Split a Ghost image captured as a single file

Products

• Ghost Solution Suite

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to deploy an image over the network that was captured as 1 single large .gho file, errors and corruption are observed

Cause

An image was captured using Ghost switch "-split=0" which resulted in entire Image being saved as one file.

By default, Ghost will split the image into 2GB files which reduces the risk of image integrity issues and corruption when deploying over a network.

One image file is sometimes preferred when imaging locally (Image on local storage). However, it is not recommended for network/automation imaging.

Resolution

With Ghost Explorer it is possible to split an image captured as a single file into multiple smaller files to assist with deployment.

Step 1:

Open Ghost Explorer from the GSS console or install directory:
GSS Default:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Altiris\eXpress\Deployment Server\Ghost\GhostExp64.exe (or Ghostexp.exe for x86 based images)

Ghost Standard Tools Default:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\Ghost\GhostExp64.exe (or Ghostexp.exe for x86 based images)

 

Step 2:

Before doing this step it is recommended to have a backup of your image file in case modification causes unforeseen issues.
Click "File" > "Open" and select the image that was captured as a single large file:

 

Step 4:

Wait for the image to completely load into Ghost Explorer (progress shown at bottom right of the window)

Then click "File" > "Compile" 

Check the box for "Span Image". You can leave the default "Split point" or set a custom split point less than 2048MB (Ghost default is just under 2000MB (2GB)). Also check the box to "Autoname spans"

Select a location to save the newly complied image and enter an image name (filename must be 8 characters or fewer) in "File name:". Leave the "save as type:" and select "Save"

 

Once Ghost Explorer is finished compiling, you should have a spanned copy of your original image in the location you specified

The spanned copy should be used to deploy the image over a network or through GSS automation rather than the original single image file.