donfm :
I have been searching the internet for an answer to my question and unable to do so.
What I want to do is make a bootable backup image that will self install without windows in case of an operating system failure where windows is unavailable. I want to image my C:/ drive and make it so I can boot from CDR or DVDR and have it format the drive and reinstall my backup identical to the original. A long time ago I saw this done with Symantec Ghost on a job I was on but have no idea how to accomplish the task myself.
I was wondering if there is perhaps a better software out there now for making a total self restoring image of your haed drive such as this.
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It's a long time ago you asked this, but I've only just seen it. Since it seems to cause widespread puzzlement, I thought it worthwhile to spell out how I do it. It's a relatively straightforward process using Ghost 2003 and Nero 6. The steps below provide a simple system to produce a single, self booting, DVD recovery disk i.e. your Hard Drive image must be a bit smaller than 4.7 GB. Thus it is suitable for a fresh XP installation plus a moderate number of installed applications. For a bigger Image you could use a dual-layer (9 GB) DVD. To avoid clogging up the computer for which the Recovery disk is intended, it is best to prepare the Recovery disk on another computer.
The steps are:
STEP 1.
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Prepare a bootable floppy disk and add the following files to it:
AUTOEXEC.BAT
CONFIG.SYS
MSCDEX.EXE
OAKCDROM.SYS
HIMEM.SYS
REBOOT.COM
Use Google to find and download MSCDEX.EXE, OAKCDROM.SYS, HIMEM.SYS and REBOOT.COM if you don't have them already.
CONFIG.SYS contains the following:
LASTDRIVE = Z
DEVICE=OAKCDROM.SYS /D:MSCD001 /L:Z
FILES=10
BUFFERS=10
DOS=HIGH,UMB
STACKS=9,256
AUTOEXEC.BAT contains the following:
@echo off
cls
echo ************************************************************************
echo * IF YOU CONTINUE, THIS WILL DESTROY ALL EXISTING DATA ON THE HARD DRIVE AND *
ECHO * REPLACE IT WITH A FRESH INSTALLATION OF WINDOWS. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO DO *
ECHO * THIS, REMOVE THE RECOVERY DVD FROM THE DRIVE AND TURN OFF THE COMPUTER. *
echo ************************************************************************
pause
LH \MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001 /L:Z
SET TZ=GHO+00:00
Z:
GHOST.EXE @GHSWITCH.TXT
cls
echo ********************************************************************
echo * NOW REMOVE THE RECOVERY DVD FROM THE DRIVE AND REBOOT THE COMPUTER *
ECHO * IF WINDOWS REQUIRES RE-ACTIVATION, SELECT "BY TELEPHONE" AND ENTER *
ECHO * THE PRODUCT KEY SHOWN ON THE LABEL ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LAPTOP *
echo ********************************************************************
pause
REBOOT
STEP 2
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Use GHOST to create an image of the hard disk you want the Recovery disk for. Ghost may produce a single image files e.g. IMAGE.GHO, or a set of files e.g. IMAGE.GHO, IMAGE001.GHS, IMAGE002.GHS etc, depending how much data your hard disk has.
STEP 3
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Prepare a folder named PAYLOAD on your hard drive containing the following files:
IMAGE.GHO
*.GHS files (if GHS files exist)
GHOST.EXE
GHSWITCH.TXT
REBOOT.COM
GHSWITCH.TXT contains the following:
-batch
-clone,mode=restore,src=\IMAGE.GHO,dst=1
STEP 4
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Insert the Floppy Disk prepared in STEP 1 above in the floppy drive. Run Nero Express and select Data - Bootable Data Disk. Add all the files from the PAYLOAD folder then click NEXT. Select "Read Boot Disk in Drive" and click NEXT. Select a suitable name for the Recovery Disk and click BURN. That's it. However, for efficient testing, initially omit the Image files from the Nero run and use a rewritable DVD. This will produce the Recovery Disk quickly and you can test it on the computer to see if everything works OK (other than the actual restore of the Images). Once it's OK, prepare the full recovery disk.
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