Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

Yep... most likely.

 

Help? Wife's Windows 7 laptop w/ AXTM v 1.4.... on it, hasn't backed up in 2 weeks. Eek! It tries to back up but it can't find the external backup drive over the network. Tries to merge but gets stuck at 34.3%. Don't want to bother the guys by submitting this issue as I'd rather let them focus on what we're all waiting for.

Important to get this fixed up as her laptop is also very confused: Windows Installer keeps frequently showing up at the most bizarre times, e.g., when I'm saving a bookmark in Firefox, or opening an email in Thunderbird, or saving a pdf. Crazy. No idea what to do with that so I thought I'd time travel to see when that silliness first happened. She tells me it's been months.

What's the best thing to try at this point? Uninstall, reinstall? Start a new chain? Other? And with any of the choices you suggest, might it be possible to point to where the steps are for that suggestion?

 

Chamlin, you could try a cold restore to the baseline. At a last resort a fresh install of windows after backing up important data, settings and making a note of programs you have installed, a pain but it would solve all your problems. Starting a new chain may solve your backup problems but not the strange behaviour of the computer, have you run a virus check?

 

Regarding your Windows problem, that's the indications of missing file(s) (could be deleted, either by her or software installation/uninstallation).
If it's been months, she may not be able to recall what she/the laptop did before it started, I suppose?
Then the easiest way is to restore.
If you'd like the laptop to time travel to the past, then maybe you can do it first, before troubleshooting the backup/merge problem? Perhaps the time travel can cure it as well.

 

thanks for sending me the beta testing key, but would you care to give me the download link for v2 beta too, the key
does not work for v1.4 betas on your site, and i rather test the latest beta,not some old versions..
thank you.
(I been testing some old v1.4 beta for HOURS, sending you reports via e-mail, and I did not know v2 exists.... )
"Pete" **@gmx.com

edit:
nevermind,i found the d/l link..

Code:

http://ax64.com/v2.0_beta/

 

How can I purchase a new v2 license key to upgrade from v1?

 

Keith... an upgrade is NOT available as v2 has not been officially released yet, it's only in BETA testing at the moment.

If you'd like to BETA test the current BETA release, use the REGISTRATION CODE located in this MESSAGE...

 

Does she have a second image app like Macrium Reflect? If so she could restore to an earlier time before the problem started if she has an image that old.

 

The inability to create a new image is very likely due to an over full drive. The same will occur for merges if AX64 odes not have room to create temp files needed during the merge. I have had this issue on my wifes laptop and freeing up some space and beginning a new chain has resolved the issue.

What to do now: I would create a new chain and get at least one snap, or image the drive with a 2nd app so you have current files etc available for recovery. Then I would restore as far back as nec to get a functional PC and then use the image or recent snap to recover her current files. I would start with trying a hot restore but if that does not work go cold restore.

Also, for future ref. suggest to your your wife that she let you know as soon as possible when something odd is happening with the PC.

 

I was about to recommend AX64 (version 1) to someone but they are running Win 8. Have the problems with Win 8 been resolved in the last official release or are there still issues with recovery media creation?

 

Gee, thanks for the info, I guess I will not recommend AX64 after all.

 

Barry, if you'd like I could run some tests on a W8.1upd1 laptop with v1.4.1.24 (the released version) and let you know what I find. They probably won't be extensive but they will include all functions available.

Lemme know...

 

That would be great Froggie, much appreciated.

 

Yesterday I had a problem with my PC and it involved going back to earlier backups using AX 1.4.1.48 and hot restores. In the end I found the problem and because I had loaded so many versions of Win 8.1 I decided that it would be better to do cold restore with AX. Big mistake. On boot up Windows reported a fault and took a while to sort it out, even then it did not run correctly.

Fortunately I keep my baselines on Active@ which performed a perfect restore.

I do think that Pete has a point where he says the HD is not correctly restored.

I do not trust AX enough to rely on it. I am just using it for interim backups so that I can step back after installing some feature, but once a month I go back to my Active@ baseline and up date Windows and start again from their.

I am just posting this in case it might help.

 

Testing BASIC functionality under AXTM v1.4.1.24 (current release) with the following platform... HP Compaq 8510P Notebook (7-yrs old) running Windows 8.1 Update 1.

Installed AXTM v1.4.1.24.

Created CD RECOVERY MEDIA without issue.

Created LOCAL STORAGE RECOVERY MEDIA without issue (created with 3-sec DEFAULT menu selection timeout).

Used Windows RUN command and executed MSCONFIG. Used the BOOT TAB to change the menu selection timeout to 6-sec (from the above 3-sec) to allow for system video scan re-sync to different resolution. Some systems need re-syncing time, some do not... play it safe, if necessary.

Created snapshots in the following order...

Baseline (Windows 8.1 Update 1 with just enough apps to do the testing)
Snap #1 (added 1st additional file to protected partition before snapshot)
Snap #2 (added 2nd additional file to protected partition before snapshot)
Snap #3 (added 3rd additional file to protected partition before snapshot)
Snap #4 (added 4th additional file to protected partition before snapshot)

HOT RESTORE testing...

Went from Snap #4 to Baseline to Snap #3 to Snap #1 to Snap #2 to Snap #4 without issue.

COLD RESTORE testing...

BOOTed into W8.1 Update 1 CD-based RECOVERY MEDIA created above. COLD restored from Snap #4 to the BASELINE, then from the BASELINE to SNAP #2 then from Snap #2 to Snap #4 without issue... all operations doing a FULL restore.

BOOTed into the LOCAL STORAGE RECOVERY MEDIA created above. COLD restored from Snap #4 to Snap #1, then from Snap #1 to Snap #3 to Snap #4 without issue... all operations doing a FULL restore.

I did not have an uncommitted UFD available for RECOVERY MEDIA creation and testing and did not have any Network Drives available for "mapping" under the BROWSER. All other BROWSER functions worked fine, especially the "Open Other Backups" which has sometimes failed me in the past with different BETA versions... the official release seems fine.

All tests were performed on INTERNAL disk partitions, both the backup and the stored snapshots (incrementals).

Anything else I can do before I put this sucker to bed for a while?

 

This sounds a little different from what you posted a while ago...

So what are the improvements of the latest Beta 1.4.1.48 compared to the official release 1.4.1.24 ?

Cheers
manolito

 

Manolito, as far as I know that statement still stands. Almost all their work since v1.3.0.7 has been focused on W8/W8.1. The problems I mentioned above were experienced with W7sp1x86. Since I started messing with W8.1.1, both the occasional tests with AXTM v1 (as for BG) and a lot of TM v2 testing has proven to be reasonably trouble free 'cept for the known v2 deficiencies (i.e., no COLD restore).

Isso also mentioned to me privately (a long time ago) that there had been some restoration speed improvements since v1.4.1.24. In all my v1 BETA testing (with W7sp1), I really didn't notice much in the way of improvements anywhere... they all worked fairly well except with the "Open Other Backups" option in the RECOVERY MEDIA Browser.

 

As far as RECOVERY MEDIA creation is concerned, it's tough to figure out, sometimes, exactly what the problem is. For instance, when I create a RECOVERY MEDIA on a system that was originally built as a W7 system then upgraded to W7sp1, what will the RECOVERY MEDIA be built on? I have no idea (but doubt it is) whether when M$ applies a major update to your system (W7 > W7sp1, W8 > W8.1 > W8.1.1) that it also updates your local WinRE WIM which is what AXTM uses to create its RECOVERY MEDIA. I have no idea. If it doesn't then I'd like to know whether new distributions (not updates) of these OS levels contain an equal WinRE.wim to the OS being distributed. The PE bases are all different but whether REs are updated during updates or whether REs are distributed when issuing distributions... I have not a clue. It really makes it hard to figure out what may be happening to users that experinece RECOVERY MEDIA problems.

If anyone has some knowledge in this area, I'd appreciate some input (I just don't have the time to go through the above exercises to find out).

 

TRF,

Just some brief comments on WinRE.wim. In 2012 I installed Win8 in Legacy/MBR mode, without a SRP. I've noticed 3 different WinRE.wim since the computer was first setup.
Win8 one dated July 2012
Win8.1 one dated Sept 2013
Win8.11 one dated May 2014

I looked at three computers with Win8 installed in UEFI mode. After Win8.1 was installed the OS partition was found to have been resized 450 MB smaller and a new Recovery partition containing a new WinRE.wim had been created in this space. So there were now two Recovery partitions with two different WinRE.wim. The old 300 MB Recovery partition can be deleted if desired. I haven't checked if WinRE.wim changed after Win8.11 was installed in these computers but I assume it has been changed.

 

Thanks, Brian... that's very helpful.

 

Wow! I just looked at this comment once again. That kind of partition restructure during what appears to be a standard OS update seems pretty darn aggressive to me. No wonder a lot of Rollback RX folks got hosed during that update... their protected partition got completely resized and restructured (depending on where the new 450mB partition was placed) following that partition change. That'll sure mess up RBrx's snapshot database, especially since this work was most probably done OUTSIDE of RBrx's special disk allocation driver.

If I was HDS, following that kind of OS change, I'd sure rethink my whole design structure for RBrx... you can be sure it's gonna happen again.

PS- Sorry for the off-topic comment

 

Amen, especially for the part in blue.

 

Normally this will not be a problem. AXTM's tracking info is not disk position sensitive... as long as its file entry is available in the file system, it matters not where it's eventually located as a result of resizing a partition. BUT... if the protected partition size changed then I don't think AXTM can handle that very well between runs... it would have to be able to detect that kind of change and redo the baseline (specifically for EFI-based systems)

I went through those particular transitions (8 > 8.1 > 8.1.1) and checked it well, but I did it via a LEGACY/MBR-based system so I saw no partition changes.

I cannot agree more

I have been playing a bit of late with W8.1.1 (8.1.2 due later this year and 9.x due next year... big changes a comin') trying to find out how all this support stuff is really affected by these kinds of changes. It's really a crapshoot unless you know the tools well, especially as it concerns low level OS dependent objects that may be required by the tools.

 

I always fresh install when a new version of Windows comes out, and I always use traditional imaging software such as Acronis and IFW/IFL. Install Windows, update, install every other software I need, drive cleanup, do trim/optimization, then image the whole SSD drive using Acornis and IFL.
Anything happens, a simple whole disk restore will solve all problems.