Rollback Home Free Help

Actually, only now you gave the correct explanation; at least for the RollBackRX and DriveVaccine but not for the other products (e.g. RollbackRX server, DriveCloner RX, Net Control2).
The products are developed for you and not by you. The difference lies down in who holds the intellectual rights and the source code.
And please make up your mind, the 2 companies are sisters, are merged, one overtook the other?

Panagiotis

 

So there's only a single developer then. For all that software... That's a factor in how quickly (or slowly) things get done.
One might guess that he brought a copy of the original software with him when he changed companies.

 

Just look at the output claimed by Kurtis as the product of the HDS development team. It is astonishing, especially if its 1 developer. Clearly something is wrong here and the veracity of Kurtis's assertion that these varied products were developed by HDS is highly questionable.

 

Who owns the products is not really the point and never was. Its about trying to get an answer from HDS that matches up with the evidence (since much of what they say does not). This issue/thread is simply another example of this.


.....and you will trust your system to these folks,,,,,,,,I hope you have a good backup plan in case Rx blows up as has been shown it can (FYI, in case you missed it, HDS denies that Rx can blow up, according to them it can recover your system from ANY CONCEIVABLE PROBLEM, and this is clearly not the case).

 

Anyone having any issues with reollback rx free or pro? Anyone with windows 8.1 64bit I mean? I want to reinstall mine but when read the negative reviews am a bet hesitant. So can anyone confirm if they are alright with it in their system?

 

Past performance, which is what you are asking about, is no guarantee of future performance. This is especially the case since some MS updates have been found to break Rx. You must check with HDS every time you do an MS update to find out if its safe to proceed. So even if you get replies that someone with the same OS as you has not had a problem it does not necessarily mean you are cleared to go.

That being said

My understanding is that using Rx is generally OK, you just have to be sure to have an effective backup plan in case there is a problem. This includes at a minimum an image of your system that includes the non Rx MBR so that you can get your system back if Rx implodes. You might want to take a close look at Froggies The “unOfishul” FAQ for Rx report (there is a Wilders thread), then, take steps to cover what he has outlined as potential problems, cover these and you should be good to go.

The problem I have is really not so much with Rx but more so with how HDS presents it. If they would be upfront with their customers about Rxs limitations and how to protect against these limitations I might consider using it too........but they are not,,,,,and I am not.

I hope this helps.

EDIT: the idea that an Rx user would have to check with HDS before doing an MS update (that is weekly of course) is very off-putting. I take steps to protect myself from bad MS updates, with Rx you need to protect yourself not only from potential problems with the update, you also would have to protect your protection app from these updates as well. Seems rather silly to me.

 

Hi All

After the foul ups with and possible demise of AX 64 Time Machine, I have been looking for an alternative to it. I really would like to try Rollback RX, but when one reads about the deep seated criticism and even hostility to Horizon DS by respected members of this forum I just cannot take the plunge. If all of what has been said about HDS is true, it is frankly astonishing that the company survives. I note that there is a new representative from HDS who participates in the forum but I am not sure from his comments as to what he thinks his role is.

In terms of marketing, HDS's approach is a disaster when reading this forum. Just like the AX team. When will they ever learn. So another product I cannot try because the experience of members has put the "fear of god up me".

Terry

 

I wouldn't use AX64, it feels too beta'ish. And I don't fully understand all its intricacies either. The thread is 10,000 posts long! Yikes! And I understand it's a dead project?

If you use RBRX you must use a tried and true backup method like disk imaging and/or filesyncing to back up your data. Actually you should be doing this already. RBRX or not! There is no substitute for having copies of your important stuff stored off-system where nothing can affect it. True off-line stuff-it-in-a-drawer backups have a marvelous history, spanning decades, of bringing systems back from the brink. And they aren't rocket-science complex. Anyone can understand how they work.

RBRX allows you to swap between snapshots. And does that pretty nicely. Please remember IT IS NOT A BACKUP SOLUTION. It does nothing to protect your information. There is a difference here.

 

Let me stick my head in here for a moment more. RBRX is a good solution provided you use it in parallel with traditional backup methods. The combination is something I can actually recommend.

 

The thing that bothers (bothered) me about AX64 was that I was never clear on what a hybrid snapshot/imaging tool did. And how it did it. Where was my data? My programs? How could you sanely restore to an earlier time while the system is running? Or partly restore? Ugh.. That's all the bashing I'm gonna do on this.

RBRX is a far more polished product with a lot of real-world experience behind it.

 

I'm sorry, but I don't agree at all that AX64 is a dead project! I use it and have used it for well over a year. In that time, I've had one hiccup with it. Is the development at a snails pace, yes. Regardless, I would choose it in a heartbeat over Rollback Rx.

The rumors of AX64's demise are greatly exaggerated.... (I hope!)

 

My advice, many here advise using two imaging softwares in case one should fail....I'm using rollback now along with AXTM64 V1 and have had no problems with either...I'm beginning to ignore a lot of advice from the Wilders elders here and tend to only take up any comments from the developers...Just look at the daily egos battling it away in the security related softwares topics, makes for funny rather than informative reading.

 

Hi Terry! Rollback is a fine app, although too deeply seated into/under the Windows OS for my taste... and if your system partition (and its contained DATA) are important to you, it must be protected externally by an good imaging solution as an extension to its use. If all you need to protect is the last System imaged, any decent imager PLUS an additional trick or two (and space for your images) will get you back running once again if failure occurs. All this requires not only Rollback but an imaging solution AND something to repair your mangled System MASTER BOOT RECORD upon a successful restoration. This process can be daunting to many users.

If your Rollback snapshots are important to you, you'll need an imaging tool capable of doing off-line (or COLD) imaging and it must be able to image ALL the disk blocks in a protected partition, USED and UNUSED (sometimes known as RAW, All Sector, Forensic, Sector-by-Sector). This, of course, requires even more storage than a standard USED SECTOR image but is needed for full restoration of a Rollback-protected system... more "daunting."

Under the above scenarios, your system needs SPACE to store Rollback's snapshots (on your protected partitions) AND additional space (on a different storage device) for the protection images required. Also, if you really feel like trying Rollback, pls read the recently produced "unOfishul" FAQ located HERE... it should help you understand what to watch out for.

All that said, I urge you to give Macrium Reflect v6 a try via it's 30-day TRIAL. With its NEW off-line (but fully automated) "Rapid Data Restore" (RDR) feature, it appears to be everything AX64 Time Machine has tried to be. It uses what AX64 called its WARM Restore feature and works very, very well in that capacity. It also provides the necessary System protection in the form of external images to allow you to easily recover from terrible times. I was involved extensively with the BETA of this product and am now a very happy user of the production version. Yes, it's $30 ($15 more with a 20% discount) more than AX64 but it works and works very well. I use it for my system protection as well as my snapshotting needs and couldn't be happier. I don't mean to sound like a fanboi, but I've been playing around with imaging and snapshotting for a looooooog time and this product is the first to come along to offer what I call a trouble free environment and provide both of my requirements in one tool at a reasonable price. it's definitely worth a try just to see what t's like.

 

Well when I ask the developer and they tell me, then it's not really my assertion as I'm just the communicator to those who have doubts

Kurtis from Horizon Data Sys.

Depends on your system, and set up. Not all versions of RollBack (especially the older ones) won't always support newer OS's so it depends on your version of RollBack Rx. RollBack Rx Home shouldn't have any issues with Windows 8. You can always submit a support ticket with attached log files and our tech support team can tell you whether you should expect any issues.

Well Terry, my job is simply to provide the truth about the products and services. Problem is, many users on here have had a negative experience, and it's influenced them on our products. I try my best to help those people and issues but I've not seen many members jump on my offer. I'm always here to help, people just need to know when to accept it.

There's also the issue of certain people playing with settings they shouldn't. Big feature of RollBack Rx's recent versions (Nov 10.2, 10.3) is that it changes the settings for the installation for Windows Updates from Auto to Manual. Reason is, if a WU installs and compromises the infrastructure around RollBack Rx, it's hooped. So we offer guidance on updates and give clearence on them after testing them. Still, users change the settings back to Auto, and that reverses the fix we put. So you can't always think it's our software. We provide the tools and resources, but if people play with fire they'll often get burned

If you're interested in the product, PM me and I can give you a free key with full support. No charge or games.

Hey, nothing beats dead projects quite like Comodo Time Machine. A product which utilizes an older build of RollBack Rx. People want to talk about people re-selling products...

A logical answer! Love it! No you hit the nail on the head. I'm enjoying these forums, but there's a lot of bad blood from some bad experiences. I wasn't there for those, so all I can do is focus on the future!

 

Hi Terry,

Well I guess I'm one of the few remaining users of Rollback Rx (RBrx) on Wilders. I would agree with everything that Froggie said about RBrx, but I would like to add what was not said. If you believe that you would benefit by being able to take and restore snapshots 'instantly' there is simply no competition to RBrx. I've been using RBrx since 2006 and I can say that it has added a degree of flexibility to my computing experience that I can't imagine being without. That said, it is very important to not jump into an RBrx environment without learning how to use RBrx and (as Froggie points out) it is very important to backup an RBrx system properly. Of course it is also very important to backup any Windows system properly but since RBrx modifies Windows there are some special operational considerations when in an RBrx environment.

I would suggest the following... Make a backup image of your system (if you don't know how, Froggie or I may be able to help). Download RBhome (free). Before installing it clean-up your system with a safe cleaner like CCleaner and then do a file defrag using Windows built-in defragger or any other that you may prefer (never do this when RB is installed). Now install RBhome and get ready to be fascinated by instant snapshots! ...and if you have any questions, just ask away. Should you dislike RBhome, all you need to do is to uninstall it. Should any serious problem surface, all you need to do is to restore your backup image. So rather than be influenced by what you have read on this forum, I say... try it - you may like it.

pv

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Caveat: I should add that I have successfully used RBrx on WinXP, Vista & Win7 (not GPT/UEFI) and I have no experience with it on Win8/8.1

 

Great points

 

Come on Kurtis, you are probably too young to comment upon Comodo Time Machine...

I remember the dispute between HDS and Comodo about he legality of the Comodo offering. HDS claimed that Comodo had obtained the code illegally, and Comodo vehemently denied that. And AFAIK HDS never brought a lawsuit against Comodo, so to me it looks like HDS' claims had no merit.

I have been around at that time, and to me (and a few others) it looked like the core code of Rollback or Time Machine originally came from some Chinese company (or developer), and this code had simultaneously been sold to a couple of different companies (not jut HDS and Comodo, I remember at least one Italian and one Japanese company who offered basically identical programs based on this code). HDS did the best job to disguise the Chinese origin of the software, Comodo did a bad job on this...

It is also true that HDS was the only company who had the skills to actually develop and improve the original code. (At this time EAZSolutions and HDS were not sister companies, they were basically one and the same company. The licensing server for Rollback v. 9.1 was www.eazsolutions.com)

I do agree that using "dead" software has its advantages. The latest stable version of Comodo Time Machine still works well under WinXP, and trying it under Win7 32-bit also did not reveal any problems (of course all the caveats of Rollback also do apply). As long as you don't try to use it with Win8.1, UEFI Secure Boot and GPT partitions I believe it is just as safe as a current version of RollbackRX. And the price tag can't be beaten...


Otherwise I'd like to say that I completely agree with pvsurfer, for the things I use RBrx for it is a godsend. Just don't forget to eat your veggies and do your image backups.



Cheers
manolito

 

Ohh IDK.. I don't see any hassle in backing up sector-by-sector, including unallocated space, as anything more difficult. When I conduct a backup of an RBRX enhanced (Enhanced! Not protected, enhanced.) volume I click on two additional check boxes. My procedure stays the same as it does for my non-RBRX rigs.

Considering how these things work I think they're doing the best they can. I see a few spot areas that could use some beef-up, but I don't feel like discussing them at this exact moment.

To me, anything beta is just that, beta! Beta..beta..beta.. Not ready for prime-time on mission critical systems.

 

Hi manolito,

While the above statement may (or may not) be factual, from what I can determine it is a fact that Andrew Shen (of HDS) is one of the individuals granted a US patent on the concept upon which RBrx (and other look-alikes) is founded.

pv

 

Well, I'm young enough to remember Power Rangers

Yes, it's a bit of an iffy thing. I think it's a bit of a joke. Here at HDS, we see a lot of people asking about Comodo Time Machine. It is essentially null, I mean if you're waiting for a newer version of that software, you're better off coming to us then waiting for them!

 

Good news is that we are getting closer to release. We're getting increasingly more confident day-by-day as to the growing strength of the program. So stay tuned!

 

Backups are required on any system. And offline sector-by-sector w/unallocated space is the gold standard in imaging. Has been for the past several decades now.

Sorry if I keep hammering home backups. I still see too many people having their system blow-up in their faces and then hiring out a data recovery company at $500+.