Thinkpads Forum

Greetings!

Where can I find instructions on how to install a DVD (that I have) of a Norton Ghost backup of my hard drive?

I've had a "free space" issue with my A31P over the last few years and the size of that shrunk down to literally just a few Mgs at which point I set it aside. Just this past week I reopened it and (with the help of a friend) I some how recovered gigs of free space! However I had dumped virtually all my files and as many programs as I possibly could in my desperate attempts to gain free space. Now I wish to restore my basic OS. I originally got my A31 from E-bay via a friend who made me a Norton Ghost backup of the hard disc but without any instructions on how to install that. I'm sure it's easy and I'm "gun shy" on proceeding after I all I've been through with this machine. Enlightened suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

Do you know what version of Ghost that was used to create the backup? I use Ghost 2003 in DOS mode to create my backups/images and there is an option to install a boot copy of the Ghost program directly onto the optical disk, be it CD or DVD. This makes the disk bootable without any other software. For a Thinkpad you would power up the system, press the F12 key right away, open the drive tray, mount the disk and then specify the CD/DVD drive in the boot menu.

I wrote up a procedure several years ago:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ghost_2003/dvd_restore/

If your DVD is not bootable, then you will have to get a copy of the Ghost program and probably boot it from a floppy. You could then follow my instructions from Figure 4 onward.

I would also suggest that you perform the restore operation onto a different hard drive than what you are using now. That way you might still have access to some files that were created after your friend make the backup.

Thank you!

Have a fabulous rest of your week!
~chef