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vicnovice

19 Posts

9089

March 26th, 2006 12:00

Choice of Imaging Tools

I reported a problem recently and part of the good advice given was to get myself Norton Ghost 9.0 for backup.
 
I've done a little research on Ghost 10 and Acronis True Image 9.0.
 
I am technical, but not an IT specialist. I really need some advice on how these two tools compare. For example, I noted a CNET rating i.e. the Editor's rating of "very good : rating of 7.0" for Ghost 10, YET the average rating from (13) users was "terrible: average rating of 2.4" for the same tool! This is a huge variation....and doesn't help much.
 
I'd like a tool which is easy to use, reliable, and will restore the complete image without any problems, for example, I wouldn't want any messing about with Microsoft/Dell IDs or passwords during the restore...I just want the tool to work?
 
As previous, I'd be very grateful for advice. I know there's someone out there with the answer!
 
Regards
Vic

kjharris

428 Posts

March 26th, 2006 14:00

I have Acronis True Image 9 and it is easy to use to make backups. I haven't used the backup to restore a drive yet, but I have done that with the previous version(8) and that worked fine. I backup to an external hard drive.

Ken

MonsterDawg

26 Posts

March 27th, 2006 03:00

Hi Vic,

I've been using Ghost 2003 for a few years now, I think it was only available with SystemWorks 2003.  You can still find it fairly cheap at ebay among other places.  I've read some bad reviews of the future versions which kind of surprises me because this version works pretty well.  Once or twice I've had problems when imaging up directly to CD's, but I use cheap CD's so I can't blame the program for that.  Otherwise I've never had a failure when I image directly to a hard drive and then copy the files to CD or DVD.  I'm kind of obsessive about my backups , I have actually restored lots of times and I am completely satisfied with the program.  It can even be run from DOS if your HD won't  boot.

If you can find a copy I higly recommend it.

LDB

vicnovice

19 Posts

March 27th, 2006 06:00

Many thanks to you both.

Kind regards

Vic

davejohn

2.5K Posts

March 27th, 2006 11:00

I've used both Ghost 10 (and previous versions) on my Dimension 4550 and Acronis True Image 9 on my XPS 600.  I like downloading trial software and playing around with it, and I've found it's easier and cleaner to restore an image rather than uninstall trail software I don't want.  I haven't had a problem restoring images with either program.
 
I don't use the advanced features of either program, like updating a previous image.  I just create a new one each time.  In my experience on the Dimension Ghost is a tad bit faster than Acronis in creating and restoring an image.  The retail version of Ghost also includes a Ghost 2003 disk if you prefer creating/restoring in a DOS environment.  I'm still not 100% comfortable creating an image in a Windows environment, but that's my forensics background talking.
 
So why did I switch to Acronis?  Unfortunately the Ghost recovery CD does not support the XPS 600's Nvidia raid controller and even trying to load the drivers from floppy doesn't work.  Symantec support even threw in the towel.  With Ghost the recovery CD can't be updated until they release a new version.  With Acronis you create your own recovery CD so they can update the program anytime, and then you can burn an updated recovery CD.  Acronis True Image 9 has the necessary drivers for XPS 600.
 
In a nutshell, for imaging I think they are about equal assuming both support your hardware.  I'd probably be still using Ghost if it worked, only because I've used it so long and I'm comfortable with it.  But now, when Ghost 11 and Acronis 10 come out I'll probably base my decision on price, assuming Ghost supports my hardware.
 
Dave

vicnovice

19 Posts

March 27th, 2006 15:00

Hi Dave,
 
I bought Ghost 10 about two hours ago! Thanks for your comments, I'll just have to try it out and see what happens!
 
Many thanks
 
Vic

Libra1

197 Posts

March 30th, 2006 01:00

I have read many horror stories of imaging failure, and even when you attempted to make an image (not restore), that a Dell Dimension with the SATA hard drive wouldn't boot up. I've read this about Ghost and True Image. What program and version will work with this type of hard drive (the only way I can explain it is it has drivers that if you are reinstalling Windows you have to press a key and then insert a floppy with the drivers on it)?

Thank you.

Sincerely, Libra

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