Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

Thank you mata7, for NAS you need to map the network folder to a drive letter. Then the drive will appear in the destination dialog and you can select it.

Isso

 

oh ok thanks i got it, so if i restore i select my network folder and AXTM will reboot my PC and restore from that folder?

 

A little bit different actually. You select the network drive at first time when the program runs, and that's it - you never need to select it again (unless you want to change the destination drive).

Then you make backups by clicking Make Backup button. When you want to restore - you click View backups button, this opens Backup Browser. On the top left you will see the list of your backups. Just select any of them and press Restore. The restore will be done while the OS is running (it will normally take 20-40 sec), then at the end of restore the machine will reboot into the point in time that you selected for restore.

Isso

 

I have another issue to report. When I restarted my PC in order to apply the latest patch that Windows Update had made available, its next backup states "The computer was shut down improperly. Backup will take longer than usual".

 

interest sound great, thanks for all you help, do you have any idea when will be able to buy it?

 

Howdy Isso,

I registered here just for your amazing software.
Forgive my questions if they have been answered.
I have a hardrive that is partitioned into C: which is my Windows partition, and D: which is my personal files and such.

How would I go about making a backup of my harddrive? Do I choose C: , let it backup and then choose D: ?

Is there a way to simply choose a physical harddrive to be backed up?

Thank you again and looking forward to your reply.

 

Zero3K,

Did you by any chance hibernate the system before the update? We noticed that sometimes that message happens after hibernation, but I still can't find a stable way to reproduce. Thank you

Isso

 

Thank you, we are about to release the commercial version, actually the only problem remaining is the one that Zero3K mentioned above. I think we'll do the release in the first week of May.

Isso

 

I don't use the hibernation function on my PC.

 

plywood99,

Thank you for trying the program, and I appreciate your kind words. Unfortunately this version of the program supports only a single partition for backup. We did that for simplicity sake. Later we are going to release a version with multiple volume support, but at this moment I don't know how much time it'll take, sorry.

Isso

 

Great, thank you for the information!

 

Hi Isso,

I discovered AX64 Time Machine only 2 weeks ago, I really like the philosophy behind this software. As you explained in the first post of this thread, the different approaches to backup software all have their merits and flaws, and right now I use all of the different types (Rollback RX, Acronis True Image and BackupMyPC). And I do see the potential of AX64 to replace all these different types of backup software for me.

But not yet...

During the last few days I tested the current beta on three different machines, two with Win XP SP3 and one with Win 7 32bit. These are my results:

On all the computers the GUI has problems when the computer has been configured to use larger display fonts. Text is cut off in these cases. Mostly cosmetic, but these days it should not happen any more (Rollback v. 9 also had this problem, it was fixed in v. 10)

Under Win XP the software still has serious problems, it is practically unusable. In the backup browser it is impossible to mount backups, I always get an error message "Error 0, Code 0". Would not be much of a problem if the backup browser worked like it should. But when browsing backups here a couple of folders simply do not appear. The "Documents and Settings" folder is completely missing, which means that My Files, My Pictures, My Movies cannot be accessed.

Next thing I tried was to boot my machine from the recovery USB stick hoping that the missing folders would show up now, but no luck. I suspect that these folders were not even included in the backup.


Under Win 7 it looks much better. All of the problems I had under XP were gone. One additional test I made was to check if AX64 would be able to do a disaster recovery (essential if I give up Acronis). In the first post of this thread you say that AX64 can only restore to a drive which is partitioned exactly like the drive from which the backup was made. But it looks like this information is obsolete, in a recent post you confirm that a restore can be made to a drive with a different layout.

So I made a test. I made a backup to an external HDD, then I completely wiped out the MBR and the partition table of the internal HDD. I rebooted from the recovery USB stick and selected a restore. A popup window let me specify the target drive, the restore proceeded without any error message. But unfortunately I was unable to reboot from the restored drive, the drive was not recognized.


My conclusion:
At the current state this software is completely unusable under Win XP. It does work under Win 7, but it cannot replace an image based software like Acronis in case of a major disaster when the whole target drive has been wiped out.

As I said before, I really sympathize with your approach. It may take some time, but you really have the potential to reinvent backup software for Windows....


Cheers
manolito

 

Hi manolito,

Thank you for testing the program and for taking time to write your comments.

For problems:
Regarding support for large display fonts - you are right, we'll fix it in one of the upcoming versions.

For mounting or browsing - on our test setups everything is working fine - I just re-checked with the latest version 1.0.962. I mean I can mount the images fine, and I can browse the Document and settings folder in the browser. Please note that AXTM takes the entire volume image, so it can't miss any folder or file. Looks like the problem is with displaying them, something specific to your machines that needs to be addressed.

For restoring to the empty drive - I've made a number of tests too, and it works fine for me, I'm wondering what goes wrong on your system. Could you please send me an email to info@ax64.com including the logs from your XP machine (to collect logs click on the top left corner of the program, then select About and Collect Logs). Thank you

Regards,
Isso

 

holy **** really, today i restore my first backup and it take like 5 sec to restore my pc holy **** thas fast, also i take 2 min to backup my pc the first time, great job man, cant wait to buy you software great work.

when the no beta release is out can it be installed over the beta or will would have to uninstall first the beta

 

I have a question and another suggestion:

1. Why isn't the download link on its page pointing to the 962 build?
2. It should delete the Generic volume shadow copy that the VSS service makes when doing a backup after its done.

 

Probably because the .962 build hasn't been made publicly available. Once the next beta is ready for everyone to test, Isso will add it to the download link.

 

mata7,

I'm happy to hear that you like the program! Yes you can install the production release over beta, no need to uninstall the beta.

By the way, as I promised before all beta testers will receive free licenses, so no need to buy the program when it's out. Please just send me an email (or drop a PM) at that time and I'll send to you (and anyone else who tested the program) a 100% discount coupon.

All the rest of the Wilders members can get 25% discount - just send me a PM when the program is released and I'll send a corresponding coupon.

Isso

 

Zero3K,

Tony already answered the first question (thank you Tony!)
For VSS - could you clarify what you mean by "Generic volume shadow copy"? Thank you

Isso

 

wow man thas really generous of you , thank you very much

 

I decline the offer. Normally I would take it, you're producing a wonderful product out of an idea, a small team and limited funds. You could've made the product and throw it out the door, but instead you came here, shared and listened. You answered all posts with patience and addresses all questions/concerns. I can name very few companies that stay close to the user base and truly develop a relationship that shows care. And for that, I will pay full price.

 

Hello,

I have been following this thread since the beginning, through the alpha stages, and finally installing it once it reached beta. So far I have been quiet in this thread, for one reason, I have not experienced any bugs, but I have continued to follow.

I decided now to post, again for one reason, to give kudos for an excellent software. I know others have seen some bugs, but as for myself the software has done a great job. Here is a belated "Thanks"!!! I have been running this along side my primary back-up solution since it went beta and it has performed well enough that upon release, I will make AX64 my primary back-up solution.

Most of all, thanks to the developer for his presence here and listening to what each of us has had to comment. Great job and I look forward in watching AX64 maturing even more in the future along with the introduction of a pro version...

 

i really just hope that this software stay always as a backup and restore, please don't add youtube, facebook, registry clean, anti malware or any crap like that, just pure backup and restore

 

Dear Isso,
A few days ago I came across a reference to AX64 and ended up reading all 1046 posts on Wilders. You impress me (and, clearly, many others here as well) as being frank, hard-working, friendly, competent and reliable—a sure recipe for disaster in this cutthroat business —and your (potential) users obviously appreciate and value this, as exemplified by MarcP declining your offer of a 25% discount (#1045). So will I, when the time comes.

But that time has just been set back. I work in XP (a dying OS, as you put it), and keep my programmes and data distributed (mostly for convenience, partly for historical reasons) among 4 partitions on my main HDD. Now I learn (#1035) that AX will be released with support for a single partition only. In that form and on my system, it will not be able to replace RBRX, IFW or Macrium (which replaced ATI). Pity, because I was very much looking forward to AX's release early next month and, eventually, to getting rid of all three.

Do you have any idea, even a vague one, as to when we can expect multi-partition support? And, while I'm at it, if and when we can expect to be able to launch a manual backup from the command-line?

 

WOW! Thanks in advance

 

They are hidden devices in the Device Manager and represent each of the backups that occurred.