Creating restore CDs

[Killboy123]

I am a system builder and I would like to make massive amounts of ghost images for all my customers, so that if something goes wrong, they can quickly restore their computer from 1-2 DVDs.

Now, what's the best way to do this ? How do big corporations like Dell/HP do it ?

I do not want to install anything in windows, I dont trust it. I'm looking for a boot CD that could burn the image of the hard drive to DVD so it could be easily restored afterwards.

I know Symantec Ghost (forget which version) did it, is there anything better?
I tried Acronis & Paragon and they didn't offer backup to DVD in dos.

And if Symantec Ghost is the best, which version is the best?
-It must be a bootable CD format (for DOS)
-It must support DVD burning in (DOS)
-It must be fast!
-If there's a way to set it up so when we re-insert the restore backup DVD, it does everything automatically, that would be awesome too.

Thanks!

 

[Zugzwang152]

most of the OEM ones I've seen license off of ghost.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: Killboy123
I tried Acronis & Paragon and they didn't offer backup to DVD in dos.

TrueImage 9, build 3633 will now burn an image directly to DVD. DOS? Nah! It has never does that. The bootable CD created does much better than that. It boots to a Linux variant.

I have a 1 year old HP laptop - it came with 3 recovery disks. Many makers place that in a hidden partition on the hard drive. Never have been able to figure how that can help in case of a HDD failure.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: corkyg
I have a 1 year old HP laptop - it came with 3 recovery disks. Many makers place that in a hidden partition on the hard drive. Never have been able to figure how that can help in case of a HDD failure.

It's not designed to help in case of a HDD failure. If your hard drive dies, you call them, and they send you a new hard drive with the data on it, or a media set.

I think that partition-based recovery solutions are better than optical media for the general public, because that way they don't lose or destroy anything.

 

[mechBgon]

I used Acronis for the first time recently. Tada! bootable restoration DVD

(LightScribe labelling, however, is not part of Acronis)

You could sell the Acronis software with the system and charge extra for this "snap recovery" option.

Acronis can also do the hidden-partition approach, with a boot CD or with its own boot loader. With Acronis installed, my system has a prompt to press the F11 key for the Acronis boot loader, before it boots Windows. So if you made a backup to the hidden partition, you could restore that way as long as the HDD is intact.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: GeekDrew

It's not designed to help in case of a HDD failure. If your hard drive dies, you call them, and they send you a new hard drive with the data on it, or a media set.

I think that partition-based recovery solutions are better than optical media for the general public, because that way they don't lose or destroy anything.

I can see some valid rationale there - but that doesn't help if you need to restore right away. So, I have my own restoration system. I create a duplicate HDD and always have one ready to go. Takes about 4 minutes to swap drives.

MechBgon really has opened the door to a good way to go. Yeah - Acronis doesn't do Lightscribe, but that can be done after the CD is burned using the L/S software. It's slow, but nice.

 

[Slowlearner]

I manage some 50 pcs at two locations and my main problem has been hard drive failures, and so I am very interested in an affordable solution. After purchasing a new pc I usually delete all the useless fluff and install the needed programs and tweak various settings, the normal size of the used space <<10 GB on the hd. I have separate backups for data. So I had bought a dozen or so 10 GB hds and use an old Ghost version that I copied to a floppy (it came bundled with a biostar mb) to clone the hard drives that I put in a ziploc bag and place inside the case for use if I need to restore. I am sure that this violates many many EULAs - so sue me.

It would be nice if I could do this to a dvd instead, as I am running out of 10 gb hds and even 40 gb hds now cost 30$+.

This cant be a unique problem for the OP and me. There has to be a simpler solution as opposed buying Acronis TI for each pc at 50$ a pop, just so that we can restore. I am not sure that an image made within windows will work - what about the swap file?

I have incidentally asked this question before without getting anything useful to go with.

 

[GeekDrew]

Yeah... you're definitely violating Symantec's EULA. I suggest correcting that immediately. You need to purchase a license for each machine on which you use Ghost, IIRC.

I'd just remove Ghost from everything, and buy a bunch of Acronis images. I've seen it work, and have read documentation, but have never used it... but just by reading and watching it work, I already prefer it to Ghost. Acronis takes care of the DVD issue, too.

 

[Killboy123]

OK well I still dont have a viable solution :|
Anyone ? Seriously, I want to create DVD ghosts (from DOS) quickly.

And I tried Acronis, it screwed up the file sharing on my computer and I had to uninstall it to fix that. I personally dont like Acronis, and I won't ghost stuff from windows.

I know someone here will have an answer
Thanks!