Some questions about Rollback RX

Hi Guys,

I have been a user of Norton GoBack for many years, and despite its many limitations and its buggy behavior it saved my behind many times. However, I can no longer live with it, and I was considering Rollback RX (or one of the other names it goes by). I have read extensively about the program, and got a lot of excellent info from other threads in this amazing forum, but I still have a few unanswered questions, so here goes:

1. Is the notorious chkdsk problem really gone in versions 8.1 and up?

2. I understand that the activation code is dependent on the HD model/serial number. What do I do if I simply want to upgrade to a bigger drive (I do this almost every year), or if the drive crashes and I have to replace it? (I know that Rollback Rx will not protect me in case of a crash, I was just wondering about activation after I reinstall things from a backup)

3. Can I install and uninstall it as many times as I want without activation problems, as long as the HD does not change?

2. If I understand correctly, the Rollback Rx drivers are win32 drivers, so if my HD dual boots XP and DOS 6.11 (FAT32 C: partition for DOS, NTFS D: partition for XP), even though Rollback Rx took over the MBR, it does not work under DOS. I.e., DOS will only see the baseline snapshot, and any changes that DOS makes to files will screw up the C: partition (unless I exclude it from Rollback Rx's protection during installation). Right?

3. The same goes for the XP recovery console (I know I should have almost zero need for it, but I was wondering). Right? That is, the recovery console will only see the baseline, and if it writes/deletes files on any partition protected by Rollback Rx it will screw it up. Right?

I hope these are not too many questions for my first post.

Thanks in advance,

Ben

 

Have been using v8.1 and have never ever come across the 'notorious chkdsk problem'...so would assume that it does not exist in this version.

Am not sure that this is correct but if it is then you should contact Horizon DataSys Support directly via the web site and ask the question by logging a ticket. You will get a prompt response in my experience. In terms of protection in case of a crash it will protect you if you use the built in disk imaging fucntionality to take a disk image and store that offline the disk that is being protected.

Yes, as far as I am aware. In fact Horizon DataSys advise that if you want to defrag your disk using a normal defrag routine, that you uninstall Rollback RX and then reinstall. They would not suggest that if it were to cause an issue with activiation.

Cannot answer that one. Again, would suggest you should contact Horizon DataSys Support directly via the web site and ask the question by logging a ticket.

Cannot answer that one. Again, would suggest you should contact Horizon DataSys Support directly via the web site and ask the question by logging a ticket.

Apologies for not being of much help but hopefully a more learned member will be able to assist.

To sum up my own experience...I was a GoBack user from Roxio ownership days through to the final offering from Symantec, and have since found Rollback to be superior in many respects. Seems to do the job efficiently and is nore than just a replacement for GoBack.

 

As far as i know its gone, i haven't had any problems with it.

Yes the activation code locks itself to your hard drive. If you upgrade to a bigger hard drive you will need to contact support for a new activation code.

You can uninstall/install as many times as you like as long as your hard drive doesn't change.

No, rolllback doesn't work under dos. You will need to exclude the dos partition from rollbacks protection otherwise when you rollback it will undo changes made to that partition (unless thats what you want). You could simplify things by removing the dos partition and just run dos inside windows with dosbox.

Any changes you make outside windows using the recovery console could potentially screw it up so i would advise against it. Just make backups of your system drive and mbr and you shouldn't need it.

 

i have some question too
i would like to buy it

well
1) does it change/edit mbr?

2) does it make hiden or not hiden partition?

can i avoid these?

 

1) Yes, it modifies the MBR. It installs there so that you can recover even if Windows will not boot.

2) As far as I know, it doesn't make any hidden partitions.

You can not avoid #1 since that's how it's designed.

 

thanks
the uninstaller fix the mbr or let tracks like every programs?

 

To those wondering about the value and safety of RB I can only add this to that of the RB users who have already replied.

I use Eaz-Fix which is an RB clone; in fact they are identical other than the 'brand badge' and I haven't experienced any problems with it whatsoever. Yes it does modify Windows standard MBR, but so does GoBack and all other instant-restore programs that I'm aware of, but I don't see why that's a matter of concern. This is the way that EF/RB's sub-console 'intercepts' the bootup process so that you can restore any snapshot, perform maintenance, or uninstall the program. If (when) you uninstall EF/RB, the standard MBR is restored.

Imho the only short-coming of the software is its drive-image (backup) functionality, because it only backs up one EF/RB snapshot. Therefore I use a 3rd party disk-imaging program to backup everything on my system drive, including all EF snapshots.

EF(RB)'s ability to quickly and accurately take/restore snapshots makes it one of my most valued programs and I highly recommend it.

Happy New Year!

 

When you uninstall it, it'll automatically restore the MBR.

 

i read lot of users that lament that it screw up the pc

 

I've also read about that, but I haven't had any problems at all. I believe that some of those issues may have been caused by defragging the system drive (with 3rd party defraggers) with EF/RB installed. Also, conflicts may have come about from those hidden recovery partitions that are used by the major PC manufacturers.

 

Agreed Aaron. I have surmised the same.

The user manuals clearly advise that one should defrag the system drive BEFORE installing Rollback/Eaz-Fix and then make use of the built in Snapshot Defragging functionality once installed. If one wants to use a 3rd party defragger when Rollback/Eaz-Fix are installed then they should first be uninstalled.

I understand from Horizon DataSys Support that they are working on a way to suspend Rollback so as to be able to use a 3rd party defragger without uninstallation but who know if and when that will be released.

 

I think that's a waste of time because even if you could safely use a 3rd party defragger with EF/RB installed I don't see how that will result in any performance improvement!

 

We shall have to see won't we...if and when!

 

Pete, which RB version was that? Also, don't forget that Vista's default settings has its defragger run automatically every few startups!

 

so i can't ultimate defrag?

 

Thanks everybody for your replies.

I must say that I do not like the idea of having to re-activate if I change my hard drive. I pay for my software, and I do not want to have somebody else's permission to use it when and how I find fit. I fully understand the economic realities behind this decision of the Rollback Rx guys, and I do not want to start a forum discussion about it. It is simply a matter of personal likes and dislikes.

Also, I must say I don't like the idea that if I boot into the recovery console or from a CD, and change anything on the drive I mess it up.

So, if there is another option that does not have these two drawbacks I will be happy to know about it.

What I am looking for is as follows:

I do not mind spending disk space equal to the space I use on my drive for a base image, as long as I can put that image on another drive. being able to have a compressed image is a plus.

The important thing for me is constant, unattended, background incremental snapshots (say every couple of hours, or every day) that can go back a few days, preferably a week or two, so that if one of my experiments goes bad I can revert *-all-* my main drive to a select previous snapshot with a couple of clicks and in at most a few minutes, even if windows does not boot, and without having to fiddle with CD's (i.e., I want the program to take over the MBR).

Also, I would prefer a software that (unlike GoBack) does not waste 4 gig of space in a snapshot just to record the fact that I moved a 4 gig file from one directory to another.

I looked at the description of DriveClone Pro 6, and it seems to fit the bill. Am I right?

Unfortunately, it looks like DriveClone Pro 6 does not support win 2k, which I have on another computer, so I am open to suggestions about a program that does.

Eagerly awaiting your feedback,

Ben.

 

i will put it short, dc6 is gay ... u cant compare it to rollback Rx.
dc6 gave u limits space to take snapshots ' and this space cant be reduce !
the only way to reduce it , its to Del all snap shots
current snapshots in dc6 always get bigger when using to PC.. its a dynamic state...
above all of this , it re partition your HD for the snapshot space ! very risky! that be enough to threw this crap to the pile can

 

Yup, Vista automatically runs its built-in defragger every few restarts (unless you deliberately change that setting). So that could have been the culprit!

 

Ben, are you speaking of RB's recovery console or the PC mfr's recovery partition? ...and what kind of changes might you make that would mess up RB or your system?

 

Stay away from it! It still has problems and can really trash your partitions. In addition, if you decide to uninstall/reinstall, you have to call/email them (closed on holidays and weekends) to get your key reinstated.

People have complained about this program for years with no valid response from Horizon Data Systems. Take a look at their forums. They don't even participate to any degree.

The program would be an excellent tool except for the above. They have a few vocal fanboys that participate in these forums, but my guess is that they are employees of Horizon.

Silver

 

Based on my experience, Rollback Rx is an excellent ISR software. I haven't experienced any crashes whatsoever. Also, I have performed many install/uninstall of Rollback Rx and have never needed to contact HDS to get my key reinstated. You only need to do that if you change your hard drive (or if the serial of the drive got changed by something).

I agree that HDS' support leaves much to be desired.

 

ok thanks

 

ROLLBACK RX REPEATEDLY SERIOUSLY SCREWED UP MY HARD DRIVE !!!!

I used roll back on a Windows XP machine.

It always eventually screwed up my hard drive. Sometimes I could NOT even reinstall Windows or use a my OEM restore disk. Had to first zero out the entire drive.

I was using a Velocity Micro machine. The time I had to zero out my hard drive before I was able to restore my PC to running again I had to contact Velocity Micro for help. The Tech told me they get lots of calls from peeps whose PCs have been seriously screwed-up by Rollback RX.

On my machine it would usually take a month before my PC got paralyzed by Rollback. The problem was always that Windows would start to miscount my free space. It would eventually see my hard drive as being 99% used when in fact only about 33% had been used. There was no way to fix it other than reformatting and reinstalling Windows.

I loved having the program on my PC until I learned that it was responsible for my having to reformat and reinstall about once a month.

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