Norton Ghost 9 or Acronis True Image?

[rsales]

Dave,

I am interested in using the bootable Acronis CD to read or write to a network drive for the image like in Ghost. I tried reading the online PDF manual and didn't find my answers about NTFS image creation and restoring from a boot disc with a network drive for the image.

I see someone else here had problems with V7 and DVD's for the image. What version are you using? Thanks

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: BlueWeasel

Originally posted by: JackMDS
True Inage (TI) can generate Boot on CD or 6 floppies (No USB). The Boot is in Linux but it does not matter since it is transparent to the user.

The best way to use TI is either trough Network or to put a mobile Disk tray (about $10) in the computer and insert the Drive to be Cloned or Restored as a secondary Drive using mobile tray.

Unlike Ghost, TI does not have a mean to clone two drives directly from boot like Ghost DOS (bit copying) but otherwise it seems Better then Ghost.

:sun:

Au contraire! TI's BEST function is cloning. You can clone the entire drive or specific partitions. It does it much better than Ghost (any version).

I use TI every week to clone 6 hard drives in 3 computers. Takes less that 10 minutes tocompletely cone a hard drive and it is immediately usable - bootable, etc.

So TI isn't good for copying existing drives/partitions over to a new hard drive? I'm not that familar with TI yet (only been using it for a few weeks), but doesn't it have this feature?

I'm not meaning to contradict you Jack, just looking for a little clarification.

 

[DrZeto]

I'm a bit confused, Ghost 9.0 doesn't jump out to DOS like Ghost 2004 did, so how can Ghost 9.0 make a bootable image of the OS? Isn't some OS files copyprotected while still in windows?

 

[hafa]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
...Unlike Ghost, TI does not have a mean to clone two drives directly from boot like Ghost DOS (bit copying) but otherwise it seems Better then Ghost.

:sun:

Coming a bit late to this thread, but perhaps better than starting another...

I've just ordered a 7200RPM dirve for my laptop and would like to make an exact copy of the existing drive. I plan to put the new drive in a USB enclosure, do the image and then install it in the laptop. Since TI won't clone or access USB, it seems like Symantec Ghost 9.0 is the only viable alternative. Thoughts? Ideas?

 

[jst0ney]

I"ve only used ghost 2003. I have very limited needs for it but I love it. Maybe I'll give True Image a try.

 

[Aztech]

Reviews of both products are now available on CNET:

Acronis True Image

Ghost 9

Acronis Wins.

 

[RossMAN]

Great informative thread, thanks!

 

[Jeff7]

Be aware, I was unable to produce a bootable copy when I attempted to clone an NTFS partition. The resulting duplicate blue-screened and said something about "unmountable boot volume."
Big caveat though - I had to clone the partition while it was in use. TI's boot disk doesn't support the Promise SX4000, even though there are Linux drivers available for the card.

I have not yet tried cloning an NTFS partition that was not in use.

That aside, I have still found True Image to be far more capable than Ghost.

 

[NightCrawler]

Acronis True Image 8.0 is a speedy and powerful disk-imaging utility that copies the entire contents of your hard drive--data and operating system files, personalized settings, everything--onto another disk or disk partition, very useful when mirroring standard software configurations across new office desktops.

Its interface is polished and easy to navigate; wizards step you through complex backup and restore tasks. It costs about the same as Norton Ghost 9.0, but True Image is significantly faster and less taxing on your system resources during routine backups. Like Ghost, True Image supports a variety of external media, including CD and DVD writers, as well as USB and FireWire drives.

True Image also offers many tools not found in Ghost, including the ability to format and partition disks. Given its many features and performance results, Acronis True Image is a great buy and easily our CNET Editors' Choice for disk-imaging technology.

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: hafa

Originally posted by: JackMDS
...Unlike Ghost, TI does not have a mean to clone two drives directly from boot like Ghost DOS (bit copying) but otherwise it seems Better then Ghost.

:sun:

Coming a bit late to this thread, but perhaps better than starting another...

I've just ordered a 7200RPM dirve for my laptop and would like to make an exact copy of the existing drive. I plan to put the new drive in a USB enclosure, do the image and then install it in the laptop. Since TI won't clone or access USB, it seems like Symantec Ghost 9.0 is the only viable alternative. Thoughts? Ideas?

It has a Disk Clone feature, here's a screen shot: http://acronistrueimagea.say-it-now.com/screenshot_acronistrueimagea_large.jpg

Version 8 is great !

 

[NightCrawler]

Comparison chart for what is supported:

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/comparison.html

 

[FatCity]

Nice comparison chart showing what is supported by ATI.

But what's really needed is a list of the hardware that Acronis knows to be incompatible with their software. That might save quite a few prospective buyers some grief.

Since their cripple-ware trial only allows you to create images and not restore them, you can't be sure ATI will work with your system until you really need it. And, I might add, after you've already paid for it.

 

[Optical]

Holy cow, TI for enterprise is $999 on their site. If I were to ghost 100 systems, is that mean I have buy 100 licenses? That's $999 x 100! Isn't a bit steep for ghosting software?

edit: would you guys recommend Image for Dos for enterprise use? My needs are primary basic ghosting with support for RAID and looks like some of u had already tested this out. Acronis is asking ridicuously amounts for enterprise version. I don't see why Image would not work Win2k3 servers.

Do I really need the Acronis TI?

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: Optical
Holy cow, TI for enterprise is $999 on their site. If I were to ghost 100 systems, is that mean I have buy 100 licenses? That's $999 x 100! Isn't a bit steep for ghosting software?

edit: would you guys recommend Image for Dos for enterprise use? My needs are primary basic ghosting with support for RAID and looks like some of u had already tested this out. Acronis is asking ridicuously amounts for enterprise version. I don't see why Image would not work Win2k3 servers.

Do I really need the Acronis TI?

This where software companies get greedy with their licensing schemes. The software is pretty much the same that there selling for $35 to individuals.

You'd be better off using the regular edition if you have Windows XP and Windows 2000 machines.

You only need the True Image for Servers for $699 if you have Windows Server 2000 or 2003.

 

[Optical]

unfortunately, I am using win2k3. If I'm ghosting on the dos level, will it still know what OS it is? Can someone confirm if Image will work 2k3 server?

 

[JackBurton]

All I need to image my machine is my lil 'ol F12 key. Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 1.0 is just freakin' awesome. I can create bootable CD/DVDs (I could do that in Ghost 7.5 though), but most importantly, the integration with Microsoft RIS and Ghost is great! If I need to image a machine, I hit F12, boot off the nic and I can push or pull and image to my server. No media necessary. I can create an image from Windows 2000 to 2003 (it will support Win 9x sh!t too, if you MUST image some crap like that). Perfect imaging software all the way around. I give it :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: Optical
unfortunately, I am using win2k3. If I'm ghosting on the dos level, will it still know what OS it is? Can someone confirm if Image will work 2k3 server?

You need to contact 'Image for Windows' to find out if W2K3 is supported.

Acronis probably won't support w2k3 unless you use one of the server editions.

I remember when I got true image 6 it was the last build that would image any operating system, then they came out with a newer build and everybody was pissed that server was no longer supported.