Community Newsletter: Q&A: How to back up and restore my PC to the exact same condition it was...

Cloned Backup

It is interesting that spacepirate1 said:

"A lot of people think there is some magic wand method with which you can back everything up and then restore with little effort. This doesn't exist, so PLEASE stop looking for such a method."

Apparently you did not read my post several days ago, but after trying tape backups and other methods I finally solved my problem. I got Norton Ghost 2003, and put a second hard drive in my computer equal in size to the primary drive. I use the clone feature, under the Advanced tab in Norton Ghost. Norton Ghost makes an exact duplicate of my primary drive on the second drive, and if the primary drive fails I can just move the secondary drive to the primary position, and boot right up with everything just as it was the day I cloned it.

I laughed when you said, "Another thing, if all of this is too technical for you, then you really need a professional to do it for you." Then after the statement you made, shown in paragraph one above you said, You're chasing a ghost. This is really a hands-on process and a person needs to know exactly what they are doing. I constantly get people asking me if there isn't some way of just clicking here and there, and kazam!, everything is done for you. I wish there was, but unfortunately, there isn't. You have to know what you are doing and which method is best suited for what you wish to accomplish.

YOU ARE RIGHT, they are chasing a Ghost, it is Norton Ghost, and it will do just what they want, it will make an exact duplicate of the primary drive, one which is bootable in the event of the primary drive failure, and will prevent them from having to install an operating system again, as well as all the programs and files which they could have lost using any other method.

All that stuff about multiple partitions, and putting the OS on one, and programs on another is unnecessary. I have a 320Gig hard drive, partitioned in one partition which I much prefer to having multiple partitions. My method is used by professionals, and will work for anyone who wants a simple way to backup.

After my first posting, I was critized for such things as "storing my backed up drive in my car trunk," which was totally untrue, and other statements I made about my backup, but, it works, it accomplishes what I want to accomplish, and I believe it will accomplish what the person asking for help wanted, a way to make a simple total backup which will boot up on its own, and aviod having to install everything again in the event of a drive failure. TRY IT, YOU WILL LIKE IT.