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To copy/backup a NTFS partition using Norton Ghost 2002:
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You need to copy the image file to a Fat32 partition. It is not possible to copy to
a NTFS partition. If you don't have a Fat32 partition on your computer, add a new
disk or delete one of the partitions on you harddrive (if you have several partitions)
and make a small (5-10Gb) partition with the Fat32 file system.
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To make a Ghost file, all you need is the floppy disk created from Norton Ghost 2003
from within Windows (the floppy drive needs to have the letter A to make the
disk from the Windows Norton Ghost 2002 program). After you have made the
floppy, reboot you computer and check that the first boot drive is the floppy.
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To be able to use your mouse in the DOS program on the boot disk, you should use a
PS2 mouse and not a USB mouse. In my tests the boot disk did not recognize the
USB mouse. A PS2 mouse would probably have been recognized.
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The DOS program “GhostPE.exe” will be started from the boot disk. Remember to write
down the license number to be able to restore the image file to the harddrive.
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If you want to make an image file of the C drive with the operating system, select
“Partition”, “To Image”.
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To select the partition in the next window, select the NTFS C drive from the list.
Use the Tab key to navigate to the Ok button to confirm the selection.
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To select the drive to save the image file to, select the Fat32 drive from the
drop down combobox. Specify a filename (max 8 letters), write a description in
the field below (use the Tab key again to navigate to the next field).
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Select the Ok button and an image file of the C drive will be copied to the Fat32 drive.
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Some data from my test copying an image file from the NTFS C drive to a Fat32 drive:
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Mb
used on C
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Size
in GhostPE
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Actual
image file
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Time
to copy
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2486Mb
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1718Mb
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1022Mb
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6:09
min
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I think it’s a good idea to disable the Hibernate file and the Windows Swap file before
copying the drive with Norton Ghost. To disable the Hibernate file, go to the
Control panel, Power Options, Advanced and deselect the Hibernate checkbox. To
disable the Swap file, rightclick “My Computer”, Properties, Advanced, click
the Settings button in the Performance field, click the Advanced tab, click the
Change button in the Virtual Memory field, Select the drive that contains the
Swap file, write 0 (zero) in the “Initial size (MB)” field, write 0 (zero) in
the “Maximum size (MB)” field, click the Set button to activate.
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You need to restart the computer to activate the settings. If you have already made
the Ghost boot disk, insert this disk and reboot the computer. Follow the
instructions above to make an image file. For the test I did, disabling the Hibernate
and the Swap file made a lot smaller image file:
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Mb
used on C
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Size
in GhostPE
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Actual
image file
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Time
to copy
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1208Mb
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1107Mb
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707Mb
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4:42
min
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To copy the image file back to the hard drive, use the same boot disk to start the
GhostPE program. Select “From image” and navigate to the image file (could also
be located on a CD). Select the NTFS drive to copy to (probably C). Usually it
only takes 3-5 minutes to copy the image file to the harddrive. Remember of
course that all data on the C drive will be deleted.
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As soon as you have booted Windows, go the the Swap file dialog to set the size again.
If you hav a lot of Ram, it might be a good idea to set the Swap file to 500Mb
as both minimum and maximum. This will prevent the system changing the size
of the swap file all the time, and could result in a bit better disk
performance.
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