FILE FORMAT GUIDE
Ghost Split Image Segment (.GHS)
A GHS file is an additional segment of a split Ghost disk or partition image. It belongs with the starting GHO file and the other spans; a lone GHS file is not a complete image.
Quick facts
- Extension
- .ghs
- Format
- Ghost Split Image Segment
- Category
- archive
- MIME type
- Unknown
- Standard / developer
- Broadcom / Symantec
- Open with
- Ghost Explorer (compatible Ghost Solution Suite)
What is GHS?
Ghost can split an image across multiple files. Broadcom documents .gho as the image name and numbered .ghs files as spans. The complete sequence is required by the imaging workflow. This guide covers Ghost image segments, not unrelated uses of the GHS name.
How to open GHS
Use the source-specific workflow below and preserve the original file.
Ghost Explorer (compatible Ghost Solution Suite)Windows
Open the starting .gho file from the complete image set in compatible Ghost Explorer. Keep all .ghs spans together and provide a requested segment only when it belongs to that same set. Do not start a disk restore just to inspect the image.
Common uses and compatibility
- Store additional parts of a Ghost image split across files.
Things to check
- Missing or incorrectly named spans can prevent recovery. A single segment does not prove that the set is complete.
- Ghost Explorer behavior depends on the release and image condition.
Technical details
- Signature
- Unknown
- Encoding
- Unknown
- Container
- Unknown
- Compression
- Unknown
Public specification: unknown.
How to open a GHS file with its GHO image
Begin with the image entry file, rather than treating a random span as a standalone archive. Keep a copy of the original filenames and complete set.
- Locate the associated .gho image and all of its .ghs spans.
- Keep them together and open the .gho file in a compatible Ghost Explorer installation.
- If asked for a later segment, locate the matching original span. Stop if that file is missing rather than substituting another image.
Sources: Broadcom: Ghost Error 651 and GHS span naming · Broadcom: Ghost Explorer crash opening GHO and GHS
GHO vs GHS
GHO identifies the main image or its initial segment. GHS holds additional spans. Both belong to the same Ghost imaging workflow, but their roles are different; renaming a GHS file to GHO does not rebuild the missing beginning.
What does Ghost Error 651 mean?
Broadcom documents Error 651 when Ghost cannot find the next span. One documented cause is confusing numbering when the original image name ends in digits. Confirm the original set and vendor procedure; do not rename segments at random.
Why does Ghost Explorer ask for the last segment or crash?
Broadcom records a GSS 3.3 RU4 crash associated with opening an image and selecting its last GHS file, resolved by a later release. A last-segment error may also involve image damage. Check both release compatibility and the complete image set before concluding the file is corrupt.
Sources: Broadcom: Ghost Explorer crash opening GHO and GHS · Broadcom: last-segment error in Ghost Explorer
Can I merge or extract one GHS file with a ZIP tool?
This review does not verify a generic ZIP extraction or concatenation workflow. Keep the proprietary image set intact and use compatible Ghost tooling. A segment alone cannot supply data from missing spans.
Related formats
- Norton Ghost Image
The starting Ghost image file for a split image set.
Sources & review
Sources reviewed 2026-11-03.