compatibility with Rollback?

I use Horizon DataSys's Rollback Rx (RBRx) under Windows XP and wish to know whether Backup & Recovery 2012 (or Hard Disk Manager 12 or any other Paragon product, free or otherwise) will backup RBRx's snapshots so that after a restore by Backup & Recovery (or other product), RBRx's snapshots will be intact and functional. Would it suffice to use the sector backup (of an entire disk) option and choose to restore the MBR?

 

Assuming that you are using Rollback Rx v9.1, then the above can be achieved with any imagining program. Provided that:

1. You use COLD (outside Windows) imaging.
2. You use sector based (sector to sector - entire disk) imaging.

Best regards,

Mohamed

 

Thank you, Aladdin.
Yes, I do use version 9.1, and have despaired of ever seeing a stable 10.2—or of even seeing Drive Cloner 6.
1. Do you mean I have to create the backups cold, or is it sufficient to do hot backups but cold restores?
2. What about the MBR? Should I (cold-) restore that too?

 

Hi Norman,

Yes, you have to do COLD backups. The only imaging program which is capable to do HOT backup is TeraByte : Image For Windows (IFW), because it uses a proprietary locking system, called PHYLock. Instead of using the regular Windows locking system, called VSS. Even then with IFW you have to do some registry modification.

The safest way for your needs is to use COLD backups with any imaging program.

Best regards,

Mohamed

 

I know about IFW; in fact, I use it. I have two almost identical machines and I installed IFW on them both. They worked okay for awhile, then about a year ago one of the IFW programs broke. It's not that the restore didn't work, the (hot) backup itself caused ill-defined problems that occurred only after a backup. So there I use Macrium but of course that means losing my snapshots in the (rare) event of having to do a full restore. Since then I have been looking on and off for an IFW replacement. I am even thinking about AX64 as a replacement for both IFW and Rollback, but I require multi-partition support and that appears to be a long way off.

I left out these details in my original post because I was asking specifically whether Paragon would work—I gather it will not. Pity.

Thank you for your help.

 

You are welcome. Maybe, IFW broke because you unistalled and then reinstalled Rollback Rx, thus changing the registry values in the UpperFilters.

For IFW to work properly, you have to make sure that in the registry in the UpperFilters, the entry for PHYLock.sys should be above the entry for Shield.sys

The above has to be done every time you uninstall and then reinstall Rollback Rx for maintenance, because then the Shield.sys gets above the PHYLock.sys in the registry.


Best regards,

Mohamed

 

I know, and it is. I followed all the posts on this subject a couple of years back. I think they were in a Rollback forum that has since disappeared, but I'm not sure.

There is a newer version of IFW now (2.83, mine is 2.65b), so I may give it another try.