Windows 7: ghost image

and we have to remove extra hard disk also.

Now that's an interesting comment. I've never known of any imaging software to damage the hard drive.

What extra hard drive? Once again, I know of no imaging software that requires you to remove drives.

This is a video tutorial of how to use Macrium - I recommend this:

Imaging with free Macrium

I don't agree that the Win 7 imaging utility should be recommended. Too many issues with the Win 7 imager.
See this, another in a long line of such problems.
System Image Not Found on External USB HDD with Image as Root Folder

Until there is a good solution to GAR's problem, I can't recommend using the Win 7 imager, especially since free Macrium doesn't suffer from this - as far as I've seen anyway. I can have my mind changed however.

Victor,
As I stated earlier, I have done extensive testing of creating system images using Win 7 and restoring the same images.

I repeat: There are NO problems. Works flawlessly. There are those people who can mess up anything, and, incidentally, they end up here for help.

Did you know that there are people who can not successfully use Macrium and who have all kinds of problems with Macrium? This is not due to a shortcoming of Macrium, but rather shortcomings of the user.

I've used both the 7 backup option as well as Acronis True Image Disk Director 2010 reliably for both creating and restoring images without any issues. Even set up a dual boot between host drive and an image restored with Acronis just to try the idea out.

The thing I prefer about Acronis has nothing to do with reliabiliy but compression. I backed a few laptops as well as a new desktop seeing full images all being stored on one drive in an external usb enclosure with plenty of drive space left over.

The main machine however has the extra drive space to start with where I use both options and prefer restoring a 7 made image there over any 3rd party wares. I can start the restoration right from the Control Panel. The system automatically reboots and runs the restoration without need for the 7 dvd. No live media required and each image made has been restored with ease.

Both Western Digital and Seagate each provide their own free version of Acronis for their customer bases to consider. Seagate rebranded their's to Disk Wizard.

For the WD download, WD Support

For the Seagate version, DiscWizard | Seagate

As far as the other thread seen there the OP seems to have been hit by a virus and no one has helped him clean that up or suggested booting live from the 7 dvd to use the repair tools restore image option. If the OP tried creating the image while being infected with a virus that would explain why the image was found to be no good to start with.

Now as far as creating an image or restoring one the process is simple enough to tend to by simply following a few basic steps. 1) select source drive(s), partition(s) 2) choose destination or the other way around choosing destination and what will be backed aftwards to then be followed by clicking on the proceed button for the last minute review and confirmation before it begins.

A hard drive being trashed by a backup utility or program? I don't who fed you that nonsense. With large images like the ones I have seen here at times filling a drive up is the only problem you could run into.

As far as an image backup becoming corrupted that is always a possibility with "ANY" imaging program period! There are no exceptions since a software glitch is possible with any and all softwares. I just never seem to run into any between the 7 option and Acronis for some reason.

I don't doubt Win 7 imager works as designed. But the design seems not suited to most people I've seen here, who simply want a full image so they can restore when they encounter a software or hardware problem.
The Win 7 imager has too many "gotchas" for casual PC users who don't care about scheduling and incrementals. They don't want to deal with space management, USB 2.0 vs USB 3.0, renaming full backup files, attaching VHD's, etc, etc.
They just want their computers restored NOW after something breaks.
I'm not a "casual" PC user, and found unexpected "issues" with Win 7 imaging when I tested it. Specifcally, I copied the image folder to a second drive, then ran the the recovery disk. It found only the latest image in the copied image folder.
The original showed all incremental versions. Of course there's a reason for this.
But do I want to find the reason? No. I don't need incrementals.
I just want a discrete image file that can easily be found anywhere I put it, and be restored.
So I kept using Ghost 15, which does exactly that. So does free Macrium, except I believe it has 2 files.
I don't doubt any software doing incrementals has its own "gotchas."
If somebody wants to do incrementals, I would recommend the Win 7 imager, but caution them they should learn it thoroughly, as with any incremental imager.
That's basically my KISS view, and I'm not alone there.
Anything that complicates successful imaging/restore should be avoided. That includes the system reserved abomination.
Still willing to have my mind changed though.

Victor,
Somewhere you are confused.

Precisely the making of a full image backup and restoring the same is where Win 7 Backup and Restore shines.
WIN |type Backup | ENTER key | Create a System Image (left-hand side list) | checkmark the drives you want in the image backup and basically just confirm a couple of prompts and you've got a full system image backup.

Of course , we've a tutorial:Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup

I too would say you are a bit confused there Victor S. The scheduled backup are only select files and folders while a full system image takes a snapshot of the entire drive OS and all programs included.

You can then wipe the drive totally even with a security tool like the open source Eraser program and see everything put back on in anywhere from 20-35min depending on the size of the image itself.

Besides a higher compression seen with Acronis to save on drive space the other advantage is being able to mount an image as a second C drive to add more into the existing image. But you are also dealing with the paid for not freebie version to see everything the 3rd party software offers.

In each case where several images were made with both the restoration tests for each proved reliable. While I still wouldn't need any imaging wares since I constantly back up the backups as far as downloading the same thing more then once to go to two identical storage drives one somewhat mirroring the other more or less maintaining most of the same things the image restoration saves the hours needed to install each individual program following the lengthy number of updates including SP1.

Periodic images which include the latest files and programs can bail you out without any huge data loss if a drive calls it quits on you! Simply restore the image to the replacement drive usually the same size at least if not a larger faster model.

I think this was just another one of the best moves MS could have made with 7 was seeing this option available in all editions not just the Ultimate and Enterprise as seen with Vista Ultimate and Corporate editions. Even the 7 Starter edition includes this as well.