Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by Isso, Jan 18, 2013.

  1. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    Some developers actually get p****d off if a pending released leaks out and people start downloading it before it's released. I don't think that's the case here but, I'm just sayin'. :blink:
     
  2. Baldrick

    Baldrick Registered Member

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    It has got nothing to do with being 'timid', as you put it...but rather, IMHO, being respectful of the developer and his work. Otherwise why bother with official releases...let's just have a free for all.

    The build is on a server, and public access may be available, granted, but why then have an option to download from the official product website. At least what is downloadable from the official website has been QA'd/released with Isso's blessing. If he wants us to beta test something for him then I am sure that he will either announce that generally or contact individuals he believes would be prepared to help him out re. that.

    Anyway, no point there being a polemic on the subject...so, each to their own. :D and then :blink: (me that is)
     
  3. smallhagrid

    smallhagrid Registered Member

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    Thanks n8chavez.
    OK:
    Then I guess what I have is already my best choice.

    I see, but:
    Looks again like a case of 'don't fix it if it ain't broke' to me.

    And BTW, IFW and it's variants make alot less sense to me than things that are alot more user-friendly.

    I could not find confirmation of these on their site:
    But unless the dev or someone else chimes in with a totally different opinion, it's most likely that AX64 is a poor fit for my situation.

    Thanks for the info and possibly saving me the time of trying it out !!
     
  4. n8chavez

    n8chavez Registered Member

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    Just because something has a fancy GUI doesn't make it the best; look at the bloated piece of doody ATI has become. IFW/IFL/IFDis truly the best imaging suite available, and the most reliable. It just works, everytime. And with people like Brian K who seem to go out of there way to help and make sure you understand terabyte apps, you really can't go wrong with it.

    It might not be on the site, but it is in the application. I use it and verified everything before I listed it.


    AX64 is meant to be used in conjunction with a true imaging application, like IFW. They should be used together. The first thing you learn here at Wilders is that a layered approach is best, not trusting one sole application. That fits here as well

    You'd be missing out, if that's your decision. AX64 is still in its infancy and is already the best reverting software I've seen (and I've used them all).
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2013
  5. pandlouk

    pandlouk Registered Member

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    I am not that interested in full/offline restores of AX64 like a full zeroing of the disk. (I take that for granted for any imaging app worth mentioning).
    I am more interested in testing the online quick/restore of AX64 and its ability to track sector changes and the correct restore of those sectors. If a quick restore ever goes bad (=restored and booted fine but somehow corrupted some files or the mft) then there is a risk that will take out the whole snapshot tree if a user has enable the automatic snapshots.

    Panagiotis
     
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2013
  6. pandlouk

    pandlouk Registered Member

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    I'll have to disagree with n8chavez.
    AX64 is exactly like the other imaging apps = it creates incremental images of your system.
    The BIG difference with the other imaging apps is that can perform a restore from inside the OS and restores only the modified/changed sectors and as a result you have an extremely fast restore.
    And since you are familiar with Farstone products, you should compare AX64 not with driveclone, but with a bundle of RestoreIt+TotalRecovery.

    Panagiotis
     
  7. legacy

    legacy Registered Member

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    @smallhagrid,

    I too use farstone products, version 5 i remember correctly, was the first time i tested universal restore and it worked great. I had a lot of problems with version total recovery pro 8 as it was very flakey. 7 was okay for me.

    I used the green boot cd to backup cold and i had no problems with universal restore.

    Seems to be great on the new version 9 and the new drive clone 9 is great.

    I sometimes tend to use paragon for injecting the drivers on a universal restore, seems to work great which ever way.

    Just watch out for Farstone Restore IT 2013, very flakey, caused me a big panic, similar to rollsack,
     
  8. smallhagrid

    smallhagrid Registered Member

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    Thanks again n8chavez.
    I am seriously, totally not visually oriented, so:
    My response pointed to working functionalities - and the ease of a thing that does 'just work' - which I already have been using.

    OK, but:
    If I have a single app that does it all, in separated locations, this achieves the desired result from what I can tell.

    I see that it is young, and see that it is changing and growing:
    All good stuff too - and if it means I change out what already does all this for me for 2 different things - like I said earlier=> 'don't fix it if it ain't broke' applies here IMO.

    Best Wishes.
     
  9. smallhagrid

    smallhagrid Registered Member

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    Thank You Panagiotis.

    I am seeking to compare it with a more complete version of Driveclone:
    Not to be confused with the more recent ones that have been pruned down.

    A great response though - makes me wonder who else may chime in with similar observations...?

    Thanks.
     
  10. smallhagrid

    smallhagrid Registered Member

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    Thanks Very Much Legacy !!!

    You have affirmed the goodness that I have appreciated and tried to describe here.

    As mentioned earlier:
    What I appreciated most in the older versions was the snapshot feature, which has been removed from newer versions.

    I believe you refer to their 'Adaptive Restore' idea, yes:
    There was a freebie of it at one time and I seem to recall using it as well, with success a while back.

    Thanks for the warning:
    It's not anything I'm likely to have an interest in, for many reasons, not the least of which is that I have an older, highly dependable product already.

    Thanks, and Best Wishes !!
     
  11. legacy

    legacy Registered Member

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    Check out Easeus todo backup workstation, that uses a snapshot feature. Also backing up 10 machines with the admin console over the lan all from one machine rocks with Easeus, much easier than Farstones admin console. The universal restore with easeus has not failed me yet.

    Ax64 mounting images works sweet as a nut for me on the latest 45 version.
     
  12. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    imo ax64 is literally about as easy as things can be. you open the program and click make backup. done. you want to restore you can either open the backup browser select the one you want click restore. or do the same from the boot disc which is also almost a one click deal. done. easy as pie imo.

    otherwise i have and or own literally every disc imaging program i can find and am always on the lookout for new ones. i test them VERY well and make sure they are as good as it can get before ever putting them into production office systems we use for important data. we have more than 50 systems in use most times between our office and another 6-8 at home between laptops and desktops. not to mention all my "test" systems i use to do just that test programs out.

    i can say after weeks of testing ax64 could be used by anyone and be used in place of any imaging program IF you want something SUPER basic and just so simple to use. i now have my mom trying it and this is the one time she has not had to call me to ask how to make a backup. she decided to open it and click make backup thinking that was the right thing and called it "desktop" and let it finish, she was very excited enough so she called me to tell me about it lol. and i have put it through the ringer in trying every way to make it fail. i have not been able to yet. i have had to do a restore from outside of windows a few times but otherwise in zero'ing the drive and trying everything else to make it fail it has not yet!!!

    i on the other hand can not at all recc easeus to anyone. i own a tech lic which has not run out yet and i will not renew it i may buy a workstation one but honestly not sure yet. i have had far to many issues with it to recc it to anyone. i do agree that the admin console does work well as mentioned above. i just have had no luck with it working properly for what it is supposed to do reliably. it has even changed the block size on the hdd since version 4 each time i test it and checkdisk has to find and fix errors after i use it. tested this issue on MANY machines and they do not seem to want to do anything even after sending them a ton of info. farstone is another i simply can not recc.

    but no one should tell someone that ax64 will not do what they need if what they need is a simple to use reliable image program. isso if you read this i love it and will be buying more lic's very soon from you!! very very nice program!!
     
  13. aladdin

    aladdin Registered Member

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    Hi SmallHagrid,

    Panagiotis has replied you excellently and he is one of the experts on this forum. AX64 is nothing but an imaging program. And, I will explain you what it can do and what it cannot do. But, since you already have a winner on your hands, then why change.

    1. Is AX64, a pure imaging program?
    A. Yes.

    2. Is AX64, like Rollback Rx?
    A. Thanks God, it is not.

    3. Can AX64 take incremental images?
    A. Yes, and as Panagiotis explained it can.

    4. Can AX64 take differential images?
    A. No, it cannot.

    5. Can AX64 do a hardware independent restore?
    A. No, not in its present form but it might do in future. I might be wrong here, and either Isso or Panagiotis can correct me.

    6. Does AX64 gives you a pre-OS environment to restore an image?
    A. At present it doesn't but it is planned for future. However, one can easily add this with EasyBCD or similar other bootloaders editors.

    7. Are AX64 images hidden?
    A. No, they are not.

    8. Does AX64 has built in scheduler to take hourly incremental images?
    A. Yes, it does.

    9. Is AX64 easy to use?
    A. Yes, it very easy to use, any fool like me can use it. I have found AX64 the easiest imaging program to use and have found Terabyte, Image For Windows (IFW) the hardest imaging program to use.

    Now where does AX64 differs from other imaging programs?

    1. One can initiate the restoration of full images within the OS (Windows). In this AX64 is not unique, some other imaging programs can do the same, such as Drive Snapshot, Keriver 1-Clk Restore and so forth.

    2. Now here is where AX64 shines, and no imaging program has achieved this breakthrough technology so far. With AX64, the single increment can be restored within the OS (Windows), where no others can do so far. However, one cannot achieve this feat outside the OS (Windows). Dearest Panagiotis has already explained this to you in post #4256 on this very page, and I cannot do better than the expert.

    Another ability that AX64 has and no imaging programs has so far, that AX64 can take the initial FULL Image very, very fast and the subsequent incremental images very, very fast too!


    Hope the above answers all your questions, and please stick what works for you. It seems that you already have a winner on your hands.

    Best regards,

    Mohamed
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2013
  14. pajenn

    pajenn Registered Member

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    I find AX64 makes very fast incrementals and restores fast from Windows, but the initial backup speed is about the same as for regular backup programs. I use Drive Snapshot (with 'Always use VSS' option selected) as my regular backup program because it's faster on my system than other backup programs I've tested not including AX64 incrementals. Here's a sample of my results for a 120 GB (92 GB used) SSD drive backed up to a second internal HDD drive:

    AX64 initial backup: ~30 minutes.
    AX64 incremental backup: ~2 minutes.
    AX64 incremental backup if external modification detected: ~20 minutes (this happens if I've booted to a win7pe or similar environment since the last backup)

    Drive Snapshot initial backup: ~12 minutes.
    Drive Snapshot differential backup: ~8 minutes.

    Those times were after I consolidated free space on the destination partition. With fragmented and less free space the backup times were slower for both programs. ymmv.
     
  15. aladdin

    aladdin Registered Member

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    Dearest Pajenn,

    Excellent information you have provided. Also, sometimes but not always the incremental backups with AX64 takes about 8~10 for 500MB. With such a small foot print, Drive Snapshot is an excellent program.

    Best regards,

    Mohamed
     
  16. smallhagrid

    smallhagrid Registered Member

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    Thanks Again Legacy.
    At a friend's place...:
    I have used Todo Backup and it seemed to work very nicely.
    I don't remember seeing the snapshot feature, but also my conclusion after doing a backup for him was that I saw no reason there to change away from Driveclone 5.

    Seems like it is common for folks to want a program for images and another for snapshots...OK, but since it is possible to save an image separately from the snapshots (which are hidden) - I think the needs are covered for me.

    Thanks !!
     
  17. smallhagrid

    smallhagrid Registered Member

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    Thank You Very Much Mohamed for such a thoughtful and detailed reply !!

    Thank you:
    Precisely where I stand - I'm a happy XP user whose ONLY plan for 'upgrading' the OS will be going over to Linux (using XP in a VM), os I see no need at this point to change.

    It was just that AX64 has been getting such rave reviews that I got interested to see if it does what I prefer as well as what I already have - and your reply really is very wonderfully detailed & helpful !!

    Perfection !!:
    Mohamed, it is the kind helpfulness you have shown here that one hopes to see when asking for help in an online forum.
    Very often one gets snippy, contentious replies when asking innocent questions, which can be discouraging.
    Now and then though, there are helpful & affirming replies such as yours and Legacy's - and that truly is the best of it !!!

    Thank You Folks, for answering my questions so very helpfully.
     
  18. legacy

    legacy Registered Member

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    @smallhagrid,

    its a pleasure, im happy to help. Its great to see some great help from the folks on here.

    I do enjoy my backup/image software and AX64 is ticking the boxes,not just for me for everyone else, whos in the same boat.

    best regards

    Legacy:thumb:
     
  19. ScottAdams

    ScottAdams Registered Member

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    On the CD recovery based recovery console.

    1) Will it mount an external USB hard drive to get the backups off?
    2) What about a mapped network drive?

    I am assuming yes to the first and no to the second.

    I was looking to get a network based hard drive to use on my home systems. then I realized restores might be a problem! Since I can't find one that is usb and ethernet I have to pick one solution.

    The USB solution will require I have a machine running at all times to make it visible on the network.

    I was hoping to avoid this. Any ideas?
     
  20. Baldrick

    Baldrick Registered Member

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    Have you considered a standard HDD or SSD connected with an external dock using eSATA? That is what I use and seems to work very well.

    Have heard that there have been some using USB 3.0 that have had problems and the recommendation has been to stick with USB 2.0, albeit at a slower transfer rate...but perhaps someone more knowledgeable will respond on this.
     
  21. max2

    max2 Registered Member

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    Does this make a difference if you just change your hard drive size, add a hard drive, change your video card, change your DVD drive, change your PSU, or install more or different ram ?
     
  22. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Max2... all of the above 'cept your video card should be no problem, Windows itself deals with them very well. The video card change will most likely offer a driver problem (if not known by Windows). The system should come up fine but you may have to get an additional driver for that new video subsystem.
     
  23. aladdin

    aladdin Registered Member

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    Dearest SmallHagrid,

    You are welcome, and thank you for your kindness.

    Best regards,

    Mohamed
     
  24. ScottAdams

    ScottAdams Registered Member

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    Thanks! I was thinking of going USB 3 and did not realize there were issues. I will see if I can find that info in this thread and I will also monitor if anyone can shed some light on it as well. (edit I foudn the posts and see the problem, moving the drive to a usb 2 fixed it and so it is not really a big issue for me.)

    My current use is via an esata external drive on one machine a USB 2.0 on another. I was hoping to create a central drive server but apparently the drives that do work on ethernet do not present properly to Windows 7 to allow them to be mapped. So it looks like either another esata or usb 2 drive atm.
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2013
  25. taotoo

    taotoo Registered Member

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    @smallhagrid

    If I remember correctly (which I may not) Drive Clone 5 has the following traits:

    1. Once you've reverted to a snapshot, you cannot then go forward.
    2. You have to set a size for the backup area, and once it's full, enlarging it deletes all the data within it.

    I guess these might not be a major factor for you, but AX64 doesn't have those issues (of course it might have others...)
     
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