How to view and mount GHO images? Where to download Norton Ghost Explorer?

[wwcanoer]

I used Norton Ghost for many years.  i want to clean up my old GHO files.  My recovery experience is that GHO files are often corrupted, so I want to verify them before selecting which GHO files to save.  I also want to open the GHO files to ensure that I'm not throwing away any important data that I haven't backuped elswere before deleting them.  (would also like the ability to load an GHO image in a virtual machine in case I need to use some old program that I no longer have, but that's not a current need right now.)

Norton Ghost Explorer 11.5 was free but the download links are not working for me.  Is it because I am in Indonesia at the moment and VPN is blocked, or are the files no longer there?  

ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/products/symantec_ghost_solution_suite/2.5/updates/Ghostexp-B1597.zip

ftp://ftp.norton.com/public/english_us_canada/products/symantec_ghost_solution_suite/2.5/updates/Ghostexp-B1597.zip

Alternatively, how to install old versions of Norton Ghost on Windows?  I understand that it is not compatible for imaging, but surely it could open and extract GHO files?

I have the CDs for:

• Norton Ghost 2003 (but no key on the sleeve)
• Norton Ghost 10 (2005) with key - but will not install on windows 10 (gave error that it is not compatible with the OS)
• Norton Ghost 14 (2007) with key - installed ok but I don't see how to open GHO files!  (only opens v2i files?!)
• Nortong Ghost 15 (2009) but the key is unredable (old thermal yellow sticker, parts of the numers faded or rubbed off)

I should also have my old NG boot CDs.  Can I boot them in a Virtual Machine in Win 10?  (Sounds cumbersome.)

Other possible solutions?

Thank you in advance.

[wwcanoer]

My old 2003 Norton Ghost boot Cd won't boot my Lenovo T430s.

Found Ghostexp.exe on my NortonGhost 10 installation CD. Running on Win10, it opens fine, but when browsing to a multi-part GHO file, it asks for the last segment, I select that, then it says that segment 2 fails to read.  I tried several different backups but all give the same error.  I would also get that error back in the day.  They're unlikely to all be damaged GHO files.  That's why I eventually stopped using Ghost.

Do I need to create a WindowsXp Virtual Machine and then install Ghost on that?

I also downloaded the old Hirens.BootCD isos that include Ghost but those iso won't mount.  Appears that I can't install from iso direct to bootable USB, I need to buy a blank CD and burn to that first.

I downloaded "VMware vCenter Converter Standalone" and will try that next.  (But I new read that it can only convert sv2i files, not GHO.)

Any other options to explore old GHO files and/or mount them as a virtual disk?

[wwcanoer]

OMG, the problem with opening multiple-segment files is the length of the filename!!!!

When I sharten the GHO filename to 5 characters 12345.GHO, to match the GHS segments 12345002.GHS, then every backup that I've tried opens fine with the Ghostexp.exe file from the NG10 install CD (on Windows 10 with WinXP compatibility mode).  Search works and I can copy and paste from Ghostexp to my drive.  Not able to validate the GHO file but if it opens to view the contents, then I assume that it's fine,

I'd still like to know the best way to mount a GHO file as a Virtual Disk so that I could try using old programs.

[ShawnOfTheFarm]

As you probably know norton ghost was end of lifed 5 or so years ago and is why the links are no good.   

https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v86337130?client=norton&inid=nortoncom_nav_support.norton_homepage%3Ahome&site=nrtn_en_US&x=0&y=0 

 

As for mounting an image so it can be treated like a virtual drive.      You can mount a VMDK file and then restore your image into that vmdk and then use that vmdk to mount and test.    

The corporate Ghost Symantec Ghost Soulution Suite is still available they are up to 3.3 RU 3 (12.x)  Recently Symantec sold off the corporte products to Broadcom so it may be difficult to purchse the new one while they are in transition.  

I know that the Feature request for mounting a ghost file has been entered in the past but no way to say if it will become part of the product any time soon. 

 

Cheers

 

[wwcanoer]

Yes, I had found that news.  Thank you for responding.

It's sad that companies cast off their users so easily.  Sure, the program is discontinued, but it costs very little to keep the support files online, especially for a backup-soultion where you can reaasonably expect back-ups to be kept for years to decades.  They could open-source the gho file format and explorer program since they don't use it anymore.   I am certainly glad that I abandonned Norton Ghost for True Image, though I should take a look at open source options or the most-future proof system.

 

[ShawnOfTheFarm]

It wouldn't go open source they still use most of the same technoligy in the corporate version of Ghost Solution Suite.    But I agree I don't like seeing good products get let go.    

 

Cheers. 

[Edward Tippelt]

Symantec have end of lifed many good products, and I am sure it was nothing more than a financial decision. The cost of developing and maintaining the products is weighed against the annual revenues from that product and if the revenues are less than the development/maintenance costs then the product gets canned.

Many products canned by Symantec were originally produced by companies they acquired, and the Symantec policy seems to have been to extract as much revenue as possible out of each product line and then can it. Staff that did the original development inevitably moved on to other employers and skills were lost, leading to new releases having more bugs than the older versions, and thus to user unhappiness.

It will be interesting to see whether Broadcomm bring a different dynamic to the table but at the end of the day there are shareholders to satisfy and profit levels to be achieved.

There is of course a free imaging tool (ImageX), much like Ghost, included in the free Microsoft WinPE download.  

WinPE gets updated every six months in line with the major updates of Win 10, so for a free tool, is well maintained and in my experience, has worked very well.