Norton Ghost 14.0 [Old Version]

I must admit, Norton is getting better. I agree with most of the other comments below - this version of Ghost is better than previous versions, with much more efficient backup & friendlier user interface. But while it might do a quick, decent backup, it is not reliable in restoring your system. I simply cannot recommend any Norton/Symantec products. And for the life of me, I cannot understand how they have held onto a reputation of being the PC security/backup/recovery company. There are many, many better products out there that are free. Just to name a few security/recovery programs (that every PC user should use): ZoneAlarm or Comodo, AVG, a2, spybot search & destroy, AdAware, and every PC user should download and install the HOSTS files from MVPS-org. For backup, use a combination of these programs, and look on life hacker, boing boing, zdnet, and other forums for a backup/recovery system that works best for you. Do NOT rely on the Vista backup system, either. Or, buy a 1-touch external hard drive. Or perhaps my best advice would be, move to a Mac, or get Linux (I am especially enjoying the new Ubuntu version on my Asus Eee). But I strongly suggest avoiding the temptation to get ANY McAffee or Norton products. None of them work well.

Norton Ghost is a program that lets you back up your computer in the following ways: 1. Drive based backup: Backups the complete disk drive. This is my choice... if the hard disk fails, I can put in a new drive and get the system back in less than an hour. I also use this type of back up to refresh my system every few months... I install a new copy of Windows and all of my basic software, run a backup and anytime my system gets junked up and running slow, I just restore it back. 2. File and folder based backup: This backs up selected files and folders. Faster backing up but a lot longer to get a crashed system restored. You have to reinstall windows and all of your software before restoring the data. 3. Drive copy: Very useful when you want to upgrade your hard disk to a larger one. Ghost also has some nice features: 1. The ability to backup to another hard disk or a network drive. 2. The option to create a recovery disk specific to your computer. This option creates a CD or DVD with the drivers from your computer that will boot it so that you can run Ghost to recover your hard disk. You can create a generic one, but the specific one is much safer. 3. The option to back up another computer from yours (assuming your connected via a network). 4.Conversion to a Virtual Disk format: This is not a backup but something you do to a backup. This converts a drive based backup to an image that can be run in VMware or Microsofts Virtual Server. If you dont know what it is, you dont need it (and most people dont). This is the one function that didnt work for me. I tried to load a Vista image in VMware and after a load of messages about Vista configuring things, it crashed. Conclusion: As is typical with Symantec products, It works and works well (except for the Virtual Disk format using VIsta and VMware). The software is fairly easy to use, but if youre new to this type of software you will need to read the manual.

Ive been a Norton user for more than 10 years and had never experienced any issues other users reported until I came across Ghost 14. I upgraded from Ghost 12 to Ghost 14 six months ago and had been doing a drive backup every two weeks. Recently my laptop was stolen and when I try to do a restore, I found out certain files were missing from the every archive Ghost 14 created!!! During each backup session, Ghost 14 never gave any indication that some files were not backed up. Luckily the missing files were rarely changed and I was able to restore from the last Ghost 12 archive. Because of this, all my Ghost 14 backups made during the past six months are now questionable. Ive no idea what other files Ghost 14 failed to include in the archive.

Product as described received quickly

I own a Dell Dimension Computer with XP and a lot of installed software and I wanted to move my whole bootable C drive to a new larger drive. The software that came with my new Western Digital drive did not work. (Didnt expect it to really.) So I thought Id just go top of the line and buy this. Big Mistake. I tried Norton Ghost 14 three different times and it simply would not make a bootable copy of my original. (Each attempt takes several hours on a big drive.) The software is buggy and will not do what it is supposed to do. If you want to clone your drive, download Acronis True Image. Acronis worked perfectly the first time. Not only that but the download gives you a 15 day free trial. (If you cant clone your drive in 15 days, youve got a big problem.) Norton Ghost 14 is a big expensive piece of S@*& !!!! Acronis True Image, two thumbs up !!!!

Error after error. Its bloated with too much junk and doesnt do the main thing - the imaging - near as well as many of its lesser known competitors. Nortons latest GHOST product cant hold a candle to simpler solutions from smaller companies like StorageCraft with their ShadowProtect program, Acronis with their True Image application or Paragons imaging solution, Drive Backup. Save your money and get a much better program for imaging your hard drive for a LOT less money from one of the products mentioned above - all of which are far superior.

I needed some help to partition my drive, but the end result is great, and I can rest easy with any fear of disaster.

I used this to ghost my os and it worked very well. It was a bit confusing in the beginning but worked out in the end.

This did not do a workable copy of Windows Vista hard drive to another drive evan after four tries.

The only reason I gave Ghost 14 four stars is because during the backup screens you do not see all the partitions on your hard drive in the default configuration. A novice user would not know that other hidden partitions exist on their computer and would probably not backup them. If the purpose of Ghost 14 is to backup an entire computer then the user should see all partitions that exist on their hard disks as the default configuration. Let the user hide any partition as an option since I know hidden partitions are important too. If your hard disk fails you do want everything back including the hidden partitions. In my opinion the menu configurations of Ghost 14 are more complicated than what it needs to be for the average user. Gone are the days of Ghost 2003 when Symantec would allow a home user to backup all his computers at home with a single copy of Ghost. Now we must all purchase one license of Ghost per PC. The only Reason I purchased Ghost 14 was because DELL messed up their bios on my new laptop so Ghost 2003 would not work with their USB ports. Ghost 2003 would allow you to create your own boot CD disks if you knew how to create boot CD disks with Nero and knew how to modify batch files. You were able to boot Ghost from a CD and backup your entire computer to an external/internal drive or burn a CD or DVD backup. Ghost 2003 is still able to backup all my other computers with Windows Vista and Windows XP (32bit and 64bit versions). The Ghost 14 bootable CD only restores images and does not have any backup software available so it behaves like a rescue CD. All backups in Ghosts 14 are conveniently done when logged in to a Windows XP or Windows Vista account unlike Ghost 2003 which requires you to use a bootable CD, USB Drive, or floppy disks.