Extract text from GHO files
To convert your GHO file to another format, you need Norton Ghost or other Disk Image software.
To convert other file formats to the "System Backup Image" file type, you need software like Norton Ghost or a similar tool.
A .GHO file is a proprietary disk image created by Norton Ghost (historically developed by Symantec), designed to capture an exact sector-by-sector replica of a hard drive or partition. These files were the industry standard for full-system backups and disaster recovery in the Windows XP and Windows 7 eras.
The primary issue with .GHO files today is digital obsolescence. Since the consumer version of Norton Ghost was discontinued in 2013, accessing the data inside a .GHO file on modern operating systems like Windows 10 or 11 is difficult. The format is proprietary, meaning you cannot simply double-click to mount it like a standard ISO or IMG file. Users often find themselves locked out of archived photos or documents because they lack the specific legacy "Ghost Explorer" utility required to browse the image. Furthermore, because these are full-disk images, file sizes often exceed several gigabytes, making them unwieldy to transfer or upload without compression.
To modernize your archives or access legacy data, the best workflow is conversion:
Note: A small percentage of .GHO files may be replay files from the game Teeworlds, which are completely unrelated to disk backups and are used to review gameplay footage.
Convert.Guru analyzes your GHO file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted GHS, GHOST, ISO, CHM, 7Z, LRV, EXE, BIB, XMP, MP3, TXT, PNG and ASPX files.
If you want to convert GHO file to ISO, VHD, VMDK, TIB, BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP or TAR, you can use Norton Ghost or similar software from the "Disk Imaging & Backup" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to GHO, try Norton Ghost or another comparable tool in the "Disk Imaging & Backup" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our GHO converter.