Creating a Recovery CD

[lpc300]

Hi all,

I am currently preparing for my new build (yay!). I have all the parts, but I was wondering. Since I like tinkering with settings and OS's and many other things, is there a way that I could create a Recovery CD similiar to what prefabed computers like Dell ship with. It would make things quicker when I reformat/reload to have the operating system, mobo drivers, and other drivers that I don't change, all loading at once. I have tried this with Norton Ghost, but couldn't get it to work (it's been a while, so I don't remember what happened). I have a DVD burner, so space isn't an issue.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[trulad]

Windows XP has "system Restore" that works good. Just remember to create a restore point after everything is working the way you want it. Also programs like Nero have back-up utilities built in. If you already have Ghost,that also is a good way. XP also has a "Repair" function if all else fails.
trulad

[lpc300]

Thanks for the response, Trulad. I am running Win2k. Does anyone know how Ghost and Drive Image stack up against each other?

[Doobie]

This is my restore CD screenshot. I save ghost image and ghost exe on cd and boot from my cd. I just select restore and it does everything automatically and if i dont select anything the computer boots from hard drive.

I perfer ghost becuase I dont have to install anything but If you want a easy to use program just use Drive Image.

[RayH]

Drive Image 4 or 5 had some boot issues with W2K restorations. Put the OS and Applications on a separate partition from ALL DATA. It's the OS and Application installations that require "ghosting." It'll make for smaller and quicker ghosts. Data can be backed up through various means.

Ghost your C:\ (OS and Applications) to another partition. Have the files split for CD. Burn those hard drive files to CD. It works better that way. Try to COPY those CD files back to the hard drive. That will verify them.

[KilluminatiStyle]

I came to this part of the forum lookin to post almost the exact same question.

I've used Ghost before and to tell you the truth.... it never worked right. I made 3 DVD coasters before trying CD's and well... that didn't work well either except now I have another 8 coasters.

Doobie's restore disc looks very nice though.... curious what version of ghost your using.

BTW, I don't mean to HIJACK your thread Ipc300.

[lpc300]

BTW, I don't mean to HIJACK your thread Ipc300.

Don't worry about it, KilluminatiStyle. I like it when others involve themselves in my posts, especially if they have the same question. Makes me feel like I'm not the only that doesn't know .

[Doobie]

Originally Posted by KilluminatiStyle I came to this part of the forum lookin to post almost the exact same question. I've used Ghost before and to tell you the truth.... it never worked right. I made 3 DVD coasters before trying CD's and well... that didn't work well either except now I have another 8 coasters. Doobie's restore disc looks very nice though.... curious what version of ghost your using. BTW, I don't mean to HIJACK your thread Ipc300.

I'm using ghost 2002 if I remember correctly but the menu is not from ghost. I just use the ghost.exe. I never install the full program. The options dont look clear but this is what I have.

[1] Boot from Hard Drive
[2] Restore Computer Image
[3] Make Ghost Backup
[4] WinPE
[5] Windows Me Boot Disk
[6] Bootdisk with TCIP Support
[7] Partition Magic

The boot menu I made with EZboot and automatied the restore process by using switches.