By Jaclyn Myburgh
Using SYMANTEC GHOST™ software is one way to image a Windows 7 system. The great thing about using this software is that it can be used in the pre-execution environment (PXE), or the Bios, which means a user doesn’t actually need to be inside the operating system of a device to use it. Because of this function, SYMANTEC GHOST™ can be extremely helpful for restoring an image to a computer that has become infected with malware, but using this method may require more time than some other imaging alternatives.
The sections below will describe and show the step-by-step process of creating a system image with the SYMANTEC GHOST™ software, and then if the time arises, restoring that image.
This page is still undergoing maintenance.
The sections below will describe and show the step-by-step process of creating a system image with the SYMANTEC GHOST™ software, and then if the time arises, restoring that image.
This page is still undergoing maintenance.
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What You'll Need
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Format Your USB
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Create an Image
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Restore an Image
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For creating and restoring an image using SYMANTEC GHOST™, you will need a computer with the Windows 7 Operating System (OS) and the following:
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Administration privileges on the computer
- An empty USB device with around 1 GB of storage space
- An external HDD large enough to store your original hard drive's OS and data (plus extra space if you wish to store multiple backups on the same HDD-- I usually go with 1 TB or larger)
- Rufus software (Rufus 2.12 will be used in my demonstrations in the "Format Your USB" section, and the instructions for downloading the Rufus software are included in that tab, as well.)
- SYMANTEC GHOST™ software (SYMANTEC GHOST™ Solution Suite 2.5 will be used in my demonstrations in the "Create a Windows 7 Image" and "Restore a Windows 7 Image" sections.)
IMPORTANT NOTES:
- Before creating an image of your computer, make sure that there is no malware or viruses on it. Any issues and problems on the computer will be there after the image. An image is an exact clone, so make sure it is clean before you create one.
- I would also recommend running a disk scan to make sure your disk is not corrupt before creating an image of it. If the disk is corrupt, and you have made an image of it, even if the image was created successfully, it may not restore successfully, and this is a vital and irreversible problem should the restore have to be aborted early.
- SYMANTEC GHOST™ is meant to be used in order to image a computer and restore that image to the same computer. Any hardware changes, especially changes to the motherboard, will cause an earlier SYMANTEC GHOST™ image to work incorrectly. This is because SYMANTEC GHOST™ copies all of the drivers for the computer's hardware when the image is created. If the hardware is changed, you must create another system image with the updated hardware, otherwise your image will be faulty on the new hardware.
- I have used this method to create and restore images well over a 200 times in the past 2 years and not had issues with it. However, I cannot guarantee that you will never have issues with your images, as you may have different versions or copies of the SYMANTEC GHOST™ software, a corrupt USB or HDD, etc. Therefore, I am not responsible should you choose to follow these steps and still have data loss issues or other problems that arise.
Format the USB with Rufus
Firstly, the Rufus software needs to be downloaded to format the USB. You will need Administration privileges on your computer to do this, and note that doing this will wipe anything currently on the USB and make it unusable for anything other than booting SYMANTEC GHOST™. When you wish to begin, complete the following steps:
Step 1:
Go to the website https://rufus.akeo.ie. The page should look similar to the image seen below in Figure 1, but Do not click the "START DOWNLOAD" button at the top of the page. That is an advertisement and is not for Rufus.
Step 1:
Go to the website https://rufus.akeo.ie. The page should look similar to the image seen below in Figure 1, but Do not click the "START DOWNLOAD" button at the top of the page. That is an advertisement and is not for Rufus.
Step 2:
Scroll down the page until you see the download section, as seen below in Figure 2.
Scroll down the page until you see the download section, as seen below in Figure 2.
Step 3:
From here, Download Rufus (the normal one; not the portable one). Once you have downloaded the Rufus program, acquired the SYMANTEC GHOST™ ISO, and obtained a suitable flash drive, you can now begin formatting your USB drive (to see suggested USB size or to see which version of SYMANTEC GHOST™ is being used in this specific tutorial, Click the "What You'll Need" tab). Remember that whatever flash drive you decide to format will be wiped completely and be unusable for anything other than booting SYMANTEC GHOST™ (unless you reformat the flash drive afterwards).
Step 4:
Now that you have everything you need, Run the program. A box should appear similar to the one below in Figure 3, though, you will have a different settings because you have a different USB. I will be reformatting a device that already has SYMANTEC GHOST™ on it, but I will change the "New volume label" from GHBOOTCD to GHBOOT, so that we know the device was reformatted once the process shows it has completed. If you don't want to use one of these labels, you can select your own label for it, but I highly suggest using a label that will make the drive distinguishable for its purpose. This will prevent it from accidentally being mixed up with any other USB devices you own.
From here, Download Rufus (the normal one; not the portable one). Once you have downloaded the Rufus program, acquired the SYMANTEC GHOST™ ISO, and obtained a suitable flash drive, you can now begin formatting your USB drive (to see suggested USB size or to see which version of SYMANTEC GHOST™ is being used in this specific tutorial, Click the "What You'll Need" tab). Remember that whatever flash drive you decide to format will be wiped completely and be unusable for anything other than booting SYMANTEC GHOST™ (unless you reformat the flash drive afterwards).
Step 4:
Now that you have everything you need, Run the program. A box should appear similar to the one below in Figure 3, though, you will have a different settings because you have a different USB. I will be reformatting a device that already has SYMANTEC GHOST™ on it, but I will change the "New volume label" from GHBOOTCD to GHBOOT, so that we know the device was reformatted once the process shows it has completed. If you don't want to use one of these labels, you can select your own label for it, but I highly suggest using a label that will make the drive distinguishable for its purpose. This will prevent it from accidentally being mixed up with any other USB devices you own.
Step 5:
As you can see in the picture above, there are certain features checked and selected. Verify that your settings are the same. Once everything looks correct, Click on the button with the CD (located to the right of the ISO Image selection). Now Locate your SYMANTEC GHOST™ ISO file. It should look similar to the one below in Figure 4, but make sure that you Select the normal SYMANTEC GHOST™ ISO and NOT the Linux version (if you have it).
As you can see in the picture above, there are certain features checked and selected. Verify that your settings are the same. Once everything looks correct, Click on the button with the CD (located to the right of the ISO Image selection). Now Locate your SYMANTEC GHOST™ ISO file. It should look similar to the one below in Figure 4, but make sure that you Select the normal SYMANTEC GHOST™ ISO and NOT the Linux version (if you have it).
Step 6:
After everything looks good, Start the formatting process by clicking the "Start" button. A warning like the one shown below in Figure 5 should appear.
After everything looks good, Start the formatting process by clicking the "Start" button. A warning like the one shown below in Figure 5 should appear.
Step 7:
Click "OK," then Wait for formatting process to take place and finish. This may take awhile, but you'll know the process is completed when you see the completion bar is full and the text underneath reads "READY," like shown below in Figure 6.
Click "OK," then Wait for formatting process to take place and finish. This may take awhile, but you'll know the process is completed when you see the completion bar is full and the text underneath reads "READY," like shown below in Figure 6.
Once you see this, celebrate because the formatting your USB section is completed! You have just formatted your USB drive to be a bootable device for SYMANTEC GHOST™! When you are ready to move forward in creating a system image with it, go to the next tab on this page to “Create an Image.”
Create a Windows 7 Image
After formatting the USB with Rufus and obtaining an external HDD, you can begin creating a system image with SYMANTEC GHOST™ through the following steps:
Step 1:
To begin, Turn off the computer needing to be cloned. Once the computer is shut down, insert the bootable USB drive into the computer. You will have to be quick in action once the computer is turned on, so you may want to review the following steps before turning on the computer. Otherwise, you may have to restart the steps in this process.
Step 2:
Turn on the computer, and then immediately start Pressing the key that is mentioned for opening boot options, which should be displayed by your computer’s manufacturer. For example, for the Dell computer I will be using, the key for the boot options is F12, as seen below in Figure 7 on the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Step 1:
To begin, Turn off the computer needing to be cloned. Once the computer is shut down, insert the bootable USB drive into the computer. You will have to be quick in action once the computer is turned on, so you may want to review the following steps before turning on the computer. Otherwise, you may have to restart the steps in this process.
Step 2:
Turn on the computer, and then immediately start Pressing the key that is mentioned for opening boot options, which should be displayed by your computer’s manufacturer. For example, for the Dell computer I will be using, the key for the boot options is F12, as seen below in Figure 7 on the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Step 3:
Continue pressing the key for the boot menu until you see something similar to the image shown below in Figure 8 (that is, if your computer is manufactured by Dell), where the text in the upper right hand corner changes to display that the boot menu is opening.
Continue pressing the key for the boot menu until you see something similar to the image shown below in Figure 8 (that is, if your computer is manufactured by Dell), where the text in the upper right hand corner changes to display that the boot menu is opening.
Once the boot menu is displayed, your screen should look something similar to the menu shown below in Figure 9.
Step 4:
Scroll down to the “USB Storage Device” option. Do not press the “Enter” key yet though. As soon as you press “Enter”, you will have to be quick and precise about pressing any key only one time. Sometimes if a key is pressed more than once, the software on the USB device will not start up correctly, and you will have to restart the “Create a Windows 7 Image” section from scratch.
Step 5:
Once you are ready, Press “Enter.” You should now see a screen similar to the one shown below in Figure 10.
Scroll down to the “USB Storage Device” option. Do not press the “Enter” key yet though. As soon as you press “Enter”, you will have to be quick and precise about pressing any key only one time. Sometimes if a key is pressed more than once, the software on the USB device will not start up correctly, and you will have to restart the “Create a Windows 7 Image” section from scratch.
Step 5:
Once you are ready, Press “Enter.” You should now see a screen similar to the one shown below in Figure 10.
Step 6:
Be quick now, and Press any key once. If you did this correctly, you will see a screen similar to the one shown below in Figure 11.
Be quick now, and Press any key once. If you did this correctly, you will see a screen similar to the one shown below in Figure 11.
After the progress bar in Figure 11 shows the progress is completed, the screen will then change to the one shown below in Figure 12.
Immediately following the screen in Figure 12, a screen like the one below in Figure 13 should appear.
Step 7:
Once the screen in Figure 13 appears, Insert the external Hard Disk Drive (HDD) you will be copying the computer image to. This will give the computer time to load the HDD before entering the SYMANTEC GHOST™ menu. After this screen, the SYMANTEC GHOST™ menu should appear and look similar to the screen shown below in Figure 14.
Once the screen in Figure 13 appears, Insert the external Hard Disk Drive (HDD) you will be copying the computer image to. This will give the computer time to load the HDD before entering the SYMANTEC GHOST™ menu. After this screen, the SYMANTEC GHOST™ menu should appear and look similar to the screen shown below in Figure 14.
Step 8:
When you get the screen above, Click “OK.”
When you get the screen above, Click “OK.”
Step 9:
Now, because the goal is to create an image, follow these next steps. Hover your mouse over “Local,” “Disk,” and “To Image,” as seen above in Figure 15, then Click “To Image.” Your screen should change to look like that of the one shown below in Figure 16.
Now, because the goal is to create an image, follow these next steps. Hover your mouse over “Local,” “Disk,” and “To Image,” as seen above in Figure 15, then Click “To Image.” Your screen should change to look like that of the one shown below in Figure 16.
Step 10:
In this box, shown above in Figure 16, it will ask you to Select your local source drive. This is the drive you will be cloning, not the drive you plugged in and will be cloning to. In this example, my computer’s HDD is the “WDC…” drive, thus I have selected it. Once you select your local drive, Click “OK.” As soon as you have done this, another box will appear similar to the one shown below in Figure 17.
In this box, shown above in Figure 16, it will ask you to Select your local source drive. This is the drive you will be cloning, not the drive you plugged in and will be cloning to. In this example, my computer’s HDD is the “WDC…” drive, thus I have selected it. Once you select your local drive, Click “OK.” As soon as you have done this, another box will appear similar to the one shown below in Figure 17.
Step 11:
In this box, shown above in Figure 17, it will ask you to select the drive you wish to copy your image to, so Select the name of the HDD you plugged into your computer. In my example, the external HDD I plugged in is called “MY PASSPORT,” thus I select it.
Step 12:
As soon as you select the drive you wish to store the image to, Locate where on the drive you want to store the image, and Name the image. You can see my example shown below in Figure 18.
In this box, shown above in Figure 17, it will ask you to select the drive you wish to copy your image to, so Select the name of the HDD you plugged into your computer. In my example, the external HDD I plugged in is called “MY PASSPORT,” thus I select it.
Step 12:
As soon as you select the drive you wish to store the image to, Locate where on the drive you want to store the image, and Name the image. You can see my example shown below in Figure 18.
In the image above, you can see that I have named my image “260IMG_3APR2017_1041.” I’ve done this to let myself know which computer I’m imaging, what day I’m imaging it, and the time it is when I image the computer. This is completely preference. You can choose to name your image whatever you wish. Once you have finished, Click “Save.”
Step 13:
You will then be asked if you wish to compress the image, as seen below in Figure 19.
Step 13:
You will then be asked if you wish to compress the image, as seen below in Figure 19.
Compressing an image will take longer to create an image, but it will make it quicker when you wish to restore the image to a drive, so this option is up to your preference. In my example, I will use the “High” compression option. Make your selection, and once you have, your screen will look similar to the one shown below in Figure 20.
Step 14:
Before you click “Yes,” Make sure that you leave a good amount of time for the image to be created. This can be a couple of hours or longer, even without compression, if the drive you are imaging is large. Once you are ready to create your image, Click “Yes.”
Once the image creation has started, your screen should look similar to the one shown below in Figure 21.
Before you click “Yes,” Make sure that you leave a good amount of time for the image to be created. This can be a couple of hours or longer, even without compression, if the drive you are imaging is large. Once you are ready to create your image, Click “Yes.”
Once the image creation has started, your screen should look similar to the one shown below in Figure 21.
Once the image is completed, the screen will look similar to the one shown below in Figure 22.
Step 15:
Once your screen looks like the one seen above, Click “Continue.” Your screen should now look like the one seen below in Figure 23.
Once your screen looks like the one seen above, Click “Continue.” Your screen should now look like the one seen below in Figure 23.
Step 16:
Now that your image has been created, you are ready to exit the SYMANTEC GHOST™ menu. To do this, Click “Quit,” and then Click “Yes,” as shown below in Figure 24.
Now that your image has been created, you are ready to exit the SYMANTEC GHOST™ menu. To do this, Click “Quit,” and then Click “Yes,” as shown below in Figure 24.
After clicking “Yes” to exit out of the SYMANTEC GHOST™ software, your screen should look similar to the one shown below in Figure 25.
Step 17:
Once you get the screen shown above, Click the “X” button on the “…cmd.exe” box. Once this is done, your screen will look similar to the one shown below in Figure 26.
Once you get the screen shown above, Click the “X” button on the “…cmd.exe” box. Once this is done, your screen will look similar to the one shown below in Figure 26.
Step 18:
After about approximately 20 seconds of the screen shown above, the screen will go black and the computer will restart. As soon as the computer begins to restart, Remove the bootable SYMANTEC GHOST™ USB drive and the external HDD.
Congratulations! You’ve just completed creating a Windows 7 image! You created an exact clone of your computer’s hard drive using SYMANTEC GHOST™!
When you need to restore your image using SYMANTEC GHOST™, go to the next tab on this page to “Restore an Image.”
After about approximately 20 seconds of the screen shown above, the screen will go black and the computer will restart. As soon as the computer begins to restart, Remove the bootable SYMANTEC GHOST™ USB drive and the external HDD.
Congratulations! You’ve just completed creating a Windows 7 image! You created an exact clone of your computer’s hard drive using SYMANTEC GHOST™!
When you need to restore your image using SYMANTEC GHOST™, go to the next tab on this page to “Restore an Image.”
Restore a Windows 7 Image
After you have created a Windows 7 image using SYMANTEC GHOST™, you can restore that image using SYMANTEC GHOST™ at anytime. However, keep in mind that you will only have what was on the computer when you created the image. This means if you have any files, software, etc. that you added after your last created image, it will not be there if you restore that image. Because of this, it is a good idea to keep images as current as you can.
If you have a large enough external HDD where you are storing the images, you can have multiple images on the drive. I like to have at least two images for the same computer available.
If the need arises to restore a system image that was created using SYMANTEC GHOST™, the steps to restore the image are similar to the steps to create one, with only a slight alteration in the process. When you are ready to restore an image, complete Steps 1-8 of the “Create a Windows 7 Image” section in the previous tab, and then do the following:
Step 1:
Hover your mouse over “Local,” “Disk,” and “From Image,” as seen below in Figure 27, then Click “From Image.”
If you have a large enough external HDD where you are storing the images, you can have multiple images on the drive. I like to have at least two images for the same computer available.
If the need arises to restore a system image that was created using SYMANTEC GHOST™, the steps to restore the image are similar to the steps to create one, with only a slight alteration in the process. When you are ready to restore an image, complete Steps 1-8 of the “Create a Windows 7 Image” section in the previous tab, and then do the following:
Step 1:
Hover your mouse over “Local,” “Disk,” and “From Image,” as seen below in Figure 27, then Click “From Image.”
Your screen should now change to look like that of the one shown below in Figure 28.
Step 2:
In this box, in Figure 28, it will ask you to Locate the drive your image is stored on. This is the external drive you plugged into the computer, not the drive you will be restoring the image to. In my example, the external HDD I plugged in is called “MY PASSPORT,” thus I select it.
Step 2:
In this box, in Figure 28, it will ask you to Locate the drive your image is stored on. This is the external drive you plugged into the computer, not the drive you will be restoring the image to. In my example, the external HDD I plugged in is called “MY PASSPORT,” thus I select it.
Step 3:
As soon as you select the drive on which your image is stored, Locate and Select the image you will be restoring, as seen below in Figure 29 and Figure 30. As you can see, I have created folders for each image, which can be done prior to creating an image or after the image is already created, but it will have to be done within the Windows OS, not the PXE.
As soon as you select the drive on which your image is stored, Locate and Select the image you will be restoring, as seen below in Figure 29 and Figure 30. As you can see, I have created folders for each image, which can be done prior to creating an image or after the image is already created, but it will have to be done within the Windows OS, not the PXE.
Now, although I showed how to create the image, “260IMG_4APR2017_1041,” in the “Create a Windows 7 Image” section, I have created a more recent image, “260IMG_18APR2017_0905,” and will be restoring that image to the computer. Thus, I go into the folder I have created for the image and select the image, as seen below in Figure 30.
Step 4:
As soon as you select the image you will be restoring, you will be asked to Select your local destination drive. This is the drive you will be restoring the image to. In this example, my computer’s HDD is the “WDC…” drive, thus I select it, as seen below in Figure 31.
As soon as you select the image you will be restoring, you will be asked to Select your local destination drive. This is the drive you will be restoring the image to. In this example, my computer’s HDD is the “WDC…” drive, thus I select it, as seen below in Figure 31.
Step 5:
Once you select your local drive, Click “OK.” As soon as you have done this, another box will appear similar to the one shown below in Figure 32.
Once you select your local drive, Click “OK.” As soon as you have done this, another box will appear similar to the one shown below in Figure 32.
Step 6:
In this box, the one shown above in Figure 32, you will be asked which partition you wish to restore to, Select the larger partition, and Click “OK.” Now your screen will look like the one shown below in Figure 33.
In this box, the one shown above in Figure 32, you will be asked which partition you wish to restore to, Select the larger partition, and Click “OK.” Now your screen will look like the one shown below in Figure 33.
In the image shown above, you will be warned that your current destination will be completely overwritten if you proceed with the restore. Similarly to creating an image, restoring one will take some time. If you selected the “High” compression option when you created the image, it should take less time to restore the image, but still prepare for it to take at least take an hour.
Step 7:
When you are ready for your restore to begin, Click “Yes.” Your screen should now look similar to the one below in Figure 34.
Step 7:
When you are ready for your restore to begin, Click “Yes.” Your screen should now look similar to the one below in Figure 34.
Once the image has been completely restored, the screen will look similar to the one shown below in Figure 35.
Step 8:
Once your screen looks like the one seen above, Click “Continue.” Your screen should now look like the one seen below in Figure 36.
Once your screen looks like the one seen above, Click “Continue.” Your screen should now look like the one seen below in Figure 36.
Now that your image has been restored, you are ready to exit the SYMANTEC GHOST™ menu. The steps to exit the menu are the same as Steps 16-18 in the “Create a Windows 7 Image” section, found on the previous tab, so please refer back to those steps to exit the menu.
Congratulations! You have just restored a Windows 7 image! You restored an exact clone of your computer’s hard drive using SYMANTEC GHOST™!
Congratulations! You have just restored a Windows 7 image! You restored an exact clone of your computer’s hard drive using SYMANTEC GHOST™!