I had the same experience with Norton Ghost 15, so now I'm using the free Easeus Todo Backup Free program which works amazingly well. You can download it from http://www.todo-backup.com/products/home/free-backup-software.htm . The March 2012 issue of PC World was very high on the FREE program from Easeus and so is CNET. In my experience with a variety of configurations I have to say I'm very impressed. Like Ghost it will back up to a networked drive, and it will create a boot CD for when your PC won't boot. See CNET's review of it at
http://download.cnet.com/Easeus-Todo-Backup-Free/3000-2242_4-10964460.html?tag=mncol;1#editorsreview .
Good luck.
About 3 years ago I purchased a Seagate Free Agent Desk 1.5 T external drive and installed the Seagate manager software.
It would NOT recognize its own source drive. I contacted Seagate reinstalled several times in my Dell XPS 720 Win XP pro, following instructions to the letter.
Frustrated, I purchased a verbatim 1 T external drive for backup. That drive had Nero BACKITUP 4. That software asked permission and ran several backups on the Seagate.
The XPS went south and I went to a new HPWin8.
The fun began.
Seagate won't run on Win8 (so what is the use of their software backup software system?)
Nero will only restore 5 files at a time .
Thankfully the HDDs are intact and I could upload files via an external case and USB.
Please explain the theory of Backup and proprietary software that is not supported in the future when the computer dies and is replaced, and what is truly the best automatic as possible paradigm/system for me, a user but not a dedicated computer person?

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