Introduction to Norton Ghost 2003

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Introduction to Norton Ghost 2003

Situation:
This document describes the features and usage of the Norton Ghost 2003 product and provides tips on maximizing its benefits.

Solution:
Norton Ghost 2003, a consumer edition of Ghost, was released on September 6, 2002. It is available for purchase at major retail outlets and online at Symantec Store.

Note: The remainder of this document refers to many Ghost Knowledge Base documents. As of September 2002, some of these documents have not been changed to include information that is specific to Norton Ghost 2003. Though much of the information in the documents is correct for Norton Ghost 2003, some of it will not be. At a later date, updated information may be available in the Norton Ghost 2003 User's Guide.

Purchase information
Norton Ghost 2003 is available in a single-user version, and in multipacks of five and ten users. Ghost is available for purchase from many computer retail stores and online at Symantec Store.

Note that Norton Ghost 2003 is not an upgrade to previous versions; it is a new version. Ghost 2003 does not have a trialware version.

Description
Norton Ghost is a cloning or imaging utility that provides the ability to copy the entire contents of a disk or partition. The contents are copied either directly to another disk or partition, or they are saved as a file that can later be restored to a disk or partition.

Norton Ghost is typically used for one of the following purposes:

As a backup program for disaster recovery. If your disk or partition is no longer accessible due to corruption of the disk's system area or file system, and you previously created a disk image or partition image file, you can use that file to restore the disk or partition. If the disk or partition is physically damaged, you can use the image file to restore the disk or partition to a different hard disk.
As a backup program for file recovery. If you lose a file and do not have a file backup, and you previously created a disk image or partition image file, you can use Ghost Explorer to extract the file from the disk image or partition image.
As a means to copy a computer's operating system, programs, and data files to a new computer or to a new hard disk.

Norton Ghost differs from other types of backup programs in that it is designed to copy an entire disk or partition, rather than specific folders or files in those partitions. Ghost can copy a disk or partition as fast or faster than many backup programs that copy all the files from a disk or partition.

When you have Ghost create and save an image file, Ghost can save that image file directly to other devices such as a CD-R or CD-RW drive, a specific DVD drive, a Jaz or Zip disk, a SCSI DAT tape drive, a hard disk on the local computer, or to a hard disk on a remote computer. See the document Ghost compatibility for links to other documents that provide specific compatibility information for various hardware devices, operating systems, file systems, other programs, and so on.

Cloning requires restarting the computer
Because Ghost.exe works in a DOS environment, cloning requires that Ghost restart your computer into DOS. Ghost does this automatically.

Note: The DOS executable file for Norton Ghost 2003 is Ghost.exe. In earlier consumer Ghost versions the DOS executable file is Ghostpe.exe.

When you start the cloning operation from within Windows, Ghost automatically restarts your computer into a DOS environment, performs the cloning operation, and then restarts the computer into Windows. Ghost uses a Ghost Virtual Partition to create the DOS environment. The Ghost Virtual Partition is a file stored on the hard disk. When Ghost restarts the computer, the computer uses the information from that file to load DOS and other required files, and to run Ghost.exe.

You also have these other ways of running Ghost.exe:

Interactively, starting from Windows: When you choose the option "Run Ghost Interactively," Ghost automatically restarts your computer into a DOS environment and launches Ghost.exe. You can then choose the same options in Ghost.exe that you used for Ghostpe.exe in earlier versions of Norton Ghost.
Interactively, starting from DOS: When you start the computer from a bootable floppy disk that launches Ghost.exe, you can choose the same options in Ghost.exe that you used for Ghostpe.exe in earlier versions of Norton Ghost.
From a DOS command line: When you start the computer from a bootable floppy disk that does not launch Ghost.exe, you can run Ghost from a DOS command line with the same switches that you used for Ghostpe.exe in earlier versions of Norton Ghost. Alternatively, you can start the computer from a bootable floppy disk that does launch Ghost.exe, quit Ghost, and then run Ghost from a DOS command line with the same switches that you used for Ghostpe.exe in earlier versions of Norton Ghost.

Ghost provides the feature Ghost Boot Wizard to help you automatically create a bootable floppy disk for running Ghost from a DOS command line or starting from DOS.

Ghost menu choices
Here is a brief description of each operation that is described in Ghost's principal screens in Windows, and how each operation relates to previous Ghost versions:

	Menu options	Description	Comments
Ghost Basic	Backup	Performs local cloning operations to create an image file.	Use this option to create an image file and save it to a local disk or partition; to a mapped network drive; or to a local external storage device such as a DVD drive, CD-R/RW drive, SCSI DAT tape drive, and so on. In previous Ghost versions, these operations were referred to as Disk-To-Image and Partition-To-Image.
	Restore	Performs local cloning operations to restore an image file.	Use this option to restore an image file from a local disk or partition, from a mapped network drive, or from a local external storage device. In previous Ghost versions, these operations were referred to as Image-To-Disk and Image-To-Partition.
	View log	Displays the log of recently performed cloning operations.	This option is not available in previous consumer Ghost versions.
Ghost Advanced	Clone	Performs local cloning operations to write the contents of a disk or partition directly to another disk or partition on the same computer.	This process is also known as cloning dynamically or "on the fly." In previous Ghost versions, these operations were referred to as Disk-To-Disk and Partition-To-Partition.
	Run Ghost Interactively	Restart the computer and start Ghost.exe	This option allows you to run Ghost from a DOS environment without starting the computer from a bootable floppy disk. Ghost uses the Ghost Virtual Partition to create the DOS environment.
	Peer-to-Peer	Performs cloning operations between two computers to create or restore an image file.	Use this option when you want to clone to or from a different computer. Use a connection type such as peer to peer TCP/IP (which requires a network interface card at each computer), a USB 1.1 port and USB cable (not USB 2), an LPT port with a crossover cable, and so on. For an explanation of the connection choices, see the document Using Ghost to save or write an image to a different computer. Note that some types of peer-to-peer operations may require that you add command line parameters under this option.
	Create Virtual Partition	Creates a virtual partition file that has the options you specify, and restarts the computer into the virtual partition.	When Ghost restarts the computer into the virtual partition, the computer is at a DOS prompt (unless you specified otherwise in Advanced Settings for the virtual partition). This virtual partition does not include Ghost.exe and does not run Ghost.exe unless you specify for it to do so in the Advanced Settings for the virtual partition. To exit from the virtual partition and restart the computer into Windows, run the utility GhReboot.exe. This utility changes the active partition so that Windows loads on the next startup. NOTE: In the cloning options that use a Ghost Virtual Partition, which are Backup, Restore, Clone, Run Ghost Interactively, and Peer-to-Peer, Ghost determines the computer's current configuration information before restarting the computer and updates the Ghost Virtual Partition as needed.
	Image Integrity Check	Checks the integrity of the image file that you specify.	The Integrity Check looks for problems in image files but does not repair image files. If you find a corrupt image file, see the document How to handle a corrupt image file.
Ghost Utilities	Norton Ghost Boot Wizard	Creates Ghost bootable floppy disks.	For an explanation of the types of bootable floppy disks, see the document How to choose a type of boot disk or boot image. Norton Ghost 2003 includes updated versions of DOS drivers for selected network interface cards.
	Norton Ghost Explorer	Displays and manages the contents of image files.	See the document Adding and deleting files within images with Ghost Explorer. This document includes links to other documents in the Ghost Knowledge Base regarding Ghost Explorer.
	Norton Ghost User's Guide	Opens the Norton Ghost User's Guide in Adobe Acrobat format (PDF).

Ghost options
When you run Ghost from Windows, Ghost configuration options are controlled in two locations:

The Options choice on the Ghost menu bar. Some of the settings in Options apply generally to Ghost and some apply only to cloning operations. The settings for cloning operations are the default settings. These settings apply to all cloning operations except when you choose a different setting in "Advanced settings."
The button "Advanced settings," which is accessible when you choose any of the following cloning options: Backup, Restore, Clone, Peer-to-Peer, Run Ghost Interactively, Create Virtual Partition, and Image Integrity Check. The settings that you choose in "Advanced setting" override the settings that are in Options, but only for the current operation. The next time you run a cloning operation, Ghost uses the settings in Options.

New features
The following new features are in Norton Ghost 2003, and not in earlier Ghost versions unless specified otherwise.

Ghost Virtual Partition
Norton Ghost 2003 includes an option to create a Ghost Virtual Partition for your computer.

The Virtual Partition provides a DOS environment for running Ghost. It is a file that Ghost saves on the hard disk. When Ghost restarts the computer, Ghost loads the Virtual Partition instead of loading Windows.

The Virtual Partition nearly eliminates the need to create a Ghost bootable floppy disk.

Graphical User Interface
In Norton Ghost 2003, all Ghost operations can be started from Windows. After you set the cloning options in Windows (rather than in DOS) and tell Ghost to proceed with the cloning operation, Ghost automatically restarts the computer into the Ghost Virtual Partition, launches Ghost.exe, performs the cloning operation, and then restarts the computer into Windows.

If you find that a particular option you used in previous Ghost versions is not available in Windows, you can use the option "Run Ghost Interactively" to work in the DOS Ghost menu, or to run Ghost from a DOS command line with the same switches that you used in previous Ghost versions.

Ability to save image files to NTFS partitions
In previous Ghost versions, Ghost could not save an image file to a local NTFS partition because DOS does not read NTFS partitions. Norton Ghost 2003 has been written to be able to access NTFS partitions to save image files, and to restore disks or partitions from image files.

Note, though, that Ghost can save only image files to local NTFS partitions, and not other types of files. When you run Ghost with an option that creates a file such as a log file or CRC file, use an appropriate option on the Ghost command line to save that file to a different location. For instance, if you run Ghost to create an image file, to save that image file to drive D, which is an NTFS partition, and to create a log file, use a switch that directs Ghost to save the log file to location other than drive D, such as a floppy disk.

Support for some DVD drives
Norton Ghost 2003 can save images to and restore images from a DVD disc that uses the format DVD+ RW, DVD- RW, DVD+R, or DVD-R. Note that this is the format of the disc, rather than the format of the drive. Ghost does not support other DVD disc formats. For a list of tested DVD drives, see the document Norton Ghost 2003 compatibility with CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD drives.

Note that with Firewire or USB connections, Ghost cannot perform a Restore operation from a DVD drive when you use the Ghost Basic Restore option in the Ghost interface in Windows. To restore an image from a DVD drive over a Firewire or USB connection, choose the options "Ghost Advanced" and then "Run Ghost Interactively." For more information on the problem, see the document Error: "Symantec Ghost could not find the image file on the CD/DVD" when restoring an image.

Note: This issue has been resolved with the latest LiveUpdate for Norton Ghost 2003. To apply the update, read the document How to obtain the programs updates that are archived on Symantec LiveUpdate server.

Support for USB 2 and Firewire connections
Norton Ghost 2003 supports USB 1.1, USB 2, and Firewire connections for cloning operations that work with an external storage device.

Ghost does not support USB 2 connections or Firewire connections for cloning to or from a second computer. Note that Norton Ghost 2003 and 2002 do support USB 1.1 connections for cloning to or from a second computer. See the document Ghost compatibility with USB devices.

Other new features

Norton Ghost 2003 is Windows XP logo certified.
Ghost 2003 includes support for large drives (over 128 gigabyte).
Ghost 2003 includes support for the Linux EXT3 file system.
Ghost 2003 supports the use of a mapped network drive for cloning between two computers.
Ghost 2003 provides support for creating a bootable CD that uses PC DOS rather than MS DOS.
Ghost 2003 includes the utility Ghost Walker.

Tips for using Ghost
Before using Ghost from Windows to perform a cloning operation, install the latest updates to Ghost. The November 1, 2002 update resolves some problems that may be encountered when Ghost restarts the computer into the Ghost Virtual Boot Partition or uses a USB or Firewire connection. See the document Updates to Norton Ghost 2003.

Tips for local operations

When you clone directly from one disk to another, the final steps depend on how you will use the destination disk. Restarting the computer at the wrong point in the process can cause Windows to inappropriately change Windows configuration settings. See the document How to perform a disk to disk clone.
Ghost's ability to save an image file to various types of local devices depends on your Ghost version, the device type, and sometimes the device's make and model. Ghost is compatible with some types of external storage devices but not all. See the document Ghost compatibility. The "Ghost compatibility" document provides links to other documents that provide specific compatibility information for various hardware devices, operating systems, file systems, other programs, and so on.
If you want Ghost to save the disk image file or partition image file directly to a CD-R or CD-RW drive, first verify that your CD-R/RW device is on the list of tested drives. See the document Norton Ghost 2003 compatibility with CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD drives. For more information on this process, see the following documents:
How to save an image file directly to a CD/DVD R/RW disc
How to restore an image from a CD or DVD disc
Which boot disks to use when writing to CD-R/RW drives
How to create a bootable CD/DVD and restore a Ghost image
How to troubleshoot problems writing to CD-R and CD-RW drives
Norton Ghost 2003 cannot save a disk image file or partition image file directly to a CD-R/RW drive that is attached to a parallel port. See the document Ghost compatibility with parallel port devices.
Norton Ghost 2003 can save a disk image file or partition image file directly to some models of USB CD-R/RW drives, some DVD drives (when the DVD disc uses a supported format), and some FireWire devices. Earlier Ghost versions cannot. For the most recently available information on these subjects, see the following documents:
Ghost compatibility with USB devices.
Ghost compatibility with external FireWire devices.
When you use Ghost to create a disk image file or partition image file and save the file to a hard disk on the local computer, Ghost can save a disk image file to a different disk on the same computer but not to the same disk. Ghost can save a partition image file to a different partition on the same computer but not to the same partition. For other information on this process, see the document How to create an image of a drive and save it on a different local drive.
When you start the computer from a bootable floppy disk to run Ghost and perform a cloning operation, the type of bootable floppy disk to use for this process depends on which device you plan to save the image to. See the document How to choose a type of boot disk or boot image.

Tips for solving problems using Ghost

Most problems using Ghost are due to compatibility issues, device drivers, or using an incorrect method to perform the cloning operation. To resolve a problem with Ghost, verify the following:
- You are using the correct method for cloning. Consult the Ghost User Manual and the Ghost Knowledge Base. Here are some frequently-used documents in the knowledge base:
  Using Ghost to save or write an image to a different computer
  How to perform a disk to disk clone
  How to save an image file directly to a CD/DVD R/RW disc
  How to create a bootable CD/DVD and restore a Ghost image
- You are loading the correct device drivers, not loading other drivers for the same devices, and the device drivers are the appropriate drivers for your particular model of that device.
- If using a network interface card, ensure that the device drivers have been configured properly for the device and the network. See the document Tips for configuring NDIS drivers.
- Ghost supports your particular storage devices, and your Ghost version supports the operating system. See the document Ghost compatibility.
Many problems that you may have while using Ghost are documented in the Ghost Knowledge Base. You can search, for instance, for the error message that Ghost displays or for the model of a specific hardware device. If the error message or device is documented in the knowledge base, the document might explain both the cause of the problem and a solution for it.
The Ghost Knowledge Base includes the following troubleshooting documents.
- How to troubleshoot problems writing to CD-R and CD-RW drives.
- How to troubleshoot a Ghost Network Boot Disk or network connection problem. Use this document when you choose the option Peer-to-Peer and TCP/IP.
- How to troubleshoot Ghost lockup problems Use this document when the computer stops responding while running Ghost.exe or while attempting to start Ghost.exe.
- How to troubleshoot parallel port connection problems.

Other tips

Ghost's ability to save the image file directly to a different computer depends on your Ghost version and the means that you use to connect the two computers to each other. See the document Using Ghost to save or write an image to a different computer.
When you use Ghost to create a disk image or partition image and save the image file to a different computer, some of the options you choose for this process depend on how you connect the two computers. For instance, you might connect them through a parallel port, through a network interface card, through a USB cable, or other means. See the document Using Ghost to save or write an image to a different computer. If you start the computers from a Ghost bootable floppy disk rather through the Windows interface, see the document How to choose a type of boot disk or boot image.
Ghost terminology can be confusing. For an introduction to terms such as cloning, imaging, loading, and dumping, see the section "Other terms" in the document Dictionary of Ghost terms. Note that the sections "Client terms" and "Server terms" refer only to enterprise versions of Ghost, such as Symantec Ghost 7.5.
For Ghost Technical Support telephone numbers, see the document Ghost technical support options.

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Document ID: 2002030415014425
Last Modified: 01/30/2007
Date Created: 03/04/2002
Operating System(s): DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
Product(s): Norton Ghost 2003