GHOST Software Frequently Asked Questions

GHOST Software is distributed by:
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Innovative Software
5225 North Ironwood Drive  Suite 200
Milwaukee, WI  53217-4909
Sales: (800)817-5119 or (414)964-2200
Technical Support: (414)964-4099
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Q. I'm running Norton Anti-Virus. NAV Comes up with an error on boot-up.. I select "Repair". After that the machine does NOT boot and the partition information is wrong. The hard drive is corrupt. What happened?
A. Unfortunately the selection for this is a bit misleading. The proper selection is "Innoculate". The "Repair" option tries to restore the native partition size and FAT information. The "Innoculate" option deletes the original NAV FAT table and rebuilds it fresh. Choose "Innoculate", not "Repair".

Q. I go to launch GHOST and it reports the error "Bad GET...". What does this mean?
A. If you have two drives in the system, be certain that only one is master, and one is slave. If FDISK fails to load, the master/slave relationship is NOT proper. If you have just one drive in the system, ensure that all cables are firm and that FDISK can load and see the drive properly.

Q. Do I run GHOST inside the operating system, such as Win95, NT or OS/2?
A. At times GHOST WILL run inside of the O.S., however it is not best to run GHOST inside Win3.x, Win95, NT or OS/2. This could cause GHOST to fail with Error Messages, or misrepresent the hard drive specifications.

Q. If I shouldn't run GHOST inside the OS, how should I launch GHOST?
A. It is best to execute GHOST at the "true DOS" level, not a DOS window inside the O.S.. Hitting F8 at "Starting Windows95..." works well, or you can create a bootable diskette, and then launch GHOST.

Q. I know I should launch GHOST outside the OS, but then I don't have access to the Network, JAZ, ZIP or CD-ROM drive for saving and loading disk images. How do I work around this?
A. Create a bootable diskette with nothing on it but the DOS based drivers or network stack required for access to these devices.

Q. What is the trial version for?
A. For testing GHOST, determining what it does, and how it works. The trial is NOT for commercial gain or profit. It is not to be used as a migration tool, it is for evaluation only.

Q. How is GHOST priced and licensed?
A. GHOST is licensed and priced based on how many end workstations that you use GHOST on. For example, if you use GHOST to prepare 200 workstations for Windows95, you must purchase a 200 machine license pack. License packs come in 25,50,100,200 up to 10000 workstations. Unlimited Enterprise licenses also available. Call 1-800-817-5119.

Q. Can GHOST compress an image file?
A. Yes.

Q. I just downloaded the trial, launched GHOST, got an error message stating "Invalid System Date". What does this error mean?
A. GHOST trial versions check system date and all files to verify the trial time period. There is most likely a file, or set of files, beyond the trial timeout range. For example, if the trial GHOST times out on March 1st, 1997 and GHOST finds a file beyond that date (May 13th, 1997), it will timeout. The only way around this error is find the file and "touch" it or delete it. The registered version does not check file dates.

Q. Does GHOST support writing directly to a tape drive?
A. GHOST does not support writing directly to tape (streaming devices) currently, but will soon.

Q. I'm using GHOST to save an image file up to a server. I'm using a boot disk as instructed. I am running TCP/IP. GHOST takes a long time to save and load an "image" to and from the server. Why?
A. GHOST rides the network layer or "stack" created. Not all stacks work the same as the next. GHOST only goes as fast as the network layer that you've created. The stack may work well normally, saving files normally. GHOST will really ride the stack aggressively. Try experimenting with different clients.

Q. Does GHOST resize FAT32 partitions?
A. Yes.

Q. I'm using a Xircom Pocket Ethernet adapter, and GHOST fails. Why?
A. GHOST supports parallel port cloning, as such, you may lose your network connection through the parallel port network adapter on PE1 or PE2. PE3 seems to be a better network adapter for stability. Drivers and BIOS levels on these devices may also play a role in stability. Try using PCMCIA for faster, more stable connections.

Q. When will GHOST support resizable NTFS partitions?
A. Versions 3.1 and greater support NTFS resizing.

Q. Does GHOST support all protocols?
A. GHOST supports ArcNET, Ethernet and Token Ring. GHOST supports TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, NetBEUI. As long as you have the clients loaded, and resources mapped, GHOST can save and load to and from these resources.

Q. Will GHOST save and load UNIX and NetWare drives?
A. GHOST should be able to save and load UNIX and NetWare volumes. However, resizability will not be available, and hardware must be the same.

Q. After cloning and restarting with 3-Com NIC cards with Windows95.. Windows95 keeps finding a new NIC card. The NIC card is the same as on my model machine. Why?
A. Plug and Play, at times will "see" and "find" devices twice or more. To avoid this, remove the card, and all the protocols from the model BEFORE saving the image or cloning. After cloning, re-start, Windows95 will "see" and "find" the card for the first time, then add the clients, etc.

Q. I'm using an earlier version of GHOST, and it fails with COMPAQ system diagnostic partitions. Do you have a fix for this?
A. Version 1.6.7 and beyond fixes this for trial versions. Version 2.0.7 and beyond fixes this for registered users.

Q. Does GHOST allow me to specify the saving and loading partitions?
A. Versions 3.1 and greater support partition selection.

Q. Does GHOST support Macintosh?
A. Not at this time.

Q. I accidentally specified the wrong cloning, is there any way to restore the original contents?
A. No. GHOST completely overwrites the target Hard Drive, be careful of your selection of targets.

Q. Does GHOST support spanning multiple JAZ or ZIP drives?
A. Not at this time, but it will soon.

Need more help.... (414) 964-4099 Technical Support