eazFix/Rollback RX and defect snapshots

To all users of mentioned snapshot software.

I'm working with support and developers to get a still existing bug fixed.
The problem is that under certain conditions snapshots become defect and in worse case unbootable.
The action that contributes to this serious problem is related to snapshot defrag in the windows application console.
The automatic defrag after restart is proven to be safe.
So, if you feel the need to defrag, do it in the subsystem console (press home at boot time)
Until the bug is fixed: do not defrag in Windows.

 

Wil, I have been using Rollback's defrag from within Windows - every day (usually after deleting unwanted snapshots). Doing that has not given me any problems with either the current and prior build!

I wonder why we are experiencing different results (your's bad, mine good)?

 

pvsurfer, I am also using defrag within Windows and have not experienced any problem since the last build.

 

I ran a test this morning and I didn't get errors either. I'm glad that you guys don't get defect snapshots.
Now I'm wondering if a more complex snapshot structure could be a defining condition. Like this:

http://www.geocities.com/wilbertnl/eazclone/defect.png

This is a structure that generated two times defect snapshots.
Do you guys use this kind of structures? Maybe this is something that beta testers come up with.

 

I have done a lot of defrag in windows and I did got one or two unbootable snapshots but they happened randomly probably after power reset of laptop so I doubt that the in-windows defrag can be the reason. However i am not an expert.

 

When I used Rollback (early this spring) and got my problems with it, I had similar structure as your pic.
I had one baseline and created two different snapshot trees from that base line.
One for gaming and one for day to day use with beta testing.
After two months my day to day line of snapshots got corrupted all of a sudden without any apparent reason.
Support couldnt help or explain back then.

 

Hello Wilbert,

Dumb question please; How do you achieve this type of structure?

John.

 

Only questions not asked are dumb.

What I do is restore to the baseline and create another snapshot with a different name.

 

Thanks for the kind words and explanation - but in this case, my question was dumb

John.

 

Allright guys, in the exact snapshot structure as shown here, I just generated errors in a snapshot.
So, complexity is a defining condition

 

Wil, my snapshots are single-level and therefore not as complex as yours. Therein could be the gremlin.

On average, I create about 6 snapshots a day, and I also do a daily cleanup of past snapshots, paring them down to about 1 or 2 per day. After deleting those unnecessary snapshots (at least 6 or so at a time), I always run a RB defrag (from within Windows).

 

I want to thank all of you, pvsurfer, hsj, aigle, Peter2150, sukarof and Kapiti for your feedback in this thread.
It really helped and support/developers of eazSolutions is hopeful to get this bug smashed.

 

Nice to hear

 

Wilbert

What's the advantage/disadvantage for having such snapshot structure?

 

The structure in the picture is probably not very useful, but at this moment it helps me to generate defect snapshots. And to test the limits of this snapshot software.

Otherwise, advantages/disadvantages are very personal.
For example when you need to decide which antivirus software you want to subscribe to, it's possible to install three, four, five or more different products in different snapshots: NOD32, KAV, Trendmicro, eTrust etc. You are able to install them all at the same time and switch from one to another simultaneously.

I for instance took the task to betatest software from Trendmicro. When they send me another beta release (monthly), I don't want to uninstall my current release but I create a new snapshot for the test that doesn't have any release of Trendmicro installed.

Or you could setup one snapshot that is optimized for video editing, another that is optimized for internet, etc.

 

To my way of thinking, it all boils down to my using Rollback strictly as an interim system restore tool (like Windows' System Restore, but on steroids!).

As I've mentioned many times over, I've been relying on Acronis True Image (for several years) for any Disaster Recovery situation. To me that is where the 'rubber meets the road' - while RB is a very convenient interim system restore tool, I don't allow my thinking to believe it's anything more than that (at least not in it's present incarnation).

 

A question.

Last July, I purchased 3 licenses of RollbackRx after trying it out for a week with no problems. After about 30 days, I experienced chkdsk problems on all 3 machines (at different times) which resulted in BSOD's. I had to restore with Acronis. I was able to return the programs to Horizon Data Systems, which cost me a 15% restocking fee.

Their website now states that they have fixed the chkdsk problems, but it appears from this thread that they still have some bugs. I am currently using FD-ISR and like it, however the speed of RollbackRx is appealing.

Does anyone have any comments or similar experiences? Should I try RollbackRX again?

Many thanks

 

I did try Rollback Rx a couple of weeks ago when the then new version came, and it worked fine on my machine. but the problem I had earlier this year didnt appear until two months had passed and made it a pain to get up to date again after uninstalling RB. But it seems like wilbertnl and the support team are on to something regarding that problem.
I did uninstall RB however cause I noticed a slight system slow down (files didnt open as fast, some constant grinding of the harddrive) and the imaging solution that RB offers does not suite me. And finally I have realized that my way of using RollbackRx collides with the need of reverting to the baseline whenever a new version comes out, (ie half of all my work dissapears) If they made it possible to save the snapshots so they would work with the new version, it would be great.

Remember the problems with system slow down propably has to do with my system, since no one else has reported it. But if you only had problems with chkdsk (which I did not have btw and now is fixed apparently) I think you should try it.
You can keep all the snapshots from FDISR after you uninstall it. So if you for some reason dont want to keep RB you just uninstall RB and install FDISR and you´re back to normal with the old snapshots again, atleast it worked for me

 

Hi, u can try. Problem is much less than before but it is stil there. RollBackRx is not as solid as FDISR.

 

Hi wilbertnl, just a wild thinking. Problem may be that all snapshots of RollBackRx are actually based upon a base-line snapshot. If every snapshot is somehow independant in itself, it might dissolve the issue. In that case u can even uninstall RollbackRx without loosing ur snapshots and can transfer snapshots to any external storage media as well.
But it might not be possible, I wonder!

 

Wilbert

My next question would be why do you have the snapshots in this parent/child structure instead of having parallel ones? I understand that you are trying to test for defects, however if this structure has no real advantages as opposed to having parallel snapshots then why not just eliminate this function altogether? I just can't seem to understand why anyone would set up their snapshots this way...

 

This structure is very important.
If u want to try a software on a fresh OS to eliminate the possibility of all conflicts, how u can do it without this structure?

 

Thanks for pointing it out. I just didn't understand it before. But now it's clear after seeing your post.

 

I notice the harddisk grinding too, aspecially during boot.
But for now it doesn't have my attention, that is something for later.