NGH 14 Provides Very Effective Backup for Vista x64
I've been using Norton Ghost for may years and it keeps getting better. Running Windows Vista x64 has been challenging. Version 12 had the annoying habit of disabling my backups and occasionally causing my non-boot drive to be set to read only. Version 14 has solved those problems and runs smoothly and reliably with minimal impact on my work. The recovery point browser is very effective for recovering a specific version of a file. The ability to convert a disk image to a virtual machine image was particularly useful when I upgraded to Vista as it allowed me to continue running my old system concurrently on the same PC.

Who Needs It?
I wonder who really needs this product. It is way too complicated to install. Restoration is not flawless by any means, i.e. you cannot count on it working when you really need it working. So, for backup of user files I will just use a simple script with xcopy, and for system restoration go through the complete reinstall: it will guarantee that everything is fine the way it should be.

Great for Backing Up Files

Norton Ghost is in essence backup software for those who did not get an operating system that already has backup software on it. That being said, even though I'm running Vista Ultimate, I decided to give Ghost a try to see what it offered.

I actually like Ghost a great deal. I found the interface to be easy to set up, and the alerts that it is doing its duty each night is very reassuring. I haven't had any problems with getting the files back again.

Now I do have to say that I would NOT ever try to restore an entire operating system from old backup files. My home PC is running a number of large, complex software packages. If I had some sort of catastrophic hard drive failure, I would start from scratch, install those software packages fresh, and just get my data files from the backup. I imagine some small home users might enjoy the idea of restoring an entire system but for me it's just not reasonable. I have hardware level protection, but if the system really does hose, I'm starting from scratch to ensure everything goes on fresh and clean.

So if your aim is to have your entire computer including OS and programs backed up, I'd look more into hardware level (RAID etc) protection to give you the security you're seeking. I realize Ghost says it can do it - but there are so many variables and issues involved that it can't be fool-proof. I would really only use this (and any back up software) to back up data files that are changing. Organize your data files so that they are stored logically, then back them up nightly. You can always re-install Word - but you can't re-install your diary files and important correspondence.

Now, that being said, why go with Ghost rather than say Vista Ultimate? I happen to love Vista Ultimate and haven't had any issues with it at all. I love its functionality, and it's run super smoothly with all my software. But if you're someone who wants to run an OS without a built in back up, I would definitely go with this to supplement. You want backups. Somehow computers know when you are NOT backing up, and that is when they choose to crash. Don't subject yourself to that pain. Whatever you go with, make sure you are backing up your data files.

The best backup product on the market
This product is without peer, it is used by virtually every IT person I know. It is easy to use and does a good job.

Norton 14.0 Recovery disk has no 64X drivers for Vista Business
When creating a system recovery disk, I received a message stating that the 32 bit drivers included in the system recovery disk would not be usable to reboot my system. This was good to know. I was then presented with the option to create a custom recovery disk and tell Norton where to find the drivers that I wanted to add to my recovery disk. I will let you know how that works, once I figure out where the drivers reside on my system. I am pretty sure they reside in c:\windows\sysWOW64\drivers but when I browsed that folder there were just a few files and I know there are many more drivers required to reboot my system to the point I can restore a backup.

The reason I purchased Ghost was because I read so many bad reviews about the built in backup system for Windows operating systems. I am thinking it may be time to give the built in system for Vista Business 64X a try and not waste any more time trying to get Norton 14.0 to work. I was surprized to see how many other people are having diffculty using this product.