Disk Imaging Software

As I often install and uninstall games, apps, drivers, etc., my computers gets a bit sloppy in performance. I am anticipating a full format and reinstall of XP, plus all my racing sims, sometime in the coming weeks. My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to the pristine condition that I have right after the format. Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? Thanks.

Darus wrote:

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> As I often install and uninstall games, apps, drivers, etc., my > computers gets a bit sloppy in performance. I am anticipating a full > format and reinstall of XP, plus all my racing sims, sometime in the > coming weeks. > > My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" > level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ > Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard > drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to > the pristine condition that I have right after the format. > > Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 > and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. > Any upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? > > Thanks.

I have used Powerquest's Drive Image 7 for some time, with great success. I image to an external usb2.0 hard drive. PQ has since been bought out, by Norton I believe. I have heard good things about both programs you mention, and you would probably be satisfied with either one. Both will allow you to image, both will also allow you to restore either individual files and folders or the complete image. I personally don't care for Norton's software anymore, for things such as anti-virus or system cleaners, but I believe Ghost by itself is a good program. I have heard very good things about the True Image software. If I were purchasing a disc imaging program today, I believe that is the one I would go with. -- Don Burnette

I use Ghost 10 and am extremely pleased in that it now allows scheduled unattended image backups, hot images (while OS is running), as well as a feature a lot of backup software includes - that being incremental images!!! I have also heard good things about TrueImage as well. Wag "Don Burnette" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... I have used Powerquest's Drive Image 7 for some time, with great success. I image to an external usb2.0 hard drive. PQ has since been bought out, by Norton I believe. I have heard good things about both programs you mention, and you would probably be satisfied with either one. Both will allow you to image, both will also allow you to restore either individual files and folders or the complete image. I personally don't care for Norton's software anymore, for things such as anti-virus or system cleaners, but I believe Ghost by itself is a good program. I have heard very good things about the True Image software. If I were purchasing a disc imaging program today, I believe that is the one I would go with. -- Don Burnette

Darus wrote:

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> As I often install and uninstall games, apps, drivers, etc., my > computers gets a bit sloppy in performance. I am anticipating a full > format and reinstall of XP, plus all my racing sims, sometime in the > coming weeks. > > My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" > level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ > Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard > drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to > the pristine condition that I have right after the format. > > Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 > and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any > upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? > > Thanks. >

I use a combination of backup-up solutions. I use Genie Soft Backup-Up Manager Pro to run regular backup routines, and I have Acronis True Image 8.0 to make images and it works great. Scott -- Scott B. Husted http://www.Husted.cc

Thanks! Hadn't heard of the product beforee. Seems quite good. Something more to consider.

I used to use DriveImage, but it went into the crapper after version 2002. Then symantec bought PowerQuest and as far as I know, it was a buy & Shelve purchase because I've not seen any updates in a few years. I now use Acronis TrueImage. Not a big fan of Ghost. -Larry "Darus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> As I often install and uninstall games, apps, drivers, etc., my > computers gets a bit sloppy in performance. I am anticipating a full > format and reinstall of XP, plus all my racing sims, sometime in the > coming weeks. > > My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" > level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ > Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard > drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to > the pristine condition that I have right after the format. > > Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 > and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any > upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? > > Thanks. >

DriveImage 7 isn't true imaging software any more. The last version that was pure, true imaging software was V2002, which was the last version prior to version 7. Version 7 is more backup management software. It images, but not in the sense that V2002 did. Luckily V7 comes with V2002 in the box for this purpose. Also be aware, Version 7 has a heavy-handed Product Activation system built into it. -Larry "Don Burnette" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Darus wrote: >> As I often install and uninstall games, apps, drivers, etc., my >> computers gets a bit sloppy in performance. I am anticipating a full >> format and reinstall of XP, plus all my racing sims, sometime in the >> coming weeks. >> >> My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" >> level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ >> Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard >> drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to >> the pristine condition that I have right after the format. >> >> Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 >> and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. >> Any upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? >> >> Thanks. > > > I have used Powerquest's Drive Image 7 for some time, with great success. > I image to an external usb2.0 hard drive. > PQ has since been bought out, by Norton I believe. > > I have heard good things about both programs you mention, and you would > probably be satisfied with either one. Both will allow you to image, both > will also allow you to restore either individual files and folders or the > complete image. > I personally don't care for Norton's software anymore, for things such as > anti-virus or system cleaners, but I believe Ghost by itself is a good > program. > > I have heard very good things about the True Image software. If I were > purchasing a disc imaging program today, I believe that is the one I would > go with. > > > > -- > Don Burnette > > >

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

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> As I often install and uninstall games, apps, drivers, etc., my > computers gets a bit sloppy in performance. I am anticipating a full > format and reinstall of XP, plus all my racing sims, sometime in the > coming weeks. > > My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" > level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ > Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard > drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to > the pristine condition that I have right after the format. > > Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 > and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any > upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? > > Thanks. > >

I know people are mentioning good things about True Image, but I wondered if anyone here had actually managed to re-install from an image that was created of an O/S that was running at the time. What I mean is, I have a copy of True Image 8.0 and have a dual boot system which has meant that, prior to version 8 I had always created the image of one O/S whilst running from the other one because the imaging software just wouldn't let me do it any other way. So V8 doesn't have this problem, and so I tried creating an image of XP whilst running XP and everything went ok. However, when I came to restore said image when I changed my HD it installed but failed to run, stopping at the XP Welcome screen and, despite even trying a repair install over the top, eventually I had to restore from one of my previous backups that was created through the old method. So, anyone actually managed to do this without issue using any Version of True Image? -- Pete Ives Remove All_stRESS before sending me an email

[email hidden] (Peter) wrote: > However, when I came to restore said image when I > changed my HD I find Trueimage is as fallible as the rest if restoring an old setup to a new hard disk. The "shape" of the HD needs to match the shape of the old one in order for XP to work properly from the start. You'd think by now they'd have got round that problem. Still, at least the old backup can be mounted later on and critical files copied over. Andrew McP

I don't know because I don't trust it and never use it. I use the Acronis boot option to do all my imaging from Linux, or whatever they are using as their kernal. I've restored several times from my "Acronis Secure Zone" without issues. -Larry "Peter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> In article <[email hidden]>, > [email hidden] says... > I know people are mentioning good things about True Image, but I > wondered if anyone here had actually managed to re-install from an image > that was created of an O/S that was running at the time. What I mean > is, I have a copy of True Image 8.0 and have a dual boot system which > has meant that, prior to version 8 I had always created the image of one > O/S whilst running from the other one because the imaging software just > wouldn't let me do it any other way. > > So V8 doesn't have this problem, and so I tried creating an image of XP > whilst running XP and everything went ok. However, when I came to > restore said image when I changed my HD it installed but failed to run, > stopping at the XP Welcome screen and, despite even trying a repair > install over the top, eventually I had to restore from one of my > previous backups that was created through the old method. > > So, anyone actually managed to do this without issue using any Version > of True Image? > > -- > Pete Ives > Remove All_stRESS before sending me an email

As long as the new HD is at least as large as the original, this should not be an issue. I've been doing it for years. -Larry "Andrew MacPherson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> [email hidden] (Peter) wrote: > >> However, when I came to restore said image when I >> changed my HD > > I find Trueimage is as fallible as the rest if restoring an old setup to > a new hard disk. The "shape" of the HD needs to match the shape of the > old one in order for XP to work properly from the start. You'd think by > now they'd have got round that problem. Still, at least the old backup > can be mounted later on and critical files copied over. > > Andrew McP >

> Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 > and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any > upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? Ghost 2003 was the last reliable version of Ghost. The newer ones are just rebadged Powerquest Driveimage which runs in Windows and hence aren't anywhere near as reliable.

Oh, man. You mean they took Drive Image 7, which I think is a pathetic product, and turned it into Ghost ? Yuk! Thank goodness they haven't screwed up the corporate version. -Larry "Steve Simpson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:44445a0b$[email hidden]...

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>> Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 >> and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any >> upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? > > Ghost 2003 was the last reliable version of Ghost. The newer ones are > just rebadged Powerquest Driveimage which runs in Windows and hence aren't > anywhere near as reliable. > >

Steve Simpson wrote:

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>> Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost >> 10 and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned >> titles. Any upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to >> comment on? > > Ghost 2003 was the last reliable version of Ghost. The newer ones > are just rebadged Powerquest Driveimage which runs in Windows and > hence aren't anywhere near as reliable.

I have not had any issues using Drive Image 7, and I have used it to restore a working image. Perhaps I just got lucky... -- Don Burnette

[email hidden] (Larry) wrote: > As long as the new HD is at least as large as the original, this > should not be an issue. I agree. I speak only from experience. Andrew McP

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>> Ghost 2003 was the last reliable version of Ghost. The newer ones >> are just rebadged Powerquest Driveimage which runs in Windows and >> hence aren't anywhere near as reliable. > I have not had any issues using Drive Image 7, and I have used it to > restore a working image. > Perhaps I just got lucky...

It's not -unreliable- but it's not bulletproof either.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

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> [email hidden] (Peter) wrote: > > > However, when I came to restore said image when I > > changed my HD > > I find Trueimage is as fallible as the rest if restoring an old setup to > a new hard disk. The "shape" of the HD needs to match the shape of the > old one in order for XP to work properly from the start. You'd think by > now they'd have got round that problem. Still, at least the old backup > can be mounted later on and critical files copied over. >

Well, to be on the safe side I'm only going to image one O/S partition whilst using the other O/S partition. Even if it was a one off problem before I'm not prepared to take the chance. Luckily for me there wasn't much missing between the 2 XP backups program and data wise. Actually, when I think back, perhaps I'm being unfair to True Image. The HD had started to develop errors and that's why I replaced it and, although no actually problems occurred whilst using the XP O/S, the data partition on the same HD also turned out to be a wee bit shagged in certain parts with some folders completely irretrievable. I may try making 2 backups of XP to test things out. One from the other O/S and one from within XP itself. That way, if I try to restore from the XP running image and it fails I still have the image that was created outside of XP and that will be an almost exact replica. Those HD image backups have always restored flawlessly. -- Pete Ives Remove All_stRESS before sending me an email

This is getting more difficult. With all these negative experience stories (and a few good ones, I guess) I don't know what to do. I'm not in a rush, as I will probably hold off until the next official rFactor patch is released and then do the total reinstall, but I don't want to buy any software and then have major problems down the road. I suppose it's like any issue of Windows, it's the latest and greatest, but still contains major flaws that will need to be addressed. I am not super concerned with data backup per se, it's a gaming computer, so important docs, apps and etc. are not a real issue. I want convenience and ease of use along with some semblance of reliability. I simply want to be able to wake up one day and say, "let's roll out a spring fresh copy of my computer" and have it be like the day I first installed everything. I do appeciate all the input and it is making me think a bit more about which to go.

Once a month I let TrueImage re-image the machine to it's SecureZone. Of course I have base and full images stored on the server as well. I can recover from a cat-tastrophe in 20 min. -Larry "Darus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> This is getting more difficult. With all these negative experience > stories (and a few good ones, I guess) I don't know what to do. I'm not > in a rush, as I will probably hold off until the next official rFactor > patch is released and then do the total reinstall, but I don't want to > buy any software and then have major problems down the road. I suppose > it's like any issue of Windows, it's the latest and greatest, but still > contains major flaws that will need to be addressed. > > I am not super concerned with data backup per se, it's a gaming > computer, so important docs, apps and etc. are not a real issue. I want > convenience and ease of use along with some semblance of reliability. I > simply want to be able to wake up one day and say, "let's roll out a > spring fresh copy of my computer" and have it be like the day I first > installed everything. > > I do appeciate all the input and it is making me think a bit more about > which to go. >

I've done a complete 'hot image' and had to restore it with Ghost 10 - zero problems. Wag "Don Burnette" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... Steve Simpson wrote:

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>> Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost >> 10 and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned >> titles. Any upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to >> comment on? > > Ghost 2003 was the last reliable version of Ghost. The newer ones > are just rebadged Powerquest Driveimage which runs in Windows and > hence aren't anywhere near as reliable.

I have not had any issues using Drive Image 7, and I have used it to restore a working image. Perhaps I just got lucky... -- Don Burnette

Larry: What is "SecureZone? What do you mean by "base" and "Full images"? I am guessing "Base" is the original install and the "full" are the incremental images? I like the recover time....

Most software works as advertised. 90% plus of the service calls Ive done over the last 15+ years are "user errors/issues" not the software's fault. Some people "think" they are smarter than they are and that usually spells more trouble than the un-assuming fellow that acually RTFM ;) Ive used Ghost and Drive image for years but I prefer Drive Image. Each has changed drastically over the years as corporate ownership changes and technology advances move ever forward. True Image sounds interesting though and I may give it a shot sometime soon as well.. Mitch "B Wegner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... I've done a complete 'hot image' and had to restore it with Ghost 10 - zero problems. Wag

With Acronis TrueImage you have an option of setting aside a chunk of hard drive space as a hidden partition to store images. When you boot your system, you hit F11 and it brings up a Linux (I believe) based core-version of TrueImage, and you have the option of Imaging, restoring, etc... without ever having to boot to windows, use a CD or a floppy. You can write this image to the SecureZone, another local drive, a network drive, etc... TrueImages support of Networks is the best I've seen. It actuall WORKS! When I set up a computer I do the following: 1. Install the OS, all updates and drivers for base hardware until I have a green-board in the device manager. 2. At this point I image the machine. This is my base image. 3. Then I load up all the apps, utilities, games, etc... 4. Then I image the machine. This is the full image. My monthly running images go to the SecureZone, but every other month I send it to the server instead in case of a hard drive failure, which would also take out the SecureZone obviously. I store no data on my C drive. It's all stored on a separate D drive. This way I can re-image without fear of data lost. There are one or two programs that stupidly save their data in the program folder, but nothing I can't live without as I manually back those up at a regular interval. The D drive is backed up to my RAID-5 file server as needed, and important documents are burned to DVD as needed for extra security. -Larry "Darus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Larry: > > > What is "SecureZone? > > What do you mean by "base" and "Full images"? I am guessing "Base" is > the original install and the "full" are the incremental images? > > > I like the recover time.... >

Can the SecureZone be another physical hard drive? Or does it have to be on the same drive as the program itself? I'd like to do exactly as you laid out in points 1-4, but store the images on a 2nd HDD in my box, for security. I may also burn a DVD image (this is possible also, right?) as EXTRA, EXTRA security. I would then do monthly backups as normal. Thanks so much for the replies, the info is quite valuable.

You know, I'm not sure :) -Larry "Darus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Can the SecureZone be another physical hard drive? Or does it have to > be on the same drive as the program itself? > > I'd like to do exactly as you laid out in points 1-4, but store the > images on a 2nd HDD in my box, for security. I may also burn a DVD > image (this is possible also, right?) as EXTRA, EXTRA security. I would > then do monthly backups as normal. > > Thanks so much for the replies, the info is quite valuable. >

which version you got larry, looks like there's home, workstation, and the 500 & 1000 buck server/enterprise versions??? Larry enlightened us with:

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> You know, I'm not sure :) > > -Larry > > "Darus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... >> Can the SecureZone be another physical hard drive? Or does it have to >> be on the same drive as the program itself? >> >> I'd like to do exactly as you laid out in points 1-4, but store the >> images on a 2nd HDD in my box, for security. I may also burn a DVD >> image (this is possible also, right?) as EXTRA, EXTRA security. I >> would then do monthly backups as normal. >> >> Thanks so much for the replies, the info is quite valuable.

I use the home version. The other versions are for corporate environments where images may need to be pushed to workstations. -Larry "PlowBoy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:nP42g.56351$gE.26090@dukeread06...

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> which version you got larry, looks like there's home, workstation, and the > 500 & 1000 buck server/enterprise versions??? > > Larry enlightened us with: >> You know, I'm not sure :) >> >> -Larry >> >> "Darus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >> news:[email hidden]... >>> Can the SecureZone be another physical hard drive? Or does it have to >>> be on the same drive as the program itself? >>> >>> I'd like to do exactly as you laid out in points 1-4, but store the >>> images on a 2nd HDD in my box, for security. I may also burn a DVD >>> image (this is possible also, right?) as EXTRA, EXTRA security. I >>> would then do monthly backups as normal. >>> >>> Thanks so much for the replies, the info is quite valuable. > >

A second hard drive is a lot cheaper than the software packages, and if you create multiple partitions, you can just back up partitions. Installing a 2nd copy of your OS on another partition will allow you to back up your primary OS partition.

You can't drag-copy an operating system like Windows :) TrueImage is like $49. -Larry "Jeff Reid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:qI82g.29308$iU2.26513@fed1read01...

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>A second hard drive is a lot cheaper than the software > packages, and if you create multiple partitions, you > can just back up partitions. > > Installing a 2nd copy of your OS on another partition > will allow you to back up your primary OS partition. > >

RAID (not the bug spray) "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:Iia2g.3183$fG3.1772@dukeread09...

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> You can't drag-copy an operating system like Windows :) > > TrueImage is like $49. > > -Larry > > "Jeff Reid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:qI82g.29308$iU2.26513@fed1read01... >>A second hard drive is a lot cheaper than the software >> packages, and if you create multiple partitions, you >> can just back up partitions. >> >> Installing a 2nd copy of your OS on another partition >> will allow you to back up your primary OS partition. >> >> > >

Ditto. I couldn't agree more. "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:cAO0g.23052$s%6.22497@dukeread02...

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>I used to use DriveImage, but it went into the crapper after version 2002. >Then symantec bought PowerQuest and as far as I know, it was a buy & Shelve >purchase because I've not seen any updates in a few years. > > I now use Acronis TrueImage. > > Not a big fan of Ghost. > > -Larry > > "Darus" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... >> As I often install and uninstall games, apps, drivers, etc., my >> computers gets a bit sloppy in performance. I am anticipating a full >> format and reinstall of XP, plus all my racing sims, sometime in the >> coming weeks. >> >> My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" >> level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ >> Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard >> drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to >> the pristine condition that I have right after the format. >> >> Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 >> and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any >> upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? >> >> Thanks. >> > >

I got one of those too :) -Larry "Mitch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:EWa2g.13476$[email hidden]...

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> RAID (not the bug spray) > > "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:Iia2g.3183$fG3.1772@dukeread09... >> You can't drag-copy an operating system like Windows :) >> >> TrueImage is like $49. >> >> -Larry >> >> "Jeff Reid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >> news:qI82g.29308$iU2.26513@fed1read01... >>>A second hard drive is a lot cheaper than the software >>> packages, and if you create multiple partitions, you >>> can just back up partitions. >>> >>> Installing a 2nd copy of your OS on another partition >>> will allow you to back up your primary OS partition. >>> >>> >> >> > >

On 16 Apr 2006 19:41:41 -0700, Darus wrote:

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> My goal this time is to format, then reinstall everything to a "basic" > level (NR2003 plus 1.1 patch, plus BGN, CTS, PTA, IROC, plus the JJ > Johnston/Superspeedway.net updates, as an example) and then do a hard > drive image or clone which will allow me to more easily "fall back" to > the pristine condition that I have right after the format. > > Is there a recommendation for the software to do this? Norton Ghost 10 > and True Image 9.0 seem to the be most frequently mentioned titles. Any > upside/downside to these programs that anyone wants to comment on? >

I usually create images of windows drives using the linux console. Say your windows partition lives on drive C: (/dev/hda1), and linux with ample amount of extra space for backup lives somewhere else, you can create an exact copy of your windows partition using something like dd if=/dev/hda1 | bzip2 --fast > my_image.bz2 Once you want to reinstall, boot up Linux and do a bzip2 -cd my_image.bz2 | dd of=/dev/hda1 please note this is off the top of my head, so some manpage reading might be required. All the best, uwe -- GPG Fingerprint: 2E 13 20 22 9A 3F 63 7F 67 6F E9 B1 A8 36 A4 61

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> I usually create images of windows drives using the linux console. Say > your windows partition lives on drive C: (/dev/hda1), and linux with > ample amount of extra space for backup lives somewhere else, you can > create an exact copy of your windows partition using something like > > dd if=/dev/hda1 | bzip2 --fast > my_image.bz2 > > > Once you want to reinstall, boot up Linux and do a > > > bzip2 -cd my_image.bz2 | dd of=/dev/hda1 > > please note this is off the top of my head, so some manpage reading > might be required.

The problem with doing it that way is that it doesn't examine the file structure on, say, an NTFS partition. So even files that you've deleted still get backed up. Conseqently, the image file is likely to be much larger than with Ghost and would probably take make much longer to backup/restore. Am I right?

On Tue, 25 Apr 2006 08:15:12 +1000, Steve Simpson wrote: > The problem with doing it that way is that it doesn't examine the file > structure on, say, an NTFS partition. So even files that you've deleted > still get backed up. Conseqently, the image file is likely to be much > larger than with Ghost and would probably take make much longer to > backup/restore. Am I right? I guess you are, but it's a decent method to restore a "vanilla install" that should not have too many deleted files on it yet. Also, the bzip compression will probably do a good job of compressing the image at a ratio of 0.5 or even better, considering your vanilla install drive will be mostly empty (and every disk block will end up in the backup, not just the used ones, so yes, image creation will take longer and use up more space than strictly necessary, but you get a 1:1 partition image that way). All the best, uwe -- GPG Fingerprint: 2E 13 20 22 9A 3F 63 7F 67 6F E9 B1 A8 36 A4 61