Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

Yes, after booting AX64 recovery, you have the message ""External volume modification detected". This is normal.

 

Thanks Mohamed

I tried that again and this time it installed correctly. However it still did not boot from that menu - same scenario as with the USB stick.

My own opinion of that menu option is that it has to boot back to the BIOS and start the boot process again, which to me is wasting time. I find it much quicker to boot direct to the USB stick using the F8 option in the BIOS, though I accept this will not suit novice users and the boot option may not be available in all BIOS's.

Thanks for your help

 

I see, it would be nice if it wasn't so, but then again I guess you don't really go in there unless you're doing a restore so it shouldn't really matter I guess, better to focus on other things.

 

This is now implemented, but in another product(next version of RealCopy). Pure marketing.

 

Bug or by design?

First let me state that I have NEVER had a hot restore fail on me no matter what version of AXTM I was using. But I like to play to make sure that I understand programs so I have tested the Local Restore feature and the Recovery CD even though I did not actually need to use them.

I spread my AXTM Snapshot folders around on several hard drives, rotating them after I store about 12-18 snapshots on each. Whenever I do a Hot Restore, the AXTM Gui shows me any drive that I am using at the moment and I can restore from it. This includes my second internal drive, external usb 2, and external usb 3 drives. Again, whichever drive that I am using at that time will show in the Gui and the Hot Restore will work, no matter what drive I am using at that time.

When using the Local Restore or Recovery CD, only my second internal drive and the external usb 2 drives will show, the external usb 3 drives do not show. Also, if I am using a usb 3 drive, they do not show BUT MY OTHER DRIVES SHOW. I hope I am making this clear and understandable: if I was using a usb 3 drive at the time that I go to Local Restore or Recovery CD, the usb 3 snapshots are gone, but the other drives show instead and I can (and actually have) restored from them if I choose to do so. Is this by design or a bug that the Local Restore and Recovery CD Gui's show the Snapshots from my other drives?

Thanks much,
Acadia

 

Thank you so much ISSO! Let us know when a version to support XP is done. I have systems that work OK, but can not be updated to Win 7 or 8.

 

Remedial Class Alert!!!

1. When I'm looking at the folders with the AX64 images, for each backup there is an axb and an axd. What are each of these?

 

I have found that USB 3 ports are not reliable when doing restores. Not just with AX64 but with a number of other imaging programs as well. Try plugging the USB 3 drive into a USB 2 port and I bet it and its contents will be seen and restores will work as expected.

 

One is for your boot partition. The other is for your data/OS partition.

 

So do you think that for the utmost reliability (& also practicality), it is best to use USB 2 rather than USB 3 (at least for the time being)?

For backuping/restoring, how much slower (in %) is using USB 2 compared to USB 3?

 

USB 3.0 Not As Reliable As USB 2.0

I have also found that some devices aren't as reliable on USB 3.0 as they are on USB 2.0.

 

Thanks, Marc. Pretty shrewd naming convention.

 

Thank you Denis, I love the newly acquired rank.

You are a kind man!

Best regards

 

Hi David,

Glad to hear that it installed correctly. Now the reason, why it is not booting is because somehow your WinRE.wim is broken. Maybe, you should open a ticked at AX64 site, and they can upload for you an unbroken WinRE.wim and show you how to replace it with the one in your computer.

Question 1: Do you have access to another computer with Windows 8.1?

Question 2. If yes, can you create the Recovery Media on that computer and see if it boots?

P. S. If need be I can upload the WinRE.wim and show you how to replace it.

Best regards,

Mohamed

 

USB 2 is much faster since it works (ie: USB 3 is EXTREMELY slow when it does not work, in this case, I would say its infinitely slower )

I had run into this problem with full image restores when I first got my current Fujitsu PC (it has 2 USB 2 ports and 2 USB 3 ports). I contacted Fujitsu support in a bit of a panic as all my backups seemed to have disappeared and I was rather freaked. They indicated that I should use the USB 2 port, so thats what I do. Problem, thankfully, solved.

 

For me USB 3.0 is 3-5x faster than 2.0, and the bottleneck is actually the hard drive itself. I never had any problems with it, and suspect it has to do with people's specific configuration ather than USB 3.0 as a whole.

Outside of identical hardware and OS/drivers, only you can determine the reliability of the technology.

 

I believe you know that that isn't what my question meant

It could be that the USB 3 implementation isn't mature enough. The techonology itself may has been settled & standardized, but its implementation (the hardware companies who implement it) may not be.
Just like UDMA66 technology during its early days, when people needed to match certain drives with certain controllers.

When a computer can't detect or read a USB 3 drive (which is in working condition ), certainly it has to do with the controller onboard and/or the driver/software that interfaces with it.

 

That is it. In time, USB 3.0 will mature and perform as designed.
But for now, with a lot of hardware, this is not the case.

 

Did some homework. USB 3 is NOT fully supported or fully compatible with Win7. Starting with Win8 USB 3 became fully supported. Yes, USB 3 external drives work in Win7 but not completely. That would also explain why I can make images with ShadowProtect and built-in Win7 image feature onto a USB 3 but cannot find them.

That would also explain why I COULD restore a FirstDefense-ISR archive stored on USB 3 because FD was not a true imaging program, you were always working inside of Windows.

Acadia

 

Sorry, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

 

Thanks for this info, much appreciated. (I'm running 7)

 

Thanks Mohamed

I haven't upgraded my Laptop to 8.1 yet so can't test that.

I do have the disks for Win 7 & 8 so can it be extracted from them?

I am a bit puzzled about it since 1307 built the USB stick alright. Also other imagers are ok.

 

I have just used the USB stick made with 1307 to restore a backup made with 14019 and that has worked ok. So not sure what the difference is with 14019 key.

 

Hi David,

The USB Recovery Media for v1.4.0.19, in which Windows version you made?

I assumed you made it in Windows 8.1 as this was the only Windows version which was giving the trouble.

Best regards,

Mohamed