Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

congratulations for this great piece of software
now i have 3 questions
1- is it compatible wit dual boot as i have both xp and windows 7 installed
2-i did restore of my system partition but after 100% comlete , computer freezed and did n't reboot automatically and i had to reboot it from the power button in case
3-is there an option to add ax64 to the boot loader list ?if no is there any alternative working like adding the recovery media iso to easybcd boot list ?

sorry if they have been answered but the thread is really long

 

Problem:

I cut and pasted all of the backups in the AXTM folder to another external drive so I could perform a full backup in my regular backup folder. After doing a full backup, I found I needed to recover back to an earlier time. I then deleted the full backup, and copied all of the older backup files from the external drive back to my regular backup drive.

Now, when I try to restore that backup, AX64 does not recognize the backup. The Mount, Restore and Delete buttons are greyed out.

How do I fix this? Is this a bug or is something wrong with my system? I have had no trouble restoring in the past.

Many thanks for any help.

 

Hi Ronald,

Thank you very much - I'm looking forward to see how it worked in Bootcamp.
For videos - I'll try to find some time and add more. In fact creating the USB or CD is very easy - it literally takes two clicks. Please check the "Creating Recovery Media" section in User Manual

For snapshot - there is no separate function. Snapshots and backups are exactly the same thing. We just sometimes call the backups as "snapshots" because there are made quite fast, that's it. Sorry for confusion.

You might also want to look at the video on our main page www.ax64.com

Isso

 

hany3,

Thank you! For your questions:

1 - It is compatible with multiboot systems. The only drawback is that after you boot from one system to another and back, the following backup will take more time than normal (and the program will display a warning "external volume modification detected"). The reason is following: AX64 is constantly tracking the changed sectors on the protected volume in order to make fast backups. But when you boot into alternative OS, you may make changes to that volume and AX64 has no chance to track it. That's why if it detects that the volume has been mounted in another OS, it enters "re-sync" mode and that causes one following backup to take longer than normal. The backup size will still remain small. All subsequent backups will be fast.

2- This is strange, you are the second person reporting it. Could you please collect the logs and create a support ticket (see Feedback and Support button on the top left of our main www.ax64.com page). If you could also run msinfo32 and send to me the resulting .NFO file it would really help too.
BTW - the restore did complete properly, right?

3. The program doesn't have such feature at this moment (we'll add it a bit later), but yes, you can create an ISO file (Recovery Media), extract it and use EasyBCD to add AX64 to the boot list. You can ask Aladdin for details - he was the first who figured out this method.

Isso

 

Hi silver,

Sorry about this problem. Normally moving files back and forth shouldn't be of any problem. Could you please send to me the logs, also a screenshot of your backup folder would be helpful.
By the way if you need a full backup, you can just rename the current backup folder, and the program will create a new one with full backup in it. Also you don't need to move the files back to restore them - just use "Open other backups" button in Backup Browser to select alternative folder.

Isso

 

I have a bug to report. In the latest version, the estimated time to restore a folder from a backup on a HD to a SSD was longer than the actual time it took (it took around 10-15 minutes to restore even thogh it stated that the restore would take 3+ hours). Also, the transfer rate and estimated time should be shown for the backup/restore of a drive.

 

Zero3K,

That time is actually calculated by Windows, and it's notorious for calculating the estimated copy times in quite an unstable fashion. I'll see if we can find a workaround though.

Isso

 

Hello,

I currently use RBRx and IFW on my XP system. I am planning to replace them with AXTM. I have read much of this thread with interest.

Is my understanding correct in the following:

1. Say I have 3 months worth of AXTM backups/snapshots on ext. HDD.
2. I want to defrag my main drive, reorganize folders, etc. So:
3. I turn off hourly backup in AXTM and shut it down.
4. I rename AXTM backup folder.
5. I do defrag, etc.
6. Start AXTM and start backup.

So, now I have a new baseline image and have started a new chain, but still have the ability to go back to any of the prior three months backup/snapshot points in the renamed folder if necessary.

This seems far superior to a similar housekeeping task in RBRx – no dreaded uninstall, reinstall, activate and no loss of prior restore points.

Seems Great. Is my understanding correct?

Thanks,

Bill

 

I haven't seen this mentioned so far.

In the box where you put a description you cannot not enter multi lines using 'Enter' to make a new line, instead it takes you straight to making the backup.

At times I do like to make long entries of what I have done to an image and this is currently not possible. I am assuming that the box will enlarge to allow a full description, or is it fixed at the presented size?

 

David,

Just keep typing and don't press Enter. The text will wrap. You can use the Spacebar to fill up a line. You can use CTRL ENTER to start a new line.

 

Hi Isso,

I'm sorry, I can't send you the logs. I had 20 snapshots in the backup folder that I was referring to. It was only the last 5 or 6 snapshots that would not restore. I ended up going back to the first one that would light up the Restore button and restored that one. Then I re-installed the updates and programs that I had installed after that backup. Attached is a picture of the old backup folder.

Silver

 

Hi Silver,

If you haven't deleted those 5 backups, please open their folder, and click on them in Backups list - this will produce new logs, then please send the logs to me. Thank you

Isso

 

Hi Bill,

You are absolutely correct. Just one note - if you move old backups to a separate folder, the Backup Browser won't automatically detect them, and you will need to use "Open other backups" button to point to that folder.

Isso

 

Brian, thank you for your help!

Isso

 

Hey Isso,

Just some words of gratitude and encouragement to you and your team. It's been over a month since I started using AX64 and I can say it's made my life way much easier. I know it may sound exaggerating but since I'm the one in my house who takes care of everybody's computers, it's been a pleasant experience being able to go back to a previous point in time when issues arise. AX64 is something I didn't know I was looking for, but I'm glad that I found it thanks to Wilders Forum, you and your great team.

Regards.

 

Hi Isso,

Sent to your support site.

Silver

 

Hi Bill,

You don't have to rename the AXTM backup folder. You can still continue with your three months old baseline. After defrag, just start the AXTM and start the hourly backup again. Your first hourly backup after the defrag might take a little bit longer.

Best regards,

 

Just a side note:
On XP, defrag impacts the backup size, so on top of longer backup times for the first backup (after defrag), a larger backup size is to be expected too.
However, I'm not sure if this affects every XP system.

 

Dear Isso and Hany3,

Nothing to it. The instructions with screenshot to the above are in this thread in my post #1927 on page 78.

Best regards,

Mohamed

 

Correct, but doing a defrag on any Windows OS will increase both the time and size on the subsequent snapshot. After that it will go back to normal. The amount of time and size increase depends on how badly your system was fragmented and how much data had to be moved during the defrag...

 

Hi Atomomega,

You are absolutely right, that after the defrag, the first hourly backup might be larger in backup size due to defrag, and for this reason it will take longer time.

Best regards,

Mohamed

 

Is there any advantage in using boot.wim in WinPE compared to using the ISO option in EasyBCD?

 

Thanks Brian

Discovered ctrl/enter afterwards

 

thanks for ur reply
yes restore completed properly , i'll try to collect the logs and send them , also i hope u put the boot menu feature in the top priority to-do list

 

Hi CSKfan,

I have found the boot time faster in WinPE in comparison to ISO option.

Best regards,