• Norton Ghost supports CDs.cd"s image by Horticulture from Fotolia.com
  
  Norton Ghost 9 provides users with the ability to copy an entire hard drive. These copies are referred as "images." These copies create a hard drive backup, and the user can recover the entire computer using the backup image. If the hard drive crashes, simply copy over and install the hard drive image and the user is back up and running from where he was before the crash. Norton Ghost supports several external media devices.
  
  

CD or DVD

• CD and DVD writers are becoming more common in new computers. CD and DVD writers copy data from your hard drive to a CD or DVD disk. Norton Ghost 9 supports CD and DVD writers. The image of the drive is copied over to a blank CD or DVD and stored in a safe location in case of a hard drive crash. The disadvantage with this type of media is that there is a limit to the amount of space offered by a CD or DVD. If the hard drive image requires more space than the CD or DVD can store, then a different media disk is required.
  
  

External Hard Drive

• Local computer shops sell external hard drive devices, but they are not included with a pre-built computer system. External hard drives connect to the USB port on a computer and function like a normal hard drive installed on the computer. Norton Ghost 9 supports external hard drives, and these devices provide gigabytes of space for a hard drive image. The disadvantage of using an external hard drive is the higher price than a CD or DVD writer. External hard drives are also sensitive to the environment, and they can crash like an internal drive. When using an external drive as a backup device, ensure it is kept in a safe location.
  
  

Network Hard Drive

• An internal hard drive on the machine or on the network saves a Norton Ghost 9 image. Large enterprise networks use this type of backup procedure. Companies keep Norton Ghost 9 hard drive images on large storage drives capable of storing several gigabytes of information. Copying several images to one drive requires a high volume hard drive. One hard drive image can take up several gigabytes, so the network hard drive needs hundreds of gigabytes to support an enterprise solution. This solution provides network administrators with backups available over the network for computer maintenance and support.