saving a hard drive image?

[Dax_inside]

Hi all

Ive decided i dont want to have to go through the crap ive gone through reinstalling windows etc again so i was looking into saving my hard drive image so i can flash back to it whever i want.

I have norton ghost image v10 which offers some choices. I could copy my hard drive over to another one, but then im not sure how id copy it back after when i want return to a fresh instal.

Or i could chose to have restoration points, but im not entirly sure if this includes all my media aswell as system settings.

Im hoping someone on here can suggest the best way for me to be able to return to the way my system is after a reinstal of windows xp plus saving my mp3's and other stuff i have.

Is ghost what i want? how easy is it to flash it back? im not exactly an expert at doing things outside of windows (command promts).

Thanks in advance.

[Winter_Lion]

I would reccomend making sure you have a good backup of the registry before anything else.

If your priority is data saving, buy a dvd burner, double layer 16x will burn eight gigs in a couple mins.

If system files are your need. I have done it every way possible and I think what I do now is the best. I always use windows restore application but remember to turn it off and dump the copy if you get a virus issue going on. Windows restore will save a virus just as capably as it saves non felonios files. Many people spend a lot of frustrating time deleting copies of the same trojan over and over again because they forget about the restore program.

Windows Xp can be reinstalled statically or dynamically. I always use the second on as a form of tuneup or after a very bad blue screen when restore is not getting it done.

The dynamic install will only reinstall any damaged system files and leaves the data right where it found it, allowing you to return to your previous setup with no data loss issues and no configuration work.

If you dont have XP windows sp2, you can download sp2 and add it to win xp, change it over to an iso or nero image file and burn it as a updated version. that way you wont have to repatch after an install or iffy restore. They free application to combine the two is available online and pretty easy to do.

Like I have said before, the best way to solve moderate to bad software problems these days is with a reinstall of said apps or OS. That comes from many years with many OS's. Even the best cyber nerds never feel exactly satisfied about attempting software fix instead of a clean one.
having said that Win Xp is so much more stable and reliable than any previous version of windows that I rarely have to do a reinstall/

I used to change my win 98 once every six months whether it needed it or not. Cuz it always did. As bad as Xp is, its a better windows than we had then for sure.

bottomline: Boot from your xp cd after picking it as your boot drive primary in setup, when the prompts appear, select windows setup, and the cd will install its default generic driver set to memory, so that it can run a console version of windows without having to rely on your current if any windows installation.

Pick setup for freshen up or total reinstall of windows, pick the R key for access to the console if you want to fix your master boot record or your back up of last known good boot files, also repartition, formating and networking configs as well as checkdisk and change of read and write permission of files that just won't be deleted and are causing the setup to stall. More on that later, but only if you end up there.

If you use the dynamic windows restored from the setup disc, you won't have any problems getting back to how your windows was before the maint. I do it on 3 or 4 pcs and laptops once a year each probably. It is better than anything else I have come across.

Winter

[Ash2Dust]

It all depends on how often you add software to your system. Constant changes means you'll want multiple snapshots of your bootable partition.

Ghost works, make sure you have made a bootable CD or floppy that can restore the image to a blank (or reformatted) drive.

The next time you wipe your main drive. Install windows, install latest drivers, install all updates, install only must have programs, configure settings (network, email, etc). Then make an image. That becomes your starting point the next time you need to wipe. You'll still want to separately back up important data on a regular schedule.

Windows restore unfortunately has flaws and should not be considered reliable.

[Winter_Lion]

Windows restore unfortunately has flaws and should not be considered reliable

I don't like it either, but it has saved me from disasater a couple time when I lost my network config entirely or my desktop was refusing to stay open for instance.

I just mentioned restore to remind him to clear it before rebooting to avoid yet another copy of a virus.

I think Norton app is past its time and we change our OS so many times in a week that who has time for making copies of it everyday. I dont and I have more than anyone right now.

For most people, windows cd dynamic install is all they need and then some. But that's just me and maybe I am not the average pc'er. No way to tell really, eh?

Ash, you are my idol bro.............Glad you're on our side for sure.

Winter

[Dax_inside]

wow, thanks for the info guys.

your right about me not wanting to make a new image of my hard drive every day, so i wont. All i intend to do is make an image very soon as i havnt installed very much at all yet. Then ill just save my media every week or so and not touch that image.

I dont know how to use ghost to create an image though, i didnt see it in the options. I also dont know how id use that image when needed.

Winter, thankyou for the info on the windows restores. thats the 2nd time you've given me good adivce in about as many days. thankyou.