Norton Ghost

Create backups and recover lost data including system files.

Product summary of Norton Ghost

Norton Ghost, or simply Ghost, is a disk cloning program that was originally produced by Binary Research but was acquired in 1998 by Symantec Corporation. The term "Ghost" was originally an acronym for "General Hardware-Oriented System Transfer." Although disk cloning software programs are not usually used primarily as backup programs, Norton Ghost is marketed as such. One key feature of backup programs is that they allow users to retrieve individual files without requiring them to restore the whole backup. Disk cloning programs, on the other hand, either let an image file be viewed as a read-only file in Windows Explorer, or provide a program similar to Windows Explorer so that users can browse image files and get individual files from them.

Norton Ghost has an ISO file that should be written to a CD. This would provide users with a recovery environment that will enable them to make a full system recovery. The program also allows users to mount a drive and select various files from that drive and move them to a primary hard disk. Norton Ghost can duplicate the contents of a hard drive and change the contents of a hard drive to a virtual disk format.

Features of Norton Ghost

Norton Ghost 14, which is among the newest versions of the software, is Windows-based, largely due to the DriveImage technology that Symantec was able to get when it purchased PowerQuest back in 2003. Norton Ghost 14 offers users with a wide variety of new features and improvements in usability that those who use previous Ghost versions do not have. The clever design of Norton Ghost 14 provides users with much flexibility and power, which allows them to make a complete backup every month and update that backup everyday if they want to. Users can recover their files from hard disk crashes or virus infections, or from accidental deletions of files or folders.

It's also possible for users to retrieve files that they stored a few days ago in case they don't like the changes they've made to the files recently. Users can easily explore the files stored in their disk days or even weeks ago. Older versions of files can be accessed, and users also have the chance to restore their entire disk to how it was on a certain day. Norton Ghost 14 can make restore points which are based on trigger events such as adding a specific number of files to the disk or installing new software.  

Setup of Norton Ghost

When Norton Ghost 14 is first installed, users are guided by a wizard so that they'll know how to create a backup schedule. Ghost even performs a scan on the system and gives suggestions regarding locations where backup can be stored. The software can also back up data to DVD-RW drives, but it's best for the data to be stored on a secondary internal or external hard drive.

With its easy installation and ease of use, Norton Ghost 14 is recommended for anyone who wants to create backups of files. Symantec also offers support in its website in case users have any questions about or problems with the software.