How to get started in Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 with Boot Disks and the Ghostcast Server
Details:
The purpose of this article is to get a basic understanding of how to get started using Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 with boot disks, and the Ghostcast server. Ghost is a powerful program, and can do much more than what is described here; consult your manual or the knowledge base (
http://www.symantec.com/business/support/overview.jsp?pid=52023) for further program exploration.
Getting started
Installation:
- Insert your Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 CD, or run the downloaded Ghost Solution Suite 2.5 executable.
- Select Install Symantec Ghost.
- Select Install Ghost Console and Ghost Standard Tools.
- Install the product.
Update Ghost Solution Suite to the latest version:
Boot Disks
Open the Ghost Boot Wizard. You can do this by either starting the program from the Start > Programs > Symantec Ghost program menu, or in the Ghost Console by clicking 'Run Ghost Boot Wizard' from the menu bar at the top.
How to choose what type of boot disk to create:
Your options include:
- PC-DOS
- MS-DOS
- Windows PE (Default)
- Linux
The two most common and compatible choices, are
PC-DOS and
Windows PE, based on their availability and purpose. It is recommended you try both of these before choosing one of the other Pre-OS options.
Advantages of PC-DOS and MS-DOS:
- Loads quickly into the Pre-Operating system environment.
- Compatible with many types of hard drives (and does not require added drivers for hard drives).
- Adding NIC drivers are fast and easy.
- Small size (good for systems with less than 512MB of RAM)
Disadvantages of PC-DOS and MS-DOS:
- Does not work with all SATA or auxiliary drives (cannot detect).
- Newer NIC drivers are not always easy to find, or may not exist.
- IRQ conflicts with the network card can occur.
- Older, and sometimes slower protocol (based on network configuration).
In contrast, Windows PE is the latest Pre-OS available in the Ghost Solution Suite 2.5, and is based on the Windows Vista operating system.
NOTE: This does not mean the required client operating system be Windows Vista (most any contemporary operating system is supported).
Advantages of Windows PE:
- Driver capacity (able to create a single universal boot disk that contains all necessary NIC and storage device drivers).
- SATA and auxiliary drive recognition.
- No IRQ conflicts.
- Potentially faster transfer rates (this is dependent on network capacity and configuration).
- Greater compatibility with newer hardware.
Disadvantages of Windows PE:
- Loads slowly into the Pre-Operating system environment.
- Slower driver compilation time.
- Requires storage device driver.
- Driver database can sometimes become corrupt during driver compilation.
- A higher RAM capacity is required (minimum recommended: 512 MB).
Building a boot disk
After deciding what type of boot disk to create, the following documents detail how to build either a
PC-DOS boot disk or a
Windows PE boot disk. A "boot disk" is a universal term for any type of boot media (floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, USB drives, one-click virtual partitions).
Windows PE:
PC-DOS:
Connecting your client machine to your Ghostcast Server
Once a boot disk is created, it is necessary to set up a Ghostcast Server session, and boot the client machine into the Pre-Operating system in order to establish a ghostcasting session.
How to join a GhostCast server session using a network boot disk
Common Issues
The following is a list of common issues that occur when creating or restoring images using a boot disk and the Ghostcast server.
- "Ghostcast" option is greyed out when the client machine is booted into the Pre-OS
This occurs because the boot disk does not contain a useable network driver, for use with the client machines network card. To resolve this, go to the manufacturer's website of the network card and download the latest driver for the Pre-OS being used (NDIS2 driver for PC-DOS, and Windows Vista 32/Server 2008 for Windows PE), and follow the above documents for Adding drivers.
- When trying to establish a session with the Ghostcast server, error 10030 occurs
This also occurs most often due to the boot disk does not contain a useable network driver, for use with the client machines network card. To resolve this, go to the manufacturer's website of the network card and download the latest driver for the Pre-OS being used (NDIS2 driver for PC-DOS, and Windows Vista 32/Server 2008 for Windows PE), and follow the above documents for Adding drivers. If this does not resolve it, see the following document:
Title: 'How to troubleshoot the 10030 error message.'
Document ID: 2008070710304860
Web URL: http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/on-technology.nsf/docid/2008070710304860?Open&seg=ent
Another solution, is to change the Discovery Method when contacting the Ghostcast server, to "Server IP Address", and putting in the IP of the Ghostcast server machine:
- When booting a PC-DOS boot disk, it hangs at "Loading PC-DOS...", a blank screen, or freezes after clicking "OK" on the Ghost welcome screen
- Drives (SATA drives, USB drives, CD/DVD drives, etc) are not being detected
Most commonly this is due to an IRQ conflict. To resolve this, either use Windows PE, or create your PC-DOS boot disk with the following switches:
Switches are to be added in the Parameters section of the boot wizard:
NOTE: LiveUpdates must be applied before the parameters field is useable.
Document ID: 2009052715374860
Last Modified: 10/20/2009
Date Created: 05/27/2009
Operating System(s): Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 2008
Product(s): Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0
Release(s): Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.5
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