Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

Understood, I have the same problem with my wifes PC (laptop) and am doing what you plan to do with your wifes.

 

Best backup solution for ones data is to use cloud backup. Using an imaging app to do data backup is missing its point, imo.

imaging is mainly to backup/restore one's OS, to make sure one has a working computer in case of virus attach, system crash, etc, and I see no need to do an weekly, daily, or even hourly backup for one's running OS. Separate your data and OS, you'll have a much easier life, and your data will have a much better chance in cloud storage.

 

I can't argue with that, but at this time the OS, programs and personal files are all on her C-partition and reconfiguring it is not (thankfully) on my honey-do list.

 

Tell ya what Pete, as soon as I encounter any failures I will reconsider and develop another plan. Besides which, some of my eggs are in the AOMEI basket.

 

not sure how much you use your dvd drive (if your laptop has one) but my main system i used an adapter to allow a second hard drive to be installed internally in place of the disc drive. when i need a disc drive i use an external one since it doesn't get used that often.

an example: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SATA-2nd-HD...m-Laptop-CD-DVD-ROM-Optical-Bay-/131298534366

 

We are voices crying in the wilderness. Two minute image restores. Ten second data restores.

 

In general, I agree. And I've been doing it.
However, sometimes, out of the blue, Windows might catch a cold. Therefore, yes, even though I don't do auto-hourly backup, but daily (or even twice a day, if I can remember to do it) imaging is in my to-do list.
Not to mention the compulsory image before & after a Windows Update.
Also, for me, I still have some "data" which resides in the "Appdata" folder in the system drive. In the past, I made the effort to move them to another drive, but then decided that it's too cumbersome to maintain (although it's not impossible).

ps.
Cloud is good for ones with high level of internet availability (particularly: an adequate upload speed). Not so much useful to me.

 

Hmm

Get the issue with both hot and cold restore when trying to restore the baseline image from the previous Windows 10 Technical Preview build... Later snapshots, at least the latest, restores fine. Anyone knows what the error in question means? Is the snapshot in question faulty? Since it's my baseline snapshot, does that mean that if I restore ANY image using cold restore, it will fudge up everything? Either way, since I can't restore that one baseline snapshot I think I need to re-install Windows since the latest Windows 10 TP build isn't working that well for me (Windows update doesn't work; Dism doesn't work; SFC doesn't work - Other random things like the taskbar on the secondary monitor always being on-top, even over other full-screen applications...)

Edit: I did send an e-mail to support.
I must say that interest for Macrium v6 is getting higher.. But then again it might be an issue with my destination SSD, it HAS gone through a bit of a torture, last time I checked it did have a few broken sectors or what it's called..

 

Did you get the same error with both hot and cold restore? In my case, with cold restore, the PC got part way through the boot and then hung with just a black screen. No message at all. BTW I was using v1 for this.

I would suspect that if later snaps restore fine then the baseline will be fine as well but thats just a guess.

 

I got the same error with both hot and cold restore, I installed windows again and tried to restore the latest snapshot and it didn't work this time. I'm actually 40% sure what the problem is, the snapshot that I was trying to restore at first was taken before I updated Windows 10 Technical Preview to the next build, and the snapshot I tried to restore now was of the old working system after having re-installed Windows, with that information I am pretty sure that the issue was inconsistent partition size or something similar to that, but again I'm not sure.

Either way I have re-installed Windows 10 now and set it up again.

 

Sanya, unfortunately, the error messages in AX64 are cryptic at best. Even when I provided them to tech support the response has been along the lines of that they will address this in the upcoming builds. So usually, those errors, like so many with AX64, seem to result from our unique computer configurations meeting up with something AX64 hasn't accounted for. This is not unusual. How could any software take every possible scenario into account. Yet, some are much more stable in this way. I hope AX64 reaches that. This, in part, is why I'm grateful for Macrium, and hope one day to say the same about AX64.

Scott, many have had good luck with AX64. I did for a long time. Then got broadsided. That's why so many here have redundant protection. For my wife's laptop, I just manage it for her. I don't even bother to have her do the 1-click. Just takes me a few minutes for both AX64 and Macrium, and then I know it's protected and that I won't be tortured later on by a laptop failure with a "forgotten" or problematic backup, and have to problem solve, reload, restore individual programs, etc.

 

My wife was complaining this morning that her notebook was dreadfully slow. I checked it out and sure enough it was crawling. Checking the Task Manager didn't reveal any obvious issue and an AV scan came up clean. Rebooting the notebook did not solve the problem so I figured this was a good time to try an AX64 Hot Restore - it failed with an error. I next tried a Cold Restore and it hung her notebook! Luckily, I made an AOMEI backup of her C-partition on Friday night. AB's image restored successfully and her system is now running as well as it ever did.

The very first time I ask AX64 to do its thing it totally fails - geez! That's it, I'm not messing with it any more. AB restores have always worked 100% of the time for me and now for my wife, so from now on I will be backing-up her notebook (with AB) on a daily schedule.

 

Thanks for the tip on AOEMI. Seems like one of the better free backup solutions available. I plan to give it a try. Also their multiple pack costs are way cheaper than paragon and Macrium too. Not sure how I missed hearing about them before. I am assuming at this point that AX64 is dead in the water.

 

We experienced similar issues on all boxes that we had AX64 installed. IMO the developer’s started with a great concept but unfortunately after many product updates major flaws still exist. Similar to yourself & also working in a business IT environment Aomei has always been rock solid.

 

Pete,

Can you describe what actually occured when attempting the restore (and which version of Windows were you using)?

Scott

PS. I've got to admit, you were spot-on about AX64.

 

Which version of AX64 were you using,,,,,,,the most stable version is 1.4.1.48

 

I was using AX64 v1.4.1.48 - I had high hopes but when I tried to restore it failed as noted in post #9964.

 

What is AB?

 

Odd, I have done a great many restores over the past 2 years and have had very few failures with the hot restore and only 3 with the cold (none since moving to the last build of V1) that you should have failures in both hot and cold first time out is odd. It is possible that some security software is causing the problem though that should not be an issue with cold restores.

 

AOMEI Backupper.

 

All that I can say to that is AB has restored my system volume successfully a number of times and now it succeeded in restoring my wife's system partition.