Rollback RX v11.x (Home & Professional)

i was on v10.7, yes that user statement seems suspicious...

 

@guest
I posted on the HDS forums that i also was successful at installing RB with v1809. But i used the latest build v11.0.2703845388.

 

I am still waiting for the free Home version of v11. Looks like HDS is in no hurry to release it, probably because if you take away all the Pro features which are disabled in the Home version, then there will be no improvement left over v10.7.

On my computers (Win7-64bit, MBR, no UEFI or GPT) I still use my licensed v9 version, and so far I see no reason to spend money for an upgrade. Quite the opposite, with v.9 I can do a hot image backup with Acronis or any other imager (of course no snapshots will be backed up), and this image can be restored without having to repair the MBR first.


Cheers
manolito

 

Release Notes mention "Add program setting: automatically disable Rollback Rx to install Windows Updates that changes bootloader (BCD)."

There is an option (disabled by default) in the advanced settings "Allow install of Windows Updates that cannot be rolled back."

The user dbolotin on HDS forum mentioned "He enabled the option and Windows Update was successful."

 

Man No Trim?

I thought that was what V11 was all about....Why create V11, IF your not going to fix the things that plague V10 ?

 

I am running Eazy Fix
http://www.eazsolutions.com/eazyfix.html

EAZ Solutions Eazy Fix and HorizonDataSys Rollback Rx Pro are the same software. HorizonDataSys is a sister company of EAZ Solutions.

The BIG price difference

Eazy Fix v11 lifetime-license is $34.95 (1-year upgrade and support for FREE)
the upgrade price is $10.50
they have eazy fix 1-year subscription too for $13.98

Rollback Rx Pro v11 lifetime-license is $69 (1-year upgrade and support for $14.90)
do not know the upgrade price

You should simply buy Eazy Fix.

 

probably because of below.

My issue was with 10.7 after clean installing 1809, RX installation failed, and my system went unbootable. no big deal because i just had to redo the 1809 install again, but now i bet i can't use 10.7 on 1809, so i will be either forced to buy v11 or ditch RX for good. at the moment i chose to ditch it...will wait for a promotion.

 

Ok, its clear that v10.7 will no longer work past v1803.

HDS have always played a catchup game with RB. Any major update to the OS (past and now more so present) would break RB and send HDS scrambling to "Fix" (which translates to adding a feature in HDS language) so that RB lives another OS.

The truth is that no real feature has been added to RB since v7 (when i first started using RB). If you install RB v7 and RB v11 in 2 separate VM's and compare the functionality it will be exactly the same. Obviously, under the bonnet workings will be completely different but from the users perspective they've received nothing new in terms of functionality. But HDS consider the under bonnet changes as "features". For this reason, i believe their business model is wrong. They need to change it to subscription based with an annual fee of say $20. If you consider the fact that from when v10 was released to v11, a good 3 yrs have passed so going by the subscription it would have cost $60 (a perpetual license costs $69)...not much difference but all the v10 iterations to play cathup with the OS would be happily welcome as part of the subscription and indeed the version change would have happened without a whisper from anyone. You simply pay your yearly subscription. HDS would have a much more steady income stream and no outcry's when a major version is released (with no REAL feature updates).

I should mention that the new "feature" to disable RB for a major system update i consider to be more like a necessary compatibility addition for the fact that a major OS update would fail with RB installed.

Anyway, enough ranting from me. After all...what do i know.

 

But are you running Windows with the October update and E.F?
As far as i know they are almost the same program, some versiondifference only, usually they have the same problems.

 

I am running Eazy Fix v11. I do a clean install of major updates. I haven't installed yet.
Yes, both are the same program.

 

do a backup before

 

Yep, Black Friday's HERE (21Nov-27Nov) at %50 OFF... GO ROLLBACKers (if you dare).

 

You are TheRollbackFrog --do you recommend RollbackRX? (if you dare?) and--are there strong caveats?

 

@tjaTech - I have not used this product since v10 appeared on the scene... to many issues, both carried over from v9 and new issues with v10. From my testing, v11 has shown some very minor improvements in its use but still carries most of the limitations that the previous versions do. Many users have found that their protected disk storage disappears over time which can be a serious issue if not managed properly (# of snapshots, cleanup, etc.)

If you haven't already done so, I would recommending reading THIS DOCUMENT available on the Forum. It covers almost all the existing limitations found in using Rollback RX ( or most any snapshot application). And remember, it's NOT A DATA BACKUP APPLICATION... it cannot protect you from major System component failure.

If you do decide to use it (most use it for speed, which isn't an issue for me), please insure that you have some sort of IMAGING or DATA BACKUP application in place to protect yourself against serious System or component failure... Rollback RX cannot do that.

 

@tjaTech - An occasional visitor to this Forum, @carfal , has much more experience with the use of Rollback RX than I have, especially with releases later than v10.2 which is where I bailed out. I'm sure he can offer some very useful "guided" guidance concerning the use of this product. Hopefully he'll be happy to jump in and offer some sage advice.

 

Thanks much for your response. I utilize Macrium Reflect and am quite happy with it for imaging. However I am always interested in other apps that might be useful --if they work well / reliably.

 

My first warning... if you use Rollback, REFLECT is incapable of imaging Rollback's snapshot DATA (Windows can't even see it). A standard imaging operation under a LIVE Windows System will only get you the CURRENT SYSTEM STATE and a bad Master BOOT Record (MBR) which Rollback must "pollute" to get its subSystem operating properly. A REFLECT restoration of a LIVE Rollback System image will produce an unBOOTable System which will require MBR maintenance in order to get it BOOTed once again. Even after successful BOOTing, Rollback is unusable, with no discernible snapshot DATA available, and must be removed from the System and re-Installed for it to become operational once again from a new baseline without snapshots.

 

Froggy is absolutely correct, the most frequent mistake some folks make is to look at Rollback as a backup solution. IT IS NOT, and if you use Macrium right now, you need to continue using it like before.

That a standard Macrium backup does not contain the Rollback snapshots is only a problem if you do treat Rollback as a backup solution. The fact that restoring a Macrium backup will render your system unbootable is a real annoyance, but the Macrium disaster CD has a menu option to fix the MBR, no third party software needed. BTW this problem is not present if you use the old Rollback v. 9.1, and if your system is pre-Win10 and you use a standard MBR configuration then this old version is just as stable as the latest version.

Cheers
manolito

 

@TheRollbackFrog
Thankyou for the ringing endorsement

@tja Tech
Look, everything that Froggy has mentioned is abolutely correct however i'd like to add something in regards to the MBR.

I've always read about the issues of imaging apps used with RB and the ciaos that ensures with an unworkable MBR. In reference to Macrium Reflect (and i'm sure will apply to other Imaging apps), I've never had any issue in restoring an image taken while RB was installed. I only ever need an image of my current system state and MR (like other apps eg,IFW) takes a perfect current state image, albeit with a RB infested MBR.

The solution to this is really very simple.

1. Everytime i periodically do the RB maintenance of uninstalling RB and defragging, I then take a full image of my system with RB uninstalled, that way i have a working MBR backed up. Now this is simply a fail safe (in regards to the MBR) in case the following step fails (which has never happened to date). Now install RB and take as many FULL, incremental or differential images you like while RB is installed. Be sure of coarse that whatever schedule you've setup with MR (or other imaging apps) will not delete your RB free image.

2. This is the way i usually restore my images. First i uninstall RB and importantly REBOOT. Now I have a good working MBR. Open up MR and go to EDIT DEFAULTS>RESTORE>MASTER BOOT RECORD. Make sure "Do Not Replace" is selected. Go to Rescue media builder and create a boot menu in windows. Now restore any image you like, Reboot and presto, your up and running. Dont forget that if you've restored to an image where RB was installed then as Froggie said, you must still uninstall RB before you can reinstall it. (Dont forget to reboot after you've uninstalled RB)

3. If for some reason RB has trashed your system ( which hasn't happened to me since v10.7) and you are unable to uninstall RB (even from RB's own boot menu) then this is where your fail safe copy comes in handy. In this instance, you'll need a MR boot disk or USB boot drive (hopefully you created one. If not do it now!). Reboot into it and go to the MR settings as outlined above. This time, select to replace the MBR. Now simply restore the RB free image with the working MBR. Once this is done and you want to bring your system up to date go back to the above settings and select "Do not replace" MBR and restore to whatever image you like. Your good to go again.

Step 3 seems like a long way to restore your MBR but i can guarantee this method will work. The MR PE boot disk version i believe does have a "fix boot" option on the left and i believe this should fix a broken MBR as well but i havent tested this yet. Step 2 has served me well so far.

I have to say that for me, RB v11 has been very stable and has yet to crash on me. I've had a few BSOD caused by a bad NVidia driver and v11 has recovered each time without a hitch. No rollbacks to previous snapshots necessary. I think the work HDS did to improve RB's reliability (see here) has helped make it a little more reliable each version.

 

FYI... MR's "Fix BOOT" option woks very well to reestablish a Standard Windows MBR when it encounters the "infested" Rollback RX MBR. I've done this many times...

 

Once again... HALF PRICE for the holidays!

 

And finally HDS found the time to release RB RX Home v. 11.1...

Anyone found some time to test it yet? Any improvements over v. 10.7 ?

A Happy New Year to everybody
manolito

 

Looks like the new version 11.1 changed a couple of things compared to the old versions:

The baseline management options have disappeared. You can no longer create a new baseline from the current state.
But there are the new kernel mode options. Are they worth the trouble?

Cheers
manolito

 

@carfal & I have been bugging HDS to PLEASE describe the new Kernel options (so they know what they really do). The only testing I have done is to UNLOCK and DELETE the Installation/Baseline snapshot (one of the new options). While it lets me do it, the next oldest snapshot becomes the baseline (no more baseline reference EVER)... that's probably why the old BASELINE mgmt has disappeared.

Other than that, no other testing...

 

@TheRollbackFrog I heard than v11 has the tray icon "turn off protection" removed, true?