Rollback RX v11.x (Home & Professional)

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by TheRollbackFrog, Jul 5, 2018.

  1. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Whoa! I think that's the first time in over 10+ years they've ever said anything like that!!

    Be still my heart :eek:
     
  2. carfal

    carfal Registered Member

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    We're wearing them down:thumb:

    The latest version (v11.2.2704894596) so far has been corruption free. They never acknowledged my reports on the previous version's corruption issues but i suspect they did some undocumented "Bug fixes" to resolve the issue.
     
  3. carfal

    carfal Registered Member

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    I spoke too soon. Just went through 2 hours of intensive snapshot taking and rolling back doing and uninstall of Nero 2018 and trialing Nero 2020 and RB failed me again. :cautious: After i finally installed Nero 2020 properly i ran my chkdsk and sure enough i had corrupted files/links.(big sigh). The corruption extended back to the last 4 snapshot i had taken during my testing and the snapshot before i started all this. The snapshot before this proved OK. So no re-imaging necessary this time (Hooray!)

    On we go....
     
  4. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Wow!! I thought they had finally nailed this problem <sigh...>

    @carfal - doesn't this mean that if a user is unaware of this corruption and they re-baseline their System to one of those bad snapshot states, that they now have permanently corrupted their System reference? That seems pretty scary to me... especially if they image that corrupted baseline as well.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2019
  5. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    @carfal - glad you held back a bit on THIS POST in the HDS Forum :argh:

    But you're still gonna keep on using it, aren't you :shifty: ?
     
  6. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    If the only way to tell if this corruption issue has been dealt with is to ChkDsk every snapshot made... this whole process of snapshotting with Rollback RX can get pretty unwieldy after a while just to insure you have a safe System at hand.

    There's gotta be a better way...
     
  7. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Last post for me on this issue... as I've mentioned in previous posts, I personally believe HDS has lost its base development team over the last few years, which means a lot of specific product knowledge and maybe even some intellectual capital has flown as well. This usually results in a significant loss of the company's ability to manage and further develop the product in a controlled way. I think that's what we are seeing right now... the current team just can't figure out these corruption issues. As a result they don't fix them or even acknowledge them. The product just seems to move backward on its reliability path (which for me was always questionable to begin with).

    If they can't see this product trend... it will be doomed, especially as MicroSloth moves forward with its wild and crazy upgrade philosophy (remember... the ultimate goal is "Windows as a service."
     
  8. carfal

    carfal Registered Member

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    This is pretty much what I've been doing for longer than i care to admit. Running ChkDsk after every snapshot creation or rollback. I'll have to admit that it's a crazy way to use your PC. As you said you have to take special care that you dont image while your in a corrupted state.

    I see you noticed the post over at the HDS site. Are you ready for this......I'm removing RB from my system for the time being (if not permanently). Yep, you read that right.:eek:

    I've been considering it for a while because like i stated on their forums, they've had 10yrs or more to get the prime functionality of their software (ie. take a snapshot, rollback, delete and defrag) to be bullet prove. So they've now warn me down, a pretty devote RB user.

    MR with its CBT is as best a solution i can hope for. CBT has had its issues but the MR team work hard and fast to release a fix. Plus they only introduced this late in version 6 so we can cut them bit of slack (10 yrs down the road and we'll have words...:isay:)
     
  9. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    UNBELIEVABLE! The very last bastion of original RBrx users, @carfal , finally taking a break from "the issues." Things must really be a hassle for you to do this... I know it can't be easy (fighting addictions are always difficult :D ).
    Since you're a playful sort, I would also recommend Terabyte's "Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite" which is a 2nd product that has implemented difference restoration techniques (using MetaData as a basis), like Reflect's RDR (Rapid Delta Restore). It also has a CBT-like tracking mechanism that is optional in its use. It's a bit more cryptic, overall, in its advanced use (basic snapshot taking is pretty straightforward) and doesn't have a robust self contained scheduling mechanism but is just as reliable as REFLECT (maybe even more so). There's also excellent support available from Terabyte Unlimited and also here on the Forum, usually in the form of our resident expert, @Brian K - AND it's cheaper (multiple Systems for under $40). I would keep it in the basket of your possible alternatives.

    Since you're interested in REFLECT... I know not what OS you are running but if W10, REFLECT v7 is your best approach. If still running W07, the final version of REFLECT v6 is a solid approach (no longer being supported) and an extremely solid CBT beta is available for this version to use. @Peter2150 can attest to this. If you purchase a v7 license, it may be used for both v7 and v6 if interested... although final version of v6 is tough to find from Macrium but is readily available from the Wilder's support members (including me).
     
  10. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I sure can. Carfal what I do is take hourly images and they take an average of 50 seconds. Also allows me to take an image out side my hourly range equally as fast. Restores are equally fast. I have used and abused Reflect v6 and it never once has let me down. I probably average a restore a day as it is also my snapshot program

    Froggy is also correct about Terabytes Image for windows. I also use it and Pandlouk scheduling script. Totally automates IFW, and you can use Task scheduler to further automate it.
     
  11. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    PS if you need any help we are here
     
  12. manolito

    manolito Registered Member

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    So I am the only one left?

    On my Win7-64 system (MBR, no UEFI, no GPT) RB Rx versions 9.1 and also version 10.7 have been rock solid so far. After Carfal's experiences with corrupted file systems I became a little paranoid and started to use ChkDsk after almost every snapshot restore, but I never got any corruption.

    After Carfal's latest corruption issue after installing Nero I got curious and tried to install the latest Nero Burning Rom trial version last night (under RB Rx 10.7). The funny thing was that I couldn't. The installer told me that the installation had failed and gave me the option to retry the installation after the next reboot. But this resulted in a crash, no error message, but the computer did not react on the keyboard and the mouse. After a hard shutdown I got a Rollback message about an unexpected shutdown, but after rebooting everything worked fine, no corruption.

    So I believe that the Nero installer has some issues itself which are not directly related to Rollback.
     
  13. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    All hail Mab... the LAST MAN STANDING!

    I'm glad it's still working out for you. These newer version corruption issues that @carfal has been dealing with are pretty scary... I hope v10.7 doesn't bite you in the butt.
     
  14. manolito

    manolito Registered Member

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    My butt has become quite resilient because it has been bitten so often...

    And as I mentioned many times, I do not neglect my image backups even when I use Rollback. I am quite confident that I can recover from most disasters.
     
  15. carfal

    carfal Registered Member

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    Thank you everyone for your insights and advice on MR and IFW both of which i have Licenses for.

    My main backup solution to get me out of trouble from RB has been MR. Even though i have a license for IFW, I've kind of just left it sitting there as MR has always got me out of trouble. IFW is a great robust solution as well but I'm more comfortable using MR and its CBT solution as apposed to IFW (although I didnt know they had one until Froggie mentioned it :thumb:).

    Going forward I'll only use MR and keep at least 2 backup sets as a precaution. I know some of you swear by having a backup from 2 different programs (@Peter) but for me the probability of having 2 separate backup sets failing would be akin to the chances of me winning the lottery.:p

    @manolito
    Dont feel left behind as we'll all be here no matter what....and even though HDS have broken me now, I may give RB another go down the road. :isay:
     
  16. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    See... I tol' ya, an addiction, a real addiction! :D

    I seriously hope you get another try somewhere along the road... but I have my doubts. My bailout time was when they stated unequivocally that the SSD TRIM function of Windows was fully operational under Rollback RX (the last v9.1 version, I believe). I tested that carefully and have done so at almost all of the more recent releases and found it to be non-functional. I invited their Developer team to remotely enter themselves (there were two of them at the time) onto my System and demonstrated clearly to them that the function didn't work... I did this primarily because they kept saying they couldn't reproduce my results (which was a very simple procedure). After witnessing the results, they said they would have to go back and reproduce them on their own Systems the way I had demonstrated, then thanked me very much for the effort.

    A week later a massive disinformation campaign began in their Forums with their major Forum representative, Sam Smith (just a nom de plume), completely disputing my results and basically saying I was wrong in my testing methodology and my results were bogus. I knew I was right (the process was just too simple to be wrong :) ) so at that point I bailed from the HDS product and started to look elsewhere. Any company that would do that to me after clearly demonstrating a product flaw will never deserve my business or my respect ever again.

    Beyond that I have always tried to inform/aid users of Rollback RX as best I can... it's the least I can do. @carfal & I have used the product for many, many years and know it pretty well... there's a lot of experience here and we're always willing to share the knowledge :thumb:
     
  17. carfal

    carfal Registered Member

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    LOL, yes a real addiction indeed. I must say it's nice booting the PC and not having to run endless chkdsks for peace of mind.

    I recall that post where you showed how trim WAS NOT working but didn't realize that you succeeded in them witnessing this on your computer and then they proceeded to discredit you (I mean with the timing of the whole thing, what other conclusion can one have?). Shame on them.

    I'm certain that the few users there are on their forums appreciate the efforts you put in to explain the use and pitfalls of RB. I know i do. :D
     
  18. khanyash

    khanyash Registered Member

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    I too am one of those who like & use this snapshot technology for its speed.

    I too have noticed that if chkdsk doesn't report errors then this software works well.

    I find the new 'Kernel' mode risky compared to the old mode.
    My experience-
    New mode - if you cannot restore to a snapshot then other snapshots too fail to restore the system.
    Old mode - base snapshot works even if other snapshots fail to restore the system.

    I use Eazy Fix. I am running the latest version for 2 weeks and no issues yet.

    Win 10 Pro 64-bit (UEFI) , Version 1809 , OS build 17763.107
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2019
  19. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    I'm not sure what this really means for an application or its user. Are you telling me that it works only for SOME Windows users and not others? I'm not even sure how to classify a piece of software with that sort of pedigree... I would have to call it UNRELIABLE at best for Windows users, especially since its documentation says its a Windows application for all Windows users, without exception.

    I'm not sure about EAZ Fix (although I do know its a bit of a clone) but Rollback RX's serious demise began with v10 and has gone downhill ever since then. First it was non-existent support for Solid State Disks (SSDs), then it was UEFI compatibility, then it was Windows updates (starting back in the W7 realm), then W10 (which brought serious System failures during forced major upgrades), then a significantly delayed upgrade to v11 which offered no significant features and only possible fixes for bugs already existing in v10 (truly one of the best ripoffs I've ever seen... a professional marketing money grab). And now we have corrupted DATA/snapshots that only seem to affect some people and not others. How could you possibly describe an application like that as anything else other than (hmmm, I have to be nice about this)... ABSOLUTELY UNUSABLE for most users.

    I've spent years trying to assist various users in attempts to extract DATA from Systems blown up by Rollback RX... an almost useless process even when you use (which no longer really exists) the infamous HDS SCAVENGER tool. These were all users who were told by HDS, via marketing material, that Rollback RX was a BACKUP SYSTEM. As a result, almost all these users had no real backup System in place... and many lost YEARS of DATA to lost snapshots. After over 10-years of product development (and System destruction), 29-days ago in their newest Reddit Forum, they finally published the first article about protection requirements of a Rollback RX protected System... you know, one of those Systems that was already backed up by Rollback RX.

    This company, HDS, and their flagship product, Rollback RX, has provided one of the most dangerous Windows applications I have ever seen during my Windows travels. All I can say to anyone interested in so called FAST System restore is to try and stay away from this product and the Company that produces it.

    PS- @khanyash - running Rollback RX and/or EAZ FIX for 2-weeks successfully means absolutely nothing. Pls insure you have adequate System imaging in place WHEN (not IF) your System heads down the tubes. Good luck!
     
  20. khanyash

    khanyash Registered Member

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    @TheRollbackFrog

    I meant if the chkdsk errors are not there then the restore, etc work fine for me. I don't know the chkdsk errors issue affect other Windows edition or not, but when I was on Win 7 the software worked well for me, on Win 10 the software is not that stable and reliable.

    I have used Rollback Rx Pro 10 for a long time. I use Eazy Fix since version 11 released. I was trying an imaging software, back to Eazy Fix now, so I mentioned it's been 2 weeks and no issues yet.

    I have no important things on this system. Of course I won't use it on the production system without backups of the system.

    By the way, if I keep an image file of Partition C on Partition D, protect only Partition C with Eazy Fix, in the event of not bootable system, would the bootable USB of the imaging software be able to access the image file on Partition D and restore it?
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2019
  21. manolito

    manolito Registered Member

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    If partion D is not protected by Rollback then I see no reason why your Rescue CD of the Image software should not be able to access this partition.

    If your image of partition C was made within Windows (hot backup) with Rollback being active then after restoring partition C from the rescue CD Windows will not boot because the Rollback MBR will be restored from the image. Before trying to boot you need to fix the MBR. There are several ways to do this:

    Boot from a Windows installation DVD, and go to the command prompt.
    Type in the next three commands:

    bootrec.exe /fixmbr
    bootrec.exe /fixboot
    bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

    Exit and reboot...

    Of course you can also use a tool like BootICE which can save your original MBR and restore it.
    What also works for me is (only if you use Macrium as your image software) to fix Windows boot problems from the Macrium rescue CD.

    And the last thing which may also work (only if your image software is IFW or IFL) is to check the option under Restore to not restore the backed up MBR, but write a standard Windows MBR instead. I have not tested this method yet.
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2019
  22. khanyash

    khanyash Registered Member

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  23. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    @khanyash - just curious, what made you switch to EAZ FIX from Rollback RX?
     
  24. Hadron

    Hadron Registered Member

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    Is that something like Norton GoBack (previously WildFile GoBack, Adaptec GoBack, and Roxio GoBack) ?
     
  25. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    Wow! Whatta Flashback! Good one too. Many years some ago the EAX FIX program worked very well for me.

    Then with the introduction of the Raxco product that used to be featured in these forums we turned to it instead.

    Had no idea EAX FIX still is depended on by some circles of users. I found it ok enough back then with minimal issues compared to RollBackRX which might seemed odd but was a fact on my machine.
     
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