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Home > Archive > alt.certification.a-plus > August 2003 > Exactly what is ghosting a machine or image?
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| Author |
Exactly what is ghosting a machine or image?
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| DullRazor 2003-08-18, 8:24 pm |
| I've heard this term and I am A+ certified but I have never heard the
exact definition. Is it making an exact backup of the system
configurations, registry, and saved data?
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| It is a term that came from the Norton Ghost. A Ghost image is an exact
copy at the time ghost was run, it is compressed and can be saved to another
hard drive or spanned across several CDs. The Ghost program that is needed
to rebuild a drive from an image can be fitted to a bootable floppy. In the
latest versions ghosting can be done across a network or from a USB device.
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| DullRazor 2003-08-18, 10:24 pm |
| That sounds cool. I'm going to check that out. Is the ghost image used
to restore a system when it is have severe problems?
On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 12:05:37 +1200, "RussS" <yeah_right@roflmao.com>
wrote:
>It is a term that came from the Norton Ghost. A Ghost image is an exact
>copy at the time ghost was run, it is compressed and can be saved to another
>hard drive or spanned across several CDs. The Ghost program that is needed
>to rebuild a drive from an image can be fitted to a bootable floppy. In the
>latest versions ghosting can be done across a network or from a USB device.
>
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| RussS 2003-08-18, 10:24 pm |
| Yes it can be. However by far the biggest use is to install a common
desktop over a network. You set up one machine exactly how you want it to
work as far as layout and privilleges and then ghost it to all the new
machines you are installing. Of course this is presupposing that your
network runs a common machine build.
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| Pikoro 2003-08-18, 10:24 pm |
| Eggsactly, Ghost Corporate includes the broadcast feature, unattended
installation over a network.
"RussS" <yeah_right@roflmao.com> wrote in message
news:ryf0b.120611$JA5.2746633@news.xtra.co.nz...
> Yes it can be. However by far the biggest use is to install a common
> desktop over a network. You set up one machine exactly how you want it to
> work as far as layout and privilleges and then ghost it to all the new
> machines you are installing. Of course this is presupposing that your
> network runs a common machine build.
>
>
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| crispy 2003-08-19, 6:24 pm |
| On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 01:48:06 GMT, DullRazor <ultraflt@earthlink.net>
wrote:
>That sounds cool. I'm going to check that out. Is the ghost image used
>to restore a system when it is have severe problems?
It can be but I believe it was intended for system deployment. Take
for example my job, I work for a company who supplies pre-configured
IBM laptops for a branch of the military. We ship 50+ machines per
day. Each of these machines are identical (make, model, hardware &
software).
In the beginning (months ago) one machine was selected and loaded with
all the software goodies that the contract specified. The machine was
then imaged (think exact copy of the HD) and the image placed on a
server.
Now we set up 24 unconfigured laptops and connect them to a switch
which is connected to the server. Ghost allows us to transfer the HD
image from the server to the laptops thus giving us 24 exact copies of
the laptop.
It definitely saves time. Think about how much time it would take to
individually install WinXP, OfficeXP, Etc. on 24 machines.
crispy
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| Pikoro 2003-08-19, 10:24 pm |
| Hey,don't fight about that.
There's Ghost Personal and Ghost Corporate, you can imagine what each one
does.
Ghost Corporate is mainly used for the bradcast installs you describe
although it can be used for restorals too.
Ghost PE is mainly used for backups and restorals.
If you are going to test programs, better have a good image of your system
partition before even starting.
I have used it for years, and never had to reformat and reinstall from
scratch, it saved my XXX more than once, and my customers' too. I would
never deliver a machine without a backup of the system.
It is always best to have a small system partition with nothing there than
the system, and install your programs in a different partition that you can
also use for storage, then concentrate on keeping this core system partition
lean, mean and clean.
You shouldn't delete backups immediately when updating, just in case a
system error or nasty slipped into your backup.
Yes, you can use different partitions and file systems with Ghost, including
HPFS.
The history of this program is rather interesting, it started out in New
Zealand and was then purchased by Symantec, who continued development.
That's all for the moment.
"crispy" <crispy06SPAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:s075kvobsqsm4irghtc46u394
p752iro15@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 01:48:06 GMT, DullRazor <ultraflt@earthlink.net>
> wrote:
>
> >That sounds cool. I'm going to check that out. Is the ghost image used
> >to restore a system when it is have severe problems?
>
> It can be but I believe it was intended for system deployment. Take
> for example my job, I work for a company who supplies pre-configured
> IBM laptops for a branch of the military. We ship 50+ machines per
> day. Each of these machines are identical (make, model, hardware &
> software).
>
> In the beginning (months ago) one machine was selected and loaded with
> all the software goodies that the contract specified. The machine was
> then imaged (think exact copy of the HD) and the image placed on a
> server.
>
> Now we set up 24 unconfigured laptops and connect them to a switch
> which is connected to the server. Ghost allows us to transfer the HD
> image from the server to the laptops thus giving us 24 exact copies of
> the laptop.
>
> It definitely saves time. Think about how much time it would take to
> individually install WinXP, OfficeXP, Etc. on 24 machines.
>
>
> crispy
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