Forum Moderators: phranque
The two essential items necessary to complete our task are a copy of Norton Ghost (there are others but this one I know how to use so it's my example) and a cd writer. Optional but not necessary is Partition Commander (again, I chose to buy this one - there are others) to "slice up" your hard disk with ease. Manual partitioning is also an option using fdisk (extreme caution should be used in doing it this way if you're not starting out with a fresh hard drive).
Partitioning the Drive
We will assume that you have a brand new hard drive and partitioning can be done using fdisk (if you're trying to partition a drive that's already got stuff on it I would HIGHLY recommend using a partitioning utility – a handy tool indeed). The first step is partitioning the drive. This requires some forethought. Think “applications” and “data”. Separate the two. Here's why: Windows lives on C:; Windows crashes or degrades in performance every 6 months; applications don't change – data changes daily. Put your data on a different drive than your applications. For instance, if using Dreamweaver for web design – put DW on C: and save your work on E:....that way if Windows crashes and you have to restore C: then all your data is out of the equation safe and sound on E:. That leaves the obvious question of “what if” the whole drive fails? You should be running a RAID (redundant array of independent disks) of 2 drives minimum mirroring each other...that's another story altogether.
We'll start from scratch by doing a fresh install of your OS. I'm using 98 as our example. When installing 98 remember to do the custom setup option and go through each menu and deselect some of the items you don't want installed (like PWS and Outlook Express). Once installed go through and make sure all your device drivers are installed and everything is configured properly. It wouldn't hurt to make an image at this point.
Making the Image
A Ghost image is an exact duplicate of either your entire hard drive or a partition thereof. With this in mind remember to create an empty partition to write your images to from C: and whatever other partitions you want to backup. Assuming you've worked out the partitioning scenario already here we go:
1).Reboot into a 98 boot disk.
2).When you get the a: prompt insert the Ghost diskette and type: ghostpe.exe -split=620,z9 ( that is a space between ghostpe.exe and -split=620,z9) This is telling the program to split the image into 620mb files and use high compression.
3).Use your brain and follow the Ghost program to find the source disk, the source partition and then the partition to write to.
4).Let it do its thing.
5).Exit Ghost and reboot into Windows.
6).Format a cdr and then simply copy and paste the image you just made onto the cdr. *Remember to format the cdr into cd format when ejecting the disk.
7).Since we told Ghost to split the files into 620 mb files you should have no problems getting each file onto one cdr. LABEL each cdr with something you will understand 6 months from now like: Computer Name, C Drive Backup, 3-15-2002, Fresh Install Windows Only, CD Format, Disk 1.
It wouldn't hurt to make backups progressively as you install all your applications. (True story: I was making progressive backups as I installed apps. I went to get the latest updates for Windows and when I rebooted after one of the updates installed...you got it...it crashed. Scanreg/restore didn't work and since I was looking for an error free platform to fall back on I just simply re-installed one of the previous Ghost images and 10 minutes later I was in business again.) What I mean by progressively is by thinking ahead to 1 year from now....what programs might be out of date or programs that wreak havoc on your system when you try to uninstall them (like antivirus software or Office). Install those programs last, after you have made images of the stuff you're certain you'll be using later on. LABEL the images accordingly.
Storage
Last but not least store the images in a safe place....a fireproof safe. You can buy a small fireproof safe for about $30. Get a cd sleeve organizer and and place all your image files inside along with boot disks, etc. To go one step further make backup copies of all your important applications like Dreamweaver, etc..... stuff you depend on to make a living, so in case the original gets damaged you're not out of luck completely. Also make yourself a list in a text or html file of all your SERIAL NUMBERS. Store this in the fireproof safe as well...you'll be glad you have that list when you start to re-install stuff from scratch.
Conclusion
To put this whole thing into perspective think about this: How much money have you spent on software and how much money do you make in a year using that software? It's probably worth a day or two of your time to get yourself backed up in a professional sense.
Prepare for the worst from the start and anywhere you land in between will be a breeze.
(Oh yeah...this is how I've done it successfully in the past, it works for me...your milage may vary. There are a million different ways to do this and a million products....use whatever you want...but just do it)
Great post toolman
/Ove
