Creating a GHOST image of RAID-0 Drives

leesiulung

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I'm setting up a RAID-0 configuration for my OS (Windows XP Pro) drive. I would like to keep an image of it so I do not have to redo a lot of the work when I would like to do a clean install.

Do anyone have any experience using Symantec Ghost to create an image of RAID-0.

I will be using the following
RAID-0 on nForce 590 motherboard with two drives
PATA drive (to store the image)
Symantec Ghost 2002

Any suggestions?

I was thinking of setup in the RAID-0 and install Windows with configuration. Then remove RAID in BIOS and GHOST each disk individually. Then re-enable RAID in BIOS...
 

Crashman

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I've heard all kinds of good and crazy bad stuff about Ghost, I use PowerQuest DriveImage 7 myself. Don't be confused, this is a very old product and Norton did buy it. I just have very little faith in Norton's ability to use it to improve Ghost.

PowerQuest DriveImage boot program works like XP because it's based on Windows PE: If your drives are in RAID mode, you simply use the RAID driver floppy at the "F6" prompt. And it works just as it would a single drive.

The only three problems I've had with DriveImage 7 is that 1.) USB flash drives confuse it and must be unplugged 2.) It can't shrink a partition, so the new drive must be as larger or larger than the original partition was 3.) It doesn't seem to write the boot information correctly on a clean drive.

Number 3 has been an easy fix for me: I simply instal Windows XP to the drive and when it reboots the first time, switch to the DriveImage restoration. That does add around 10 minutes to the time it takes to copy a partition, but what the heck I can live with that.
 

darkangelism

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you cant turn off a raid 0 once it has been created as the data is on both drives.

Ghost has some issues with raid, doesnt work everytime.

Acronis true image workstation: http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/

supports raid.
 

Crashman

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Former Staff
I never said anything about turning off RAID 0.

I've rebuilt Windows XP to new RAID 0 drives after the original array failed, using PowerQuest Drive Image 7.

It works fine if you take care of the three annoyances I mentioned.
 

leesiulung

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you cant turn off a raid 0 once it has been created as the data is on both drives.

Why can't I just turn off RAID 0? I don't need to boot from the RAID drives, all I need to do is make an image of each drive individually.

These are the steps I plan:

1. Enable RAID-0
2. Install Windows
3. Disable RAID-0 in BIOS
4. Reboot computer, and boot from BOOTCD with GHOST (ensuring it sees my third drive to store the image)
5. Create image of each RAID drive
6. Re-enable RAID-0 in BIOS

When times comes around, I would restore the images to both drives and re-enable RAID 0 settings in the BIOS.

This will not work?

...

I've rebuilt Windows XP to new RAID 0 drives after the original array failed, using PowerQuest Drive Image 7.

....

...

Acronis true image workstation: http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATICW/

supports raid. ....

Unfortunately, I'm trying to avoid having to buy more software. Why isn't there an open source drive cloning/imaging software?

...
Ghost has some issues with raid, doesnt work everytime.
....

Can you elaborate?
 

darkangelism

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crash, lee said turn off raid 0 not you.

lee, ,you may be able to do that, you can try it, but from what i have seen and heard ghost doesnt play nice with raid.
 

leesiulung

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darkangelism,

Does Acronis TrueImage require installation for it to work with RAIDs? One of the things I like about Symantec Ghost is it does not require an installation in Windows once you have the BootCD created. You can re-use the BootCD as it boots into DOS. It can create and restore the image without leaving any traces of the Ghost software on the original image or the restored drive.

Acronis Workstation 9.1 is a whopping $80. 8O 8O 8O
 

boracus

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After using Ghost, altiris, powerquest, and other imaging software I would recommend Acronis true image. Not only can you boot to a cd and make an image, you can also install the software and create images almost like backups. A full image, and differential images.

I've just recently used acronis enterprise on raid 5 systems, but I don't know about the home version if it will do a boot level on raid. But you can always install into windows and run that way.
 

SomeJoe7777

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I use Norton Ghost on RAID arrays all the time. It works fine.

As long as the RAID controller supports Extended INT 13h extensions, Ghost will work with the drive just fine (and most controllers do).

You do not need to disable the RAID or make the drives individual (I wouldn't recommend that anyway, the RAID controller could easily delete your data on the drives when you re-enable it).

Just make the RAID, install Windows, and then run Ghost from the CD or a boot disk, and image the array.
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
crash, lee said turn off raid 0 not you.

Ah, I was fooled by the "in reply to" tag.

Here's a funny one: I sold a friend a bunch of upgrade parts for his computer, new stuff I hand't completely paid off. Before he had a chance to pay ME, he died.

He had a RAID 0 array of two WD800JB drives (80GB) and a spare drive WD1200JB (120GB). The two 80GB's were RAID mode AND the Windows XP OS drives, and his parents asked me to remove the porn from his computer before they took it to a relative.

Removing his "archive" left around 60GB total use on all three drives. I borrowed another drive and used Partition Magic to shrink the RAID partition from 160GB to 80GB, the used Drive Image 7 to back up his 80GB RAID 0 partition to a single image.

Next, I backed up what was left on his 120GB to another folder on the borrowed drive and wiped the 120GB drive.

Now I had an image of his original array and the left over files from his third drive backed up, and his third drive was clean. I used DriveImage 7 to instal his image from the RAID 0 array to a single drive, the cleaned 120GB.

That's right, DriveImage 7 let me copy an image from a RAID array to a single drive.

Windows XP gave me the usual partition table garbage, I ran a "repair instal" and it was set to go with all installed applications working. 2 drives to 1 drive sucessful.

I copied his backup files that had been on the third drive onto the left over space, and now everything was on one drive.
 

darkangelism

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yeah i never said trurimage wouldnt work, i dont know if it will or not...i just have seen issues with ghost...but if lee already has it then he should try that first.
 

SomeJoe7777

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I use Norton Ghost 2003.

If the drives are attached to a RAID controller, it makes no difference whether the drives are SATA, IDE, or SCSI. The only thing that matters is that the controller supports Extended INT 13h extensions.

If you're trying to Ghost a single drive on a SATA controller, the only thing I've had to do in certain instances is turn off AHCI in the BIOS and run the SATA drive in legacy IDE mode.

Nothing needs a driver. The whole point of Extended INT13h support is that DOS programs can access the drive through the BIOS-provided INT13h interface. This is how Ghost, Partition Magic, and most other DOS programs that manipulate hard disks do it.

Acronis True Image does not boot to DOS - it runs Acronis' version of Linux and uses Linux drivers to access all your hardware.
 

cattbert

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I am not sure what version those reporting difficulty with Ghost used, but I had no problem using version 9 to back up my raid 0 array (which I recently moved over to a single Raptor).

Fry's has a great deal on a Norton Software bundle that includes Internet Security 07, Partition Magic 8 (another useful utility) and Ghost 10 for free after $70 in rebates ($50 and $20):

http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5018815?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Note: for the second $20 rebate you have to be able to show proof of ownership of another program, but it is extremely expansive in what kind of program you can use:

"Enclose proof of previous ownership of a stand-alone or pre-loaded version of any Norton or Symantec software or another company’s antivirus, firewall, antispam, antispyware, utility, or back up software product."

I have never heard of someone trying to back up each raid drive separately and other than cutting the time to reimage in half, which would seem to be offset by the time and hassle involved in backing them up individually, I do not see what the benefit is.
 

leesiulung

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...
Nothing needs a driver. The whole point of Extended INT13h support is that DOS programs can access the drive through the BIOS-provided INT13h interface. This is how Ghost, Partition Magic, and most other DOS programs that manipulate hard disks do it.
....

Will my nForce 590 motherboard support this? How can I find out? Don't seem to see anything about this in the manual. Perhaps, just try.... when I get access to the machine.... However, I run Ghost 2002 and apparently there is some big differences between version 9 and 2002.

Also, with the INT13h support will GHOST see the RAID array as one drive? Assuming it is configured like that.

...
I have never heard of someone trying to back up each raid drive separately and other than cutting the time to reimage in half, which would seem to be offset by the time and hassle involved in backing them up individually, I do not see what the benefit is.

The reason is that I was concerned that I needed to find RAID drivers for DOS so GHOST will be able to read the array. Instead I was going to break the array and make image without the RAID drivers... Anyhow it seems like this is not an issue with INT13h support as somejoe7777 mentioned above.
 

SomeJoe7777

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Will my nForce 590 motherboard support this? How can I find out? .... Also, with the INT13h support will GHOST see the RAID array as one drive? Assuming it is configured like that.

In all likelihood, your nForce 590 supports this. Yes, the RAID array will be seen as one drive.

I don't know the differences between Ghost 2002 & 2003, but I would have to assume that Extended INT13h support is in both of them. Only way to know for sure is to try it.