DriveClone Pro v3 feedback

[Brian Elias]

I have been testing FDISR, Rollback Rx and DriveClone Pro v3 for quick restore on a laptop. FDISR is very stable and reliable, but with the size of the snapshots it is nearly impossible to use on my laptop. I have been using Rollback Rx for some time and am just getting ready to uninstall it (again) after it buggered up my drive data (again). The features and speed of Rollback Rx are fantastic, but all of that takes a backseat to reliability. It has worked well for months, but you just never know. My last possibility is DriveClone Pro v3, which seems to offer possibly a good compromise, but I don't see much about it here at Wilders. In my somewhat limited testing it provides reliable backup, file version recovery and basic "goback" capabilities. I would appreciate any comments (pro and con) from people who are using it. - TIA

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "FDISR is very stable and reliable, but with the size of the snapshots it is nearly impossible to use on my laptop." }-
When you were using FDISR was the folder "My Documents" included in the snapshots ???
If you don't anchor the folder "My Documents" in FDISR, your personal data is included in ALL your snapshots.
If your system = 10gb and your personal data = 100gb and you don't anchor the folder "My Documents" :
1. The primary snapshot = 10gb + 100gb = 110gb
2. The secondary snapshot = 10gb + 100gb = 110gb
Total = 220gb
Each time you create another snapshot, the volume on your harddisk increases with 10gb+100gb = 110gb

If you anchor the folder "My Documents" :
1. The primary snapshot = 10gb
2. The secondary snapshot = 10gb
3. Your folder "My Documents" = 100gb
Total = 120gb
Each time you create another snapshot, the volume on your harddisk increases only with 10gb.

If you anchored the folder "My Documents" and the snapshots were still too big, then you need another solution. :)

[wilbertnl]

-{ Quote: "My last possibility is DriveClone Pro v3, which seems to offer possibly a good compromise, but I don't see much about it here at Wilders. In my somewhat limited testing it provides reliable backup, file version recovery and basic "goback" capabilities. I would appreciate any comments (pro and con) from people who are using it. - TIA" }-
I too have been testing DriveClone and I like it.
It offers a nice combination of system restore and disk imaging. Farstone changed the design and quit using a separate hidden partition. Instead DriveClone uses regular hidden files in the Windows filesystem. Which makes it more flexible and less prone to partition loss.
One feature of Rollback RX or FD-ISR that I would miss in DriveClone is the ability to maintain (unlimited) different configurations. DriveClone only offers rollback and it doesn't retain the snapshots. If that is something you don't need, than DriveClone could work great for you.

[Durad]

Does it mean that DriveClone Pro does not save last 10 snapshots like RestoreIt used to do?

[wilbertnl]

-{ Quote: "Does it mean that DriveClone Pro does not save last 10 snapshots like RestoreIt used to do?" }-
It saves an unlimited amount of snapshots, but if I remember correctly it removes the snapshots when you perform a restore.

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "Does it mean that if my C drive is not partitioned and if it contains both the OS (< 10 GB) and other program+data files (~100 GB) then can I "anchor" all the non-OS program+data folders? If I do this, will I be able to create and restore future 10 + 100 GB snapshots faster then when not anchoring? Do I always have to restore the 100 GB anchored folders/files instead of just restoring the 10 GB unanchored OS?

Thanks." }-
If you have any question about FDISR, there is a forum FirstDefense-ISR at Wilders, otherwise we will go off topic.

[Huupi]

-{ Quote: "When you were using FDISR was the folder "My Documents" included in the snapshots ???
If you don't anchor the folder "My Documents" in FDISR, your personal data is included in ALL your snapshots.
If your system = 10gb and your personal data = 100gb and you don't anchor the folder "My Documents" :
1. The primary snapshot = 10gb + 100gb = 110gb
2. The secondary snapshot = 10gb + 100gb = 110gb
Total = 220gb
Each time you create another snapshot, the volume on your harddisk increases with 10gb+100gb = 110gb

If you anchor the folder "My Documents" :
1. The primary snapshot = 10gb
2. The secondary snapshot = 10gb
3. Your folder "My Documents" = 100gb
Total = 120gb
Each time you create another snapshot, the volume on your harddisk increases only with 10gb.

If you anchored the folder "My Documents" and the snapshots were still too big, then you need another solution. :)" }-

Its more convenient,if you have a big "My Documents " to place it on another partition and then this backup seperately,result: snapshots are almost only system data with some app. and copy/updates are faster.

[ErikAlbert]

-{ Quote: "Its more convenient,if you have a big "My Documents " to place it on another partition and then this backup seperately,result: snapshots are almost only system data with some app. and copy/updates are faster." }-
Yes, but not many users want to do this, the standard is still everything on one harddisk/partition.

[Brian Elias]

-{ Quote: "It saves an unlimited amount of snapshots, but if I remember correctly it removes the snapshots when you perform a restore." }-

Yes, that's correct. DriveClone's restore function is a little like Goback in that it allows you to go back in time, but all snapshots later than your restore point are gone. I do like the FDISR & Rollback designs that let you boot to any snapshot at any time.

The problem with anchoring MyDocs in FDISR is that if you mess up a file in MyDocs it has no recovery. Some people are using FDISR with AJSoft Active Backup which seems like a very robust system. DriveClone Pro gives you that function built in. I do like the feature in Rollback Rx that allows me to mount any snapshot and that way get a history of all files, including MyDocs.