Introducing AX64 Time Machine - hybrid imaging/snapshot software

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

  1. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    The simple installation of AX64's v1 or v2 app should not be changing the BOOT path or specification in any way.
    Yup... continue to use REFLECT only (since it worked so well) :rolleyes: :D
     
  2. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Well... the above FaceBook post has been removed. Either v3 has been abandoned, completed or they've moved on to the v4 migration without releasing the completed (but untested) v3 as of yet.

    So... are you ready for some (Complete Architecture Overhaul v2) BETA!?!?
     
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2016
  3. chrcol

    chrcol Registered Member

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    sorry for my time away from the thread.

    A system restore point will allow you to restore any file you want that is within a drive thats configured to be snapshotted. By default Windows 7 and below will only enable for the C: drive, but all drives can be enabled, and applications like shadow explorer make restoring older versions of files a doddle. They do not have to be system files, e.g. I have used windows restore to downgrade a steam game when I didnt like the patch released by the developers.

    By default windows from what I can see in the task scheduler and observations of using my system will create a restore point once a week, and also when applications are installed, although some installers seem to skip the creation of a restore point. You can easily schedule a system restore once an hour and enable for every drive in your system, then every file change on your system will be in a recorded snapshot if it has changed. For this reason the name system restore is perhaps a bit misleading because it is actually a very powerful tool which is much more than just restoring system settings and files.

    For whatever reason tho microsoft are deprecating system restore, in windows 8.1 and 10 its disabled by default on all drives including the C: drive but can still be turned on. Also in both 8.1 and 10 the previous files tab is removed in windows explorer, but shadow explorer a free app will allow you to restore individual folders/files from any snapshot you want.
     

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  4. manolito

    manolito Registered Member

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    According to this article by Microsoft:
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17127/windows-back-up-restore
    a system restore point will NOT allow you to restore ANY file.

    Maybe you are confusing "System Restore" with "Backup and Restore"?


    Cheers
    manolito
     
  5. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    System restore will never be able to compete with any good backup or imaging program. But it is better than nothing. But note it is also kind of off topic for this thread.
     
  6. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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    I don't agree Peter, we are comparing AX64 capability with Windows System Restore Point. That should be on topic for this thread.
     
  7. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    As long as posts are a comparison, yes, but when they are getting to be about system restore. Lets see what happens.
     
  8. chrcol

    chrcol Registered Member

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    no confusion.

    system restore is a filesystem snapshot feature.

    Note the picture of shadow explorer, its a file explorer program, except it is browsing snapshots not the live filesystem.

    you can do a very quick test.

    1 - install shadow explorer
    2 - goto system restore settings and enable system restore for any drive of your choosing making sure you configure it more than 0% of space to be used for snapshots.
    3 - create a restore point
    4 - run shadow explorer and you can recover any file/folder from the snapshot of your choice.

    system restore is very powerful but dumbed down by microsoft themselves in their UI.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2016
  9. manolito

    manolito Registered Member

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    I am not familiar with Shadow Explorer, but from my own experience and according to a lot of stuff I have read about it, System Restore will leave all user files alone. It will only restore System Files. I have no idea if Microsoft intentionally restricted it to only deal with system files, but this is what the average user gets.

    Cheers
    manolito
     
  10. chrcol

    chrcol Registered Member

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    I give up, I told you its all files on the drive. But you seem to keep ignoring it.
     
  11. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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    If its all files then why do the non-system files remain the same when you revert to a prior restore point? Makes no sense to me that MS would include all files and then just roll back the system files. At a minimum you would think they would let you know that the non-system files were available using such and such an app if not actually provide the app.

    Very odd.

    I accept what you are saying but don't feel that I want to test using Shadow Explorer since I already have both Macrium and AX64 which provides me with ALL capabilities.

    PS: if you have time could you please post a screen grab of SE showing access to the non-system files. I would very much appreciate it.
     
  12. chrcol

    chrcol Registered Member

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  13. Alexhousek

    Alexhousek Registered Member

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    Is anyone running AX64 1.4.1.48 on Windows 10? I'm looking to upgrade from Win 8.1 to Windows 10 and I'm curious if AX64 will "survive" the upgrade?
     
  14. silver0066

    silver0066 Registered Member

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    It works just fine on my Win 10 Pro system.
     
  15. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Alex, I have also used it on W10 systems without issue (uncomplicated systems).
     
  16. Alexhousek

    Alexhousek Registered Member

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    Thanks folks! Time to upgrade to Windows 10....
     
  17. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Take your time... it can be brutal :eek:
     
  18. Alexhousek

    Alexhousek Registered Member

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    Update done in about an hour or so. So far, so good.

    Quick question--do you who use AX64 (or possibly Macrium Reflect) use System Restore at all? I had turned it off when I first started using AX64. And, I've left it off since. But, upgrading to Windows 10 has caused me to rethink this. (I do take daily incrementals with MR during the week Monday-Friday.)
     
  19. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I for one turn off system restore. Although Macrium is my goto no one imaging program I do use more then one. That redundancy makes system restore unnecessary, Sadly I've run AX64 less then reliable and have dropped it.
     
  20. khanyash

    khanyash Registered Member

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    I have used AX64 V2 on Win 10 64 Pro And currently running RollbackRx Pro 10.
    For me both run fine with no probs.
    I keep System Restore & Defrag disabled.
    I exclude/trust RollbackRx in my security software.
    Windows Updates set to Notify to download.
     
  21. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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  22. chrcol

    chrcol Registered Member

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    to Alexhousek

    I keep system restore on.

    I treat my macrium backups as something I would fall back on if I had to restore the OS from an image, e.g. boot drive failure or malware infection.

    Whilst system restore I use as a snapshot system either to rollback to say before a bugged windows update or e.g. (as explained earlier) to rollback files/folders to an earlier version.

    Just be aware of the downsides of system restore.

    1 - because it preserves a copy of every file on the drives monitored, the overheads from the system can build up over time if you allow it to store several snapshots at once, it works similar to zfs in that if files are unchanged then duplicate data isnt in each snapshot, but still overtime the overheads of using it can get large.
    2 - some installers as well as windows update will create a restore point everytime, adding delays to these tasks.
    3 - on software raid devices there is additional performance penalty (also windows seven has a nasty bug when system restore is used on software mirrored volumes, requiring a complete resync of the volume following a failed shutdown).
    4 - usually the volume shadow copy service should be temporarily disabled before any defrag tool is run otherwise snapshot data can get destroyed.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2016
  23. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    To each his own, but seems to me you are doing it back wards. I'd rely instead on two top imaging programs and scrap system restore. You are using the weakest link to rely on instead of the strongest.
     
  24. chrcol

    chrcol Registered Member

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    system restore is extremely powerful and because its integrated into the OS it will also be extremely reliable.

    Macrium is good but for me its purpose is imaging.

    System restore isnt an image backup anyway which is why your comment makes no sense to me to do it in reverse, its a snapshot system that snapshots files on the drive. You cannot restore e.g. from a system restore backup when the storage device fails. As the backup is stored on the same device as the original files.

    My rule is typically to always use mechanics provided within the OS and only use third party when the former is not possible.

    Not to mention my wallet, 3rd party tools usually mean spending money.
     
  25. hoge hoge

    hoge hoge Registered Member

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    Hello all,

    I don't know a good way to encrypt the snapshot data in the other hard disk drive.
    I use the TrueCrypt and FlashBack, Backup was successful, but will fail to restore. ( snapshot data is not found! )

    If snapshot data is not encrypted, does not make sense of the system-disk encryption...
    Please let me know a good idea. :(

    P.S.
    If snapshot data encryption feature has been added to the FlashBack, I thought it would be easy.
     
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