SimpleDrive (external-USB) for
> backup purposes. The enclosed software StorageSync (Pro) did a
> satisfactory
> job of backing up, although a little slow (1 hr - 40 min for 11.5 GB, no
> compression).
>
> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore
> is
> possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring
> restoration
> from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about preparing a
> "Recovery
> CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more advisable to backup the image
> file; and would Ghost see the external HD from its Recovery CD?
>
> I'm not even sure that StorageSync makes an "image" file, since when I
> accessed the drive after the backup, I could see the directory structure
> and
> files and the manual speaks of restoring individual files; so perhaps this
> isn't a satisfactory solution for disaster recovery. Ghost has given me 2
> reliable recoverys in the past.
>
> Would appreciate any insight/advice that might guide me.
>
> One observation: My machine has a hard disk recovery system, so I wouldn't
> be able to boot from a WinXP CD.
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Anna" <myname@myisp.net> wrote in message
news:urgFQvyrFHA.3440@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl...
>
> "Gene Hora" <geneho12(no-spam-remove)@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>>I recently purchased a 160 GB SimpleTech SimpleDrive (external-USB) for
>>backup purposes. The enclosed software StorageSync (Pro) did a
>>satisfactory job of backing up, although a little slow (1 hr - 40 min for
>>11.5 GB, no compression).
>>
>> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore
>> is possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring
>> restoration from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about
>> preparing a "Recovery CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more
>> advisable to backup the image file; and would Ghost see the external HD
>> from its Recovery CD?
>>
>> I'm not even sure that StorageSync makes an "image" file, since when I
>> accessed the drive after the backup, I could see the directory structure
>> and files and the manual speaks of restoring individual files; so perhaps
>> this isn't a satisfactory solution for disaster recovery. Ghost has
>> given me 2 reliable recoverys in the past.
>>
>> Would appreciate any insight/advice that might guide me.
>>
>> One observation: My machine has a hard disk recovery system, so I
>> wouldn't be able to boot from a WinXP CD.
>
>
> Gene:
> I think you would be best served by using a disk imaging program like
> Ghost to "clone" the contents of your internal day-to-day working HD
> directly to your USB external HD. Through the cloning process you would be
> creating, for all practical purposes, a bit-for-bit copy of your source
> drive, including your OS, registry settings, programs & data -- in short,
> everything that's on your source drive. If & when the time comes when you
> have to restore your internal drive (assuming, of course, it's
> mechanically/electrically sound), you would clone back the contents of
> your USBEHD to that internal drive thus having a bootable, functional
> working drive once again. (Unfortunately, in an XP environment the USBEHD
> is not bootable).
>
> While you can use Ghost 9 to do the cloning, I prefer to work with
> Symantec's Norton Ghost 2003 since I find the simplicity &
> straightforwardness of the 2003 version as it involves direct disk-to-disk
> cloning (such as what I'm recommending) much more appealing to me than
> Ghost 9, especially since I can use (and generally prefer to do so) a
> Ghost 2003 bootable floppy disk or Ghost 2003 bootable CD to undertake the
> cloning operation.
>
> If you have the retail, boxed version of Ghost 9, it came with a separate
> installation CD of Ghost 2003. That version works just fine with XP. Using
> Ghost 2003 (or, I would guess, Ghost 9), you should be able to clone at
> the rate of about 600 to 700 MB/min, so you should be able to clone the
> 11.5 GB you mentioned in about 20 minutes or less.
>
> If you're interested in using Ghost 2003 along the lines I described, and
> you want any "how-to-do-it" guidance, so indicate.
> Anna

I did get a Ghost 2003 sometime ago with the boxed edition of the standalone
Ghost 9. Disappeared somewhere in my clutter. I had assumed the 2003
version was meant for users of pre-XP OS and didn't give it any attention.
Then I also received Ghost 9 as part of the NSW 2005 Premier - a Recovery CD
came with that program. Ghost seems to image much faster, although this is
my first experience via USB so I have no means of comparison. I'll have to
try that.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

On Thursday 01 September 2005 12:31 pm, Anna had this to say in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:

>
> "Gene Hora" <geneho12(no-spam-remove)@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
> news:OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>>I recently purchased a 160 GB SimpleTech SimpleDrive (external-USB) for
>>backup purposes. The enclosed software StorageSync (Pro) did a
>>satisfactory job of backing up, although a little slow (1 hr - 40 min for
>>11.5 GB, no compression).
>>
>> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore
>> is possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring
>> restoration from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about
>> preparing a "Recovery CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more
>> advisable to backup the image file; and would Ghost see the external HD
>> from its Recovery CD?
>>
>> I'm not even sure that StorageSync makes an "image" file, since when I
>> accessed the drive after the backup, I could see the directory structure
>> and files and the manual speaks of restoring individual files; so perhaps
>> this isn't a satisfactory solution for disaster recovery. Ghost has
>> given me 2 reliable recoverys in the past.
>>
>> Would appreciate any insight/advice that might guide me.
>>
>> One observation: My machine has a hard disk recovery system, so I
>> wouldn't be able to boot from a WinXP CD.
>
>
> Gene:
> I think you would be best served by using a disk imaging program like
> Ghost to "clone" the contents of your internal day-to-day working HD
> directly to your USB external HD. Through the cloning process you would be
> creating, for all practical purposes, a bit-for-bit copy of your source
> drive, including your OS, registry settings, programs & data -- in short,
> everything that's on your source drive. If & when the time comes when you
> have to restore your internal drive (assuming, of course, it's
> mechanically/electrically sound), you would clone back the contents of
> your USBEHD to that internal drive thus having a bootable, functional
> working drive once again. (Unfortunately, in an XP environment the USBEHD
> is not bootable).
>
> While you can use Ghost 9 to do the cloning, I prefer to work with
> Symantec's Norton Ghost 2003 since I find the simplicity &
> straightforwardness of the 2003 version as it involves direct disk-to-disk
> cloning (such as what I'm recommending) much more appealing to me than
> Ghost 9, especially since I can use (and generally prefer to do so) a
> Ghost 2003 bootable floppy disk or Ghost 2003 bootable CD to undertake the
> cloning operation.
>
> If you have the retail, boxed version of Ghost 9, it came with a separate
> installation CD of Ghost 2003. That version works just fine with XP. Using
> Ghost 2003 (or, I would guess, Ghost 9), you should be able to clone at
> the rate of about 600 to 700 MB/min, so you should be able to clone the
> 11.5 GB you mentioned in about 20 minutes or less.
>
> If you're interested in using Ghost 2003 along the lines I described, and
> you want any "how-to-do-it" guidance, so indicate.
> Anna

You never stop suggesting cloning do you? Why should he waste that large
hard drive with a clone when he can simply make a drive image for backup
purposes and use the remainder of the disk for other data storage?


--
Have you been MicroShafted today?
To mess up a Linux box, you need to work *at* it.
To mess up a Windows box, you need to work *on* it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

In article <OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl>, favored us
with...
>
> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore is
> possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring restoration
> from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about preparing a "Recovery
> CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more advisable to backup the image
> file; and would Ghost see the external HD from its Recovery CD?

The easiest thing is to try it. Boot from the recovery CD, and see if
it can recognize your external hard drive. We can all speculate on
what _might_ happen, but the only way you can be confident is if
you've tried it.

(Presumably, Ghost gives you some sort of prompt before it starts the
restore process.)

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
"If there's one thing I know, it's men. I ought to: it's
been my life work." -- Marie Dressler, in /Dinner at Eight/

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Stan Brown" <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d82d543cd7878f19896ce@news.individual.net...
> In article <OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl>, favored us
> with...
>>
>> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore
>> is
>> possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring
>> restoration
>> from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about preparing a
>> "Recovery
>> CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more advisable to backup the image
>> file; and would Ghost see the external HD from its Recovery CD?
>
> The easiest thing is to try it. Boot from the recovery CD, and see if
> it can recognize your external hard drive. We can all speculate on
> what _might_ happen, but the only way you can be confident is if
> you've tried it.
>
> (Presumably, Ghost gives you some sort of prompt before it starts the
> restore process.)
>
> --
> Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
> http://OakRoadSystems.com/
> "If there's one thing I know, it's men. I ought to: it's
> been my life work." -- Marie Dressler, in /Dinner at Eight/

You're right, of course. In fact that's what I did. After booting the
recovery CD it did fnally recognize the external drive and the backup files
I performed before booting. It only took about 18 minutes to make the image
backup, compared to 100 minutes for StorageSync to backup the same two
partitions. I also installed Acronis True Image 8.0 which I had for some
time but never installed. It had no trouble recognizing the external drive
either and it's backup time was about the same as Ghost.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Thanks to all who responded. I did look at the Image for Windows mentioned
by Doug Knox. It seems a good program, probably similar to either Ghost or
True Image. And of course, I have confidence in any recommendation made by
Doug Knox. For now I'll try to make one of two I have work and probably
forgo the software that came with the drive.

"Gene Hora" <geneho12(no-spam-remove)@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:OBx6hbxrFHA.2072@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
>I recently purchased a 160 GB SimpleTech SimpleDrive (external-USB) for
>backup purposes. The enclosed software StorageSync (Pro) did a satisfactory
>job of backing up, although a little slow (1 hr - 40 min for 11.5 GB, no
>compression).
>
> Neither the on-line manual or website gives information whether a restore
> is possible from a catastrophic-type incident of the O/S, requiring
> restoration from a bootup procedure. There's no instruction about
> preparing a "Recovery CD." I have Ghost 9.0; would this be more advisable
> to backup the image file; and would Ghost see the external HD from its
> Recovery CD?
>
> I'm not even sure that StorageSync makes an "image" file, since when I
> accessed the drive after the backup, I could see the directory structure
> and files and the manual speaks of restoring individual files; so perhaps
> this isn't a satisfactory solution for disaster recovery. Ghost has given
> me 2 reliable recoverys in the past.
>
> Would appreciate any insight/advice that might guide me.
>
> One observation: My machine has a hard disk recovery system, so I wouldn't
> be able to boot from a WinXP CD.
>
>
>