O/S Backup Question? - Win 98

[Zotzmein]

I’ve just finished loading in Windows 98 for a friend. It has all the current updates. All the files for his network, video card, sound card etcetera loaded. His system is working wonderfully and except for pertinent files they are no other files currently on the drive.

I would like to make a copy or image of this so in the future, if he needs to reload his operating system he can just plug the CD in and in a few painless steps be backup and operational to the point where he is at this very moment.

What’s the easiest and most painless way to achieve this feat? It would be cool if I could fit this all on to a single CD and boot from the disc.

Regards,
Zotz Mein

[thronka]

2 words.. Norton Ghost

[rrcn]

I use Norton Ghost 2003. I burn my backup on a single dvd-rw and backup my windows partition every couple weeks. When needed to restore, you just throw it in the drive and boot. Real easy to use and has saved me a couple of times.

HTH

EDIT: Thronka beat me to it. lol

[thronka]

yea.. I use the old Norton Ghost version 4 :P Gotta use it for my Gateway 2000 customer.. also NEVER STORE Your discs on site... store it in a safety deposit box

[Zotzmein]

How do I make the backup so that I can install it onto an “empty” hard drive via “boot to CD”? Let’s assume I have no access to other computers and that I would like to simply make a one step install. I have a copy of Norton Ghost 6.

Regards,
Zotz Mein

[Zotzmein]

Hey, guess what? I actually read the included manual and it tells me exactly about the process of reinstalling the .img. My only problem now is paring down the hard drive. Even with relatively minimal files I seem to be over 700 Megs, bigger than what I can successfully burn on to CD.

Regards,
Zotz Mein

[Zotzmein]

Salutations and a glorious day to all!

During the operation of Norton Ghost it looked like the .img size was going to be about 800 Megs but when it was finished and I actually checked it was about 500 Megs. I guess high compression really works!

Regards,
Zotz Meim

I was really into using exclamations in this post!

[John Prophet]

yeah, the compression does wonders...I know I have gotten over 1g on one cd.

Ghost has definitely been my most valuable tool for several years now....Id be hard pressed to work without it.

Shalom, JP