Recommend a good free Ghost program.

[Morris]

Hey all,

I made an image successfully with DriveImage XML. I made a BartPE boot disc with the DriveImage XML plug-in. But I can't seem able to use them in conjunction. If I were to make a guess, I'd say that the BartPE isn't able to read my CD-Roms.

What happens is this: I load BartPE. I select DriveImage XML. I choose to "Restore", and then I insert the disc containing the XML... choose "browse"... and the whole thing freezes.

I can run everything from within the Windows version of DriveImageXML, and I have no doubt that it would work. But I can't run it from BartPE as a boot disc.

Any hints?

Try not booting from cd(dvd) if it is possible. Try booting BartPe from USB-stick. Or maybe you have 2 cd(dvd)-drives in your system. Boot BartPe from one drive and in the other drive the DriveImage disc (but you probably do not have a two drives). I myself use an external usb disc and DriveSnapshot.

[Lunch Money]

Not sure that the BIOS on this computer supports booting from USB, but it's worth a look. Thing is, it's not for me. A friend of mine is giving her old laptop to a sister that has no computer. There's a valid WinXP license and all that, but in the event that she needs to reinstall, I thought I'd create a restore image for her.

I have one old USB stick lying around unused, but it's unused because it's flaky. I could always give it a try I guess, but I'd rather just give her some CDs.

Thanks for the suggestion, though! It makes sense.

[whyterabbyt]

Hey all,

I made an image successfully with DriveImage XML. I made a BartPE boot disc with the DriveImage XML plug-in. But I can't seem able to use them in conjunction. If I were to make a guess, I'd say that the BartPE isn't able to read my CD-Roms.

What happens is this: I load BartPE. I select DriveImage XML. I choose to "Restore", and then I insert the disc containing the XML... choose "browse"... and the whole thing freezes.

I can run everything from within the Windows version of DriveImageXML, and I have no doubt that it would work. But I can't run it from BartPE as a boot disc.

Any hints?

I started experinenting with D_XML and BARTPE recently, and more or less see the same thing. I find the BARTPE disk a bit flaky anyways, but I was having this exact same issue. The solution, for me, was to insert the image CD/DVD after selecting 'Browse'.

[duncanparsons]

If you run D_XML in a std machine, and try browsing the XML, is it OK - has the disc burnt alright...? Only an ask!

DSP

[Lunch Money]

wr: Yeah, that one occurred to me, but I never had any luck with it.

Dunc: Yeah, the disc is browseable from within DriveImage XML if it is loaded within a proper Windows environment.

This machine is really short on memory-- I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but it may.

Tried UBCD 4 Windows, but it's really just a wrapper for BartPE, so the exact same problem crept up there, too.

If there were a standalone bootable Linux distro that had the same kind of thing (much like Gnome PartEd for partitions) that would be fine, too, but I'm out of time. I have to hand over the laptop later today. Guess I'll just give her the CD and instructions for reinstalling from Windows but not from scratch. <shrug> Dunno what else to do.

[RWA]

Okay


The page with the links to the software is here:
http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/ ... es-is-free


It's made by Acronis, one of the best in the field.

Paul

Thanks a LOT for that info! I'm running Maxtor MaxBlast right now and it's fantastic indeed. Been using Norton Ghost for a few years but the version is getting to old. I've considered upgrading but that sets me back another 60 to 70 euro. MaxBlast is free in possibly even better!

[aMUSEd]

I just bought an external 750 GB Seagate drive and my internal ones are all Barracudas so I'll try the Seagate version - is it the same as Maxblast?

Seems a big download??

[RWA]

I just bought an external 750 GB Seagate drive and my internal ones are all Barracudas so I'll try the Seagate version - is it the same as Maxblast?

Seems a big download??

Yes, it's the same thing. 102mb download.
It's worth it.

[aMUSEd]

Why's it so big?

[grimpr]

I had a good ghost program on a disc I got with some PC mag a while back but like an idiot I threw it out..(I always seem to need something right after I get rid of it!)..

Anyway, I done a search but my head is spinning as the world of disk back-up progs seems as confusing as the world of video encoders...

If you can help me cut through the crud and pick out a good one I would very grateful..

Hi,i would personally suggest BootIT NG from TerabyteUnlimited...Small,fast and extremely reliable,i use it years now for my image backups with a lot of different machines and it never fails,along with its impressive features is an byte for byte compare option in the image creation process which is invaluable.

Have fun.

[MachFront]

A helpful thread, and good suggestions. Now if only I could find a drive imaging program that I could actually understand...

My head is hurting (and I mean that literally, as I realize most people say that in a figurative or exaggerated way...no, I mean really f***ing hurting!) from reading reviews (Oh dear God, the reviews...one pleace tells me Acronis TrueImage is ass, the other says it's outstanding, one place says it's easy as pie and another says it's the most annoying and difficult thing on the planet!) and 'how to's' and articles and watching YouTube videos (on DriveImage XML) and bouncing website to website and preforming search after search... and I've still learned nothing. Well. I've learned one thing.

I've learned that if something goes wrong...it'll be easier for me to just reinstall everything. At least that's something I understand.
Only problem with that is that neither Acer nor Best Buy provided me with system discs for my XP..... so...yeah.

I guess I need to go to Newegg and buy an OEM version of XP Pro and if anything ever goes down the toilet I just start from scratch, because this drive image stuff is disturbing. Ugh.

[Lunch Money]

Most brands do not include a disk anymore, even a recovery disk. What they do instead is store all that stuff on a hidden partition, and activate the recovery process by hitting a particular key as your machine boots.

Before running out and buying a license for a product you already own, check into your re-installation options. If you have a sticker on the bottom of your laptop with your XP license key, it's pointless to buy another one-- Acer or whomever might even be able to send you a disk if you don't have that hidden partition thing.

Greg

[MachFront]

Lunch Money:
Thanks for the advice. I had no idea about the hidden partition thing.

My machine is a desktop however, so I don't know where the sticker may be.
Another thing is that I had them downgrade me to XP Pro (the machine actually came w/ Vista Home Premium), which wasn't a hassle as a good friend worked w/ the Geek Squad at the time (he's since moved on).
But it's for these reasons I was looking into a image program. After all that, I don't want to be stuck with nothing at all if anything craps out on me, especially since I paid for everything, and feel like I don't "have it".

But I don't want to take this great sticky off topic.
I just want/need to find a good one that's easy to use.

Also... (since I've never done this) how do you know if the image is any good...until it's too late? It seems Image For Windows has a way of letting you check this, but I've not seen mention of it on other product descriptions.

[manytone]

Lunch Money:
Thanks for the advice. I had no idea about the hidden partition thing.

My machine is a desktop however, so I don't know where the sticker may be.
Another thing is that I had them downgrade me to XP Pro (the machine actually came w/ Vista Home Premium), which wasn't a hassle as a good friend worked w/ the Geek Squad at the time (he's since moved on).
But it's for these reasons I was looking into a image program. After all that, I don't want to be stuck with nothing at all if anything craps out on me, especially since I paid for everything, and feel like I don't "have it".

But I don't want to take this great sticky off topic.
I just want/need to find a good one that's easy to use.

Also... (since I've never done this) how do you know if the image is any good...until it's too late? It seems Image For Windows has a way of letting you check this, but I've not seen mention of it on other product descriptions.

The program I use and suggested in this thread (The free Seagate or Maxtor software), has a utility to check the image after you make it. It is also very simple to use (I see you have trouble as did I with some of the other image programs).

I highly suggest to all my friends and associates that I help with this, to get a Seagate or Maxtor USB hard drive (If they do not already have one in their system) and the free software from Maxtor/Seagate to image onto this hard drive. It really could not be easier than this. Bart PE and and some of the other free image programs do work but can be a bitch to get your head around. Not so with Seagate/Maxtor Drive image program. As you see from this thread a few guys have now discovered this.

Also... Don't forget to make the boot cd from the Maxtor/Seagate program so if you do fail you just boot to this cd and navigate to your image and restore.
It is that easy.


Anyways... Imaging is easy and is an extremely mind easing thing to do. It will save you days/weeks over reinstalling and configging everything from scratch.

Also that hidden partition is useless if your hard drive severely fails. (I have seen more than 1 severely fail). You need to image on another drive, not the same drive as the operating system.
Paul

[Lunch Money]

True, true, Paul. Also, if it's a desktop that you had them perform a "downgrade" on, they may not have done the whole hidden partition thing.

In the literature they gave you should have been your XP license on some piece of glossy card-stock. Sometimes they'll also stick the license on your tower box somewhere.

If it was a "local shop", they may not have bothered with a legit copy... <darts eyes sideways>. If it's a legit copy, somewhere either on the machine or in the stack of papers they gave you, there should be a license key. If not, by all means go buy yourself a new license. Though, even while I recommend sticking with XP for the next while (to friends and so forth), I can't fully recommend buying a whole new license for an end-of-life product.