backup program?

[sam]

I have built a few computers for friends and relitives that are to say the least, very computer illiterate. but like to "tinker" with things that they shouldn't despite how many time i tell them not to. i have an extra 120 gb HDD that id like use to make a complete copy of their HDD including OS as a back up so that i dont have to go thru the process of reinstalling everything i know that i could use recovery console on each computer but this last time someone convinced my uncle to put a windows cd in his computer and he accdently formatted it. they only have about 8gb on ther HDD including windows.is there a program i need to do this? just so you know id like to do this to a couple computers . so id need it to be able to seperate the different HDDs that i copy
thanks
Sam

You could use Ghost to create the image files on your 120GB drive. Just use a good naming scheme. You will find it easy to just pull their drive, make it a Slave to something and Ghost away.

I actually do this w/ another box that has a removable HDD tray. I keep images of machines before I do any major work, or for what like you said, keeping images so I don't have to do the reinstall process over and over and over and . . . you get the idea.

[sam]

i have never used Ghost . will copy the OS as well as all programs and files so that it would install everything back if the drive was formatted or in case of HDD failure?

[John Prophet]

norton ghost is the one you need.

There are several ways you could go about it.

You could just make "restore cd's" for them....by putting the image on cd's and also putting the ghost boot floppy on cd.

or...

You could just make the image as the comp goes out the door...and store the images on your hard drive.

If you store their hard drives as "images" you dont need to do any weird partitioning of your 120g hard drive etc.

Obviously to restore an image, using the cd's would be the easy way...otherwise either they would need to bring their comp to you, or you would either have to burn their image to a cd and/or take out your hard drive and go to them.

Either way it all has to be done in DOS so first you install ghost on your comp and make the ghost boot floppies.

I like to do builds with Biostar motherboards cuz they come with a copy of ghost.

JP

to answer your second question..yes, ghost simply copies your whole hard drive exactly..everything on it is copied...duplicated.

As Rick was saying, it has many cool uses such as when you work on someones comp you can make a ghost copy first...then if you slip up while working on it (and delete their life's financial records) you can simply re-ghost it back and start again.

[sam]

i have a biostar setup cd with ghost on it but never played with it . great i dont even have to buy any thing. thanks for the reminder

It's going to make a complete copy of EVERYTHING, it's (the image) an exact copy of every bit of data on the HDD.

[John Prophet]

The last biostar cd I played with just had the ghost program itself....in other words it wasnt anything to be installled, it was just the ghost.exe (or ghostpe.exe) file itself..so Im not sure how you make a bootable floppy from that unless the cd itself is bootable....not sure.

[sam]

well .if not ill just go out and buy me a copy

I use a simple bootdisk w/ the "ghost.exe" on it.

[sam]

i also have a copy of roxio go back3 deluxe that i could install on there computer