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Thread ID: 139299	2015-04-09 20:37:00	Norton Ghost is gone, Windows 8 (apparently) cant 'ghost' - what to do??? Advise pliz	Aporosa (5671)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1398274	2015-04-09 20:37:00	Hi, I went and purchased Norton Ghost for my Windows 7 laptop and have been using it for the past year. I have a new Windows 8 desktop, set it all up and went to load Ghost (so I could create an image of the C drive onto D) and it refused to accept the pass key. Contacted Norton - "sorry, we no longer sell Ghost". So phoned Microsoft - "do you have an imaging/ghosting system included with Windows 8?". "No, goodbye"; helpful as ever. So now I have a near new copy of Norton Ghost that doesn't work and a new computer I want to ghost/image. Can anyone suggest a free RELIABLE option that does this is or is there something cheap (not $175 which I paid for Ghost) that will allow me to ghost/image my C drive to my D so I can reinstall every few months to keep the beast running like a rocket? As always, you help is appreciated. Thanks, Apo	Aporosa (5671)
1398275	2015-04-09 21:00:00	So phoned Microsoft - "do you have an imaging/ghosting system included with Windows 8?". "No, goodbye"; helpful as ever. Thats wrong for a start, YES they do. Theres a couple of ways, have a read how-to-make-system-image-backup,26542.html (www.tomshardware.com) also explained windows-81-tip-use-system-image-backup (winsupersite.com). You can also use third party software, personally I use Active@disk Image lsoft.net There are quite a few others as well that work perfectly fine. On Active @ if you download the 21 day Trial 163MB version it allows you to make a bootable CD for recovery ( or making an image as well). There is a free version, but it doesn't have the Bootable CD, details www.disk-image.net Theres many ways to image, you can even do it Via command prompt, but thats a bit more complicated :nerd:	wainuitech (129)
1398276	2015-04-09 21:21:00	+1 for active@ not free but cheap enough	gary67 (56)
1398277	2015-04-09 22:09:00	Awesome!! I'll check out the video on how-to-make-system-image-backup,26542.html first then if that fails, go with the other options. You always come through wainuitech and thanks also gary 67!!! Press F1 is awesome. Apologies everything from me is one way, I just ask and never give back, but that is more a reflection of my knowledge than willingness.... CHeers!!!!!	Aporosa (5671)
1398278	2015-04-09 22:23:00	Macrium Reflect free will do all you want. Others you might look at are EaseUS ToDo and Aomei Backupper - both free and very comprehensive. At $175 you should count yourself lucky Ghost is not now for sale!	linw (53)
1398279	2015-04-09 22:35:00	There's also free options from hard drive manufacturers, normally a cut down version of Acronis. I personally haven't had much luck with it lately but it has worked for me in the past. The trouble with creating an image is you often don't know if it'll restore successfully until something goes wrong, and testing it can actually damage your system if it doesn't work right. Best to keep file backups of anything important as well and not just rely on an image. I create images but rarely have I ever used them again, actually I may never have other than the very first time I tried one. I do clone hard drives fairly often, which is not quite the same. Normally because I'm replacing the system drive with something better. I have had a lot of trouble successfully cloning between different drive types with all the software I've tried. Active@, Acronis, Aomei, all have given me some success and some failures. Often a cloned drive needs to be repaired to make it bootable and even then I sometimes have to try a few times with different programs to get success. Images & Clones work best when the target drive is exactly the same type and capacity as the original, restore to a different sized drive or a different type can be problematic.	dugimodo (138)
1398280	2015-04-09 23:08:00	I use Active@disk Image lsoft.net +1 Ghost stopped being really Ghost years ago when Nortons bought them out. Piece of junk now.	pctek (84)
1398281	2015-04-09 23:55:00	There's also free options from hard drive manufacturers, normally a cut down version of Acronis. I personally haven't had much luck with it lately but it has worked for me in the past. The new (free) WD imaging/clone software is very good, I no longer need active@ . The older WD/segate/acronis software wasnt that good, too many issues with USB HD's	1101 (13337)
1398282	2015-04-10 01:58:00	Wainuitech - bro, a question please regards the use of the Windows 8.1 system image backup. I read the additional notes but am a little confused because of the computer jargon. My questions: 1. Does the Windows 8.1 system image backup make a 'ghost' image like Norton Ghost - all your installed programmes like my Endnote including the link to where the library is kept on my D drive, your email setup, your MS Outlook calandar, all configurations including the defrag you last did? 2. If yes, can I save a copy of that image on the D drive (like I could with Ghost) and reinstall C drive at a later date so it resets the C drive back to when the image was made? Essentially, is this like Ghost because I'm not sure if that is what the additional notes (www.windows-81-tip-use-system-image-backup) 3. If this is what I want, should I maybe just look at using Active@disk Image? As always, your advise is greatly appreciated. Cheers bro, Apo	Aporosa (5671)
1398283	2015-04-10 02:19:00	An image is a snapshot of exactly what's on the hard drive you create it from. Yes you can store a windows image of C on D and restore it back to how it was using the inbuilt tool. Active@ is easier to use and restore from and also quicker but the windows one works really well once you get the hang of it. Personally when using Active@ I create a bootable disk and use that both to create the image and to restore it. Imaging from within windows is not as reliable.	dugimodo (138)
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