Greetings!
I just purchased Ghost v15 - couldn't pass a good deal. I do have two questions as my current laptop will be replaced under warranty in a month or two.
1) If I install Ghost on my current laptop, learn about it's use and make backups, and when the new laptop swap happens I clone my current laptop drive, can I restore the image to my replacement laptop and also install the same copy on my new laptop? I will wipe the drive that is going back to the manufactuer so essentially this will be a transferring of license.
2) To learn all the features and play around with my current laptop, is there a good writeup somewhere or do I have to RTFM (or the user guide PDF)?
Thank you!
Rob
It will not be a problem to transfer Ghost to the new PC. If you restore a Ghost image to the new laptop, it will already be installed.
You should read the manual and use the program, then ask questions.
There are some potential traps when you 'clone' the HDD, especially in a laptop. It is best to create an image (Recovery Point) then restore it the new drive or in this case PC.
http://community.norton.com/t5/Other-Norton-Products/Ghost-15-options-for-recovery/m-p/218202#M21280
http://community.norton.com/t5/Other-Norton-Products/Ghost-15-on-Windows-7-to-clone-and-replace-Boot-Drive/m-p/357030#M29934
One other thing.. Since you will be recovering to different hardware (even the same model PC), if you use a Cold Image, it is possible that a bug in the Ghost SRD (Symantec Recovery Disc) may trigger a feature that is not available in Ghost. It is called Restore Anywhere. Since it is not available to Ghost users, you cannot turn it off! I'm not sure what triggers it, possibly a different mac address, but at the end of the restore it will ask you to "Insert Recovery Disc". It is looking for drivers that are not included on the disc but are included on Ghost's enterprise cousin SSR 2011. So I would have a hot backup available too, just in case.
redk9258,
Thank you. Looks like I do need to familiarize as I won't have much time once the replacement laptop is shipped & arrives. Right now it is giving me worries about Ghost (I hate to be scared as the reviews weren't promising) but I'm sure reading up on those threads & understanding the various gotchas' that you've put out for me to understand should calm my nerves :-) So all the patching & bug fixes has not resolved these? Even so per your advice looks like there are workaround ...
Thank you!
Rob
Yes, there are workarounds. Make sure you backup all partitions (I guess you could skip the recovery partition unless you wan the ability to restore the factory image). You may want to print out a screenshot of Disc Management... Start > Run > diskmgmt.msc... Hit ALT + PRT SCR, then paste in MS Paint... Save as PNG or JPG file (PNG is clearer).
itlearner wrote:
(I hate to be scared as the reviews weren't promising) but I'm sure reading up on those threads & understanding the various gotchas'
Rob,
Most of the problems we see with Ghost are due to user errors. People not understanding what needs to be done. As Red suggested, please post a screenshot of Disk Management.