Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

Sorry forgot to ask if AXTM will have the ability to backup to a network drive?

 

Hi carfal,

Thank you for your suggestions. In fact both of the features have already been requested. First one will be implemented in beta version, and the second - in one of the production releases.

For network drive - it's supported now, you can use current alpha to test it.

Isso

 

Thanks for the reply Isso.

I guess i cant see the network drive in the VM because i havent given it permission through WHS. Doh!

I apologise for being redundant on the other requests but am also very excited and await their implementation.

Keep up the great work!

 

I have another query.

I'm testing in a VM running W7 x64. After it finishes restoring a snapshot and it reboots, it doesnt restart gracefully. It literally powers off the VM and reboots.

Is this what happens on a real system? If this is by design then it is safe....right?

 

Thank you carfal, actually those features have been requested in private communications, so it's good that you mentioned them here in this thread.
For network drive - just make sure to map it, so it has drive letter.

For hard reboot - it's by design and it's safe. The aim is to not allow OS to write anything to disk after the program has finished restoring.

 

Isso, it's great that you log in here frequently to listen and comment on users' suggestions. I just wish that more developers would operate this way!

I just wanted to ask you: Does the latest alpha include a fix for the scandisk at start-up issue?

Thanks

 

CyberMan,

I recently discovered that I can subscribe to a thread - that makes communication much easier

As for "checkdisk unable to start at boot" issue - no, sorry, this isn't fixed yet, and I'm not even sure when we can fix it, as it requires a major change to the program.
Frankly I'm not in a position to make any major changes right now, because we already delayed the release by almost one year! (originally the release was planned in April 2012), so the expenses were significantly more than expected, and at this moment we are almost out of funds.
So I have two options - seek for an investment, or release the commercial version hoping that the sales will cover at least some of the expenses.
I tried the first option, but didn't get any result - looks like nowadays no investor is interested in desktop development (seems mobile and cloud are the priority).

So I have no other choice but to release the commercial version, and my priority is to get it reliably working, while such issues like "checkdisk unable to start" may wait. All in all, if the sales are bad (which is quite possible) I will need to close the project, thus I can't risk the remainings funds to make major improvements to the program not even knowing if there will be any sales.
I know that lot of you guys gave positive reviews, and I'm really grateful to everybody, but I can't predict how good the software will sell.
If the software generates any decent revenue, of course we'll continue the development and will fix the issues.

 

Well, I can say that there are lots of folks, myself included, who have been watching this thread for some time now and I/we are looking forward to the release. I have not tested the program myself but given the reports above, from folks who I respect, the program sounds quite impressive. Not a bad idea to remain cautious about sales but it sure sounds like you will have a winner on your hands. I look forward to the release and I expect I will making the jump from RollBack Rx to AX64 within a few month of its release (I never install a brand new release but like to wait a bit as the last bugs are worked out).

 

You have made a sensible decision there Isso. Thank you for sharing these important details.

 

bgoodman, Cyberman,

Thank you for understanding. I really want to release a perfect software, but reality is that one always has to make some trade-offs.

 

Completely understandable decision. Though most users here understand the situation it seems like when it comes to security software the "masses" want everything to be free. Like all software development costs money; programmers got bills to pay too.

 

Dear Isso,

I am not sure what your marketing strategy is? Take for example, Rollback Rx, it also works like Deep Freeze. They sell it with a different name and it is always locked into the baseline snapshot. The administrator can do the weekly/monthly/timely updates and lock in the new locked baseline snapshot. In this scenario it just works like Deep Freeze.

So, their biggest customers are organizations, universities, colleges, schools and so forth. So individual customers like Froggie and myself are minions to them. Shadow Defender never went with this kind of market, they only concentrated on minions like myself.

Rollback Rx is sold in Middle East through their Israel office. They and Deep Freeze have captured almost all the organizations, universities, colleges, schools and so forth.

As far as your investment is concerned. PM me with your email, so that we can communicate. I wish you would have told me a year earlier. Any, let us talk and I will try to find out something for you, but no promises. However, you have to well define your target customers. Maybe, I can help you in this.

I just installed Windows 8 on my computer with SSD as dual boot. Only software I have on it so far, is your AX Time Machine. I did the first back up and would try to use it so that I can get the feel for it.

Best regards,

Mohamed

 

1000db,

Thank you for understanding. In fact bigger companies can afford having a free version that promotes another paid product, but unfortunately it's not an option for us right now.

 

Isso,

What do you think the price is going to be for the software ?

Thanks.

 

Dear Mohamed,

Thank you very much for your support - I do appreciate it. I'll send PM with contact email in a moment.
For marketing strategy: originally (a year ago) I had plans to release AXTM free for home users, and concentrate on a paid corporate version (that would have advanced features).
Because of the reasons I described above I had to change it, and now I'm planning to release paid version for individual users.
That's why the target audience is mainly home users right now (although the product may be of some interest to corporate too).
However I'm flexible on marketing and we can make the necessary changes to the program to fit other markets if there is a need for it.

 

Excellent Isso,

The Academic and Banks market is very big, where computers are to in the same shape everyday. Students, Teachers and Staff (Banks and Academic) can make whatever changes they want, but when the computer is restarted it is back to how it was yesterday.

This is how Rollback Rx is used and sold as Drive Vaccine:

https://www.horizondatasys.com/products_and_solutions.aspx?ProductId=2

Basically, it is Rollback Rx, but it is locked to baseline snapshot.

Best regards,

 

I'm thinking about $35 for a single license and $60 for family pack. It's quite low compared to Rollback, and it's the minimum that will compensate for support and further development.

On the top of that I promise considerable discounts for Wilders members, and free licenses for those who helps me in testing!

 

Mohamed,

Thank you for this information - I'm looking through it now.

By the way, I just figured out that AXTM has a significant advantage in security over Rollback - it's that it keeps the backups on a separate or network drives. They even can be physically disconnected unless a backup or restore is requested.

Thus it's much better protected to a malware that modifies the disk directly (as Panagiotis mentioned before). You can always do a full restore with AXTM and be sure that the drive is back to the original state - no malware can survive it.
But with Rollback, if a malware modifies the baseline - you are in big troubles.

 

Sounds reasonable to me !

I look forward to it hitting it's finished/refined state and offered for sale.

I'll buy a family pack......

Regards, Tim

 

Tim, thank you very much my friend!

 

This is 1 of the most promising image-snapshot softwares I've seen for a long time.
I would HATE to see your project die due to the lack of funds.
So even if it's still not ready for public release;what about a donation form for early adaptors to get some developing funds?
ATM,I'm still stuck to Rollback RX with gold support,but I would gladly switch to AX64 when it's ready for public release....

 

roady,

Thank you very much for kind words! Sorry, I think I was unclear - we do have enough funds to complete and release the program. We just can't release it as a free product. Also we can't afford making major changes before the first release.

So you will definitely see the stable version released. And the upcoming months after the release will show if it's a viable product or not.

Thanks and I really appreciate your positive feedback on the program.

 

This is great news!Any chance you accept PayPal payments?
And if so,can I buy it already?
Wanna support you guys,as AX64 has a promising future......

 

Thanks a lot roady, I really appreciate it. No, sorry, I haven't set up any payment system yet, but as soon as the production release is there you will have a chance to buy it

 

If this question has been asked before, I apologize.

Just wondering if this app depends on "volume shadow copy?" If it does, is there an alternative workaround for a non-functinoning vss?