Symantec SYSTEM RECOVERY DESKTOP 2013 MLIC

I still cant install this. I spent an endless hours trying to validate code. Had to have technician remotely look into my computer to figure out problem. Now after validation solved I get a recovery disk error and I cant back up my computer. For $70/ year and countless hours on phone it should be free. Best bet is to get hold of a copy of GHOST and stick with windows 7.

ADDENDUM: Now, after almost a year and TWO service packs, the product seems to be working. You can't get the software with the service packs already installed (as far as I've been able to determine). Downloading the service pack and installing it aren't enough. You also have to download the .ISO file and create a bootable CD for the restore portion. I have upgraded it from 2 stars to 3 stars. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I've used Norton Ghost for more than a decade. It's always been reliable for backups and emergency restores. Symantec System Recovery Desktop 2013 (SSRD2013) is the same thing as Norton Ghost, with the addition of Windows 8 compatibility and hardware independent restore. Unfortunately, they released it well before it was ready. I backed up my Windows 8 system successfully (uses UEFI instead of BIOS). But it refused to restore the backup image. It found the backup image, and displayed it as UEFI. When I booted the CD in UEFI mode and selected the UEFI backup image, SSRD2013 announced that a BIOS backup could not be restored to UEFI system. When I booted in BIOS mode and selected the EUFI backup image, SSRD2013 announced that a UEFI backup could not be restored to a BIOS system. I no longer trust Norton/Symantec software for my Windows 8 backups.

Good product for Win8. Similar to ghost 15. Backup has worked well the last time it was performed. Trouble downloading the latest version.

This SSR2013 product is normally only sold to "enterprise" customers, meaning, companies use it. This particular part number on Amazon is essentially the same as what Ghost 16 could have and should have been. It even LOOKS like prior Ghost 15. Yes I cried when Ghost was discontinued to the home user. I use this new Symantec System Recovery 2013, because it OFFICIALLY supports Windows 7 or 8, and Windows 7 or 8 UEFI mode using boot hard drives over 2tb. Note this particular part number on Amazon is the physical retail box with physical media DVD that I'd suggest for home users interested in giving this a try, since you can boot from the physical disc in recovery mode etc. UPDATE: I read a few comments below my review and it seems nobody knows Symantec is SLOW to update this product because I think they do tons of testing which is a good thing in my humble opinion, but that YES THEY DO UPDATE IT. So the point here is they did update this product 3 times now since my review on Amazon (somewhat like a Service Pack), to be fully compatible with the latest Windows 8.1 and Update-1 for full recovery. It works great for me on both of our Win8.1 Sony laptops with the latest free patches, as long as I WAIT for the SSR update before upgrading Windows. If we forget and update a laptop without first updating the SSR backup software, then of course it does not work. This is the same exact issue that Norton Ghost had, so this is in my humble opinion even further proof this is the same codebase that was used by Ghost.... which again to me is a good thing.

Returned to seller after a lot of hassle. Never worked, Symantec would not support or upgrade.

This is the new generation of the classic Norton Ghost. I wouldn't run a computer online or install a new software program without running a backup first. It allows you to summon Dr. Brown and "hop in the magic DeLorean" and go back in time - to before a disaster happened. No virus protection program can actually go back to before infection - this can. Byte for byte clones created. Restoring is easy. Uses a boot/rescue disk. That covers you for when you can't even get Windows to load. I wish I had something like this to reverse some bad moves I made in real life!

I have the exact same story to tell as the 2 star reviewer of SSR 2013. I downloaded the trial version offered for Norton Ghost customers. It will not let me recover from a back up - error: Cannot restore UEFI based recovery on Bios based computers. Please select a Bios based recovery point". According to SSR 2103's Manage Backup Destination description of my one and only backup, the backup IS Bios based. Try, finding a solution for the aforementioned error message and you will see that Symantec does not have a solution - or even decent explanation of the root cause of the problem. (there is one hit for a supposed work around for the opposite situation (BIOS based back up being restored on a UEFI based system (which in theory I suspect this problem is), but there's a caveat there that warns not to try the work around for the error message I encountered. Furthermore, I just found the downloadable System Recovery Disk iso file and tried three times to create a custom SRD. SSR 2103 hangs with a fully green status bar saying its "mining for drivers" (there's no way to cancel or end this short of rebooting or uninstalling SSR 2013m which I just did to end the frustration). I had hoped that if I booted from a SRD, the backup I made might work. Sadly, I'll never know. There's no tech support until you buy the license, but who's going to buy SSR 2013 unless they know it works? You need to uninstall Norton Ghost before you can install SSR 2013, so that makes the experience even more distasteful for someone trying this replacement for Ghost. Make sure you do a complete back up of your system using Norton Ghost before you start experimenting with this so that you can get a functioning Ghost back easily. I have the luxury of being able to test this on a brand new computer which I can at least bring back to its original state in about 2 hours, and I'm desperate to find a Backup and Recovery option, so am willing to invest the time to explore options, but right now, that's got me on the search for a competing product. Hell, at this point I'd settle for Windows 8's Window 7 Recover menu. It's not as glitzy as Ghost or SSR, but it does seem to do the job. I've been a Norton Ghost user for more than a decade and up until now have been a big fan. This product is more than not ready for prime time - it's a loser! Don't buy it. If you have an older desktop PC, go ahead and try the trial version to see if it works before you spend your money. If you have a brand new UEFI laptop, I'd say don't bother until you Google the error message above and see a solution to the problem.

Worked every time. Recovering a single file or a full restore. Tried several instances of dissimilar hardware and continued to work without any problems. Note: You do have to backup every partition on the hard drive (to include system reserved partitions) or you will have problems after restore. Software comes with additional utilities for troubleshooting, loading additional drivers and image directly from bootable CD. I've used this product for years and it continues to prove itself over and over.