What is Ghost Imaging Backup, in details

Hello peeps!

I'm a newbie here. Sorry if the title is so lame, but I do have to do some research

Ghost Imaging Backup --> I'm confused with this.
What is the detail meaning of Ghost Imaging Backup? What I understand is the purpose is to do backup, but then, is it used to backup system image, or backup files/data, or both?

I did few research from the net, videos from youtube, and I found so many different method, and I'm not sure what is the most efficient way to do backup.

So here's my questions:

1. Does system image is only to backup OS?
2. If so, do I have to backup data & OS separately?

P/s: I'm using windows 7 starter, which has the backup & restore function, so I guess I don't need to install any ghost software.

Thanks in advance!

Thanks pparks1 for the speedy reply!

Well I understand your explanation but still puzzling a bit.

When you say "Therefore, it captures everything that is installed or sitting on the drive when the image is taken. Thus, it contains the OS, Programs and Data (as long as all of that stuff is on the partition or the drive being imaged.", so I guess I have to locate all the files in one partition, am I correct?

Another question, if i just wanna backup the data & files, will the backup set in an image, or maintain as what they are, i.e folder 1, folder 2 etc?

Can u suggest me the perfect way to backup files? I mean in terms of schedule, location or any other terms related. Thanks

ladyss said:

I guess I have to locate all the files in one partition, am I correct?

Another question, if i just wanna backup the data & files, will the backup set in an image, or maintain as what they are, i.e folder 1, folder 2 etc?

Can u suggest me the perfect way to backup files? I mean in terms of schedule, location or any other terms related. Thanks

You can have as many partitions as you like. Fewer partitions generally simplifies things and makes backing up less complicated.

Your C drive (the "system") is normally backed up with an image of that partition. You could include other partitions in the same image, but I'd recommend you make separate images of each partition if you have more than one partition--if you decide to make an image of anything other than C.

If your data is on C, it would be included in any image of C.

I'd recommend you put your data on a separate partition, let's call it D.

Then back up C with an image and backup D (your data) with a file-by-file program, without using an image. Some people do back up their data with an image, but that makes me nervous because images don't always restore successfully.

Normally, you would place your backups on an external drive.

Thanks pparks1.

I'll try my best!

Thanks a lot ignatzatsonic!

Your explanations are exactly like what I thought. Now I feel more confident. Thank you!

Anybody ever used Easeus Todo Backup before?

It seems easy to use, but I'm not sure the restore process will be easy too.

I have made images with both EaseUS Todo and Macruim. Both are about as easy as possible--just a few mouse clicks.

However, as you suspect, the restore process is more involved. You have to make a "recovery disk" and boot from it to restore the image file. The recovery disk is Linux-based and may not boot, so you have to test it to make sure it is bootable and will show all of your partitions and the necessary image files you have previously saved. Make the recovery disk and boot from it and go several steps into the recovery process to confirm to your own satisfaction what you will need to do in a real-life recovery.

Then hope it works as expected when the time comes.