RollbackRX or Vitualisation ?

Hi, I have been looking at virtualisation programs for testing software etc so that if anything goes wrong I can just reboot and the problem is gone. I then thought that something like RollbackRX may also be an option to restore quickly and easily and I would appreciate any help deciding which would be the better option.

So far I have tried Shadow Defender and Toolwiz Time Freeze and of the two, SD seemed to offer better options. I note there is a beta version of Toolwiz Time Machine but I have not given this a run.

I have not tried RollbackRX until I have had some feedback.

I have used Macrium Reflect before but wasnt comfortable with it in case I did something wrong.

I am using Sandboxie as well but I think it easier with a system wide set-up.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

 

I think virtualization is safer, because your backups may become corrupted or infected. That will permanently ruin your system.
If that happens to your virtual session, then a reboot should fix it. If the virtualization software gets errors, then at least it should be easier to fix. Both can be exploited.

I'd use both just in case. That way your have a safety net if one fails.

Another option is to run a virtual machine like with VirtualBox.

 

Thanks J L

I will have a look at virtualbox but I suppose if I use SD or TTF I cannot contain a program within it at all times as it would delete at shutdown/boot ?

Do you think Reflect would be better or RollbackRX ? - as I say, I haven't used RollbackRX and I don't know how easy it is to use/configure etc

 

I have been using Rollback for about a year, and it has saved my bacon on a few occasions. It's a cinch to set up if you follow the directions, and if there's a problem their support or their forum, or this forum has enough users to get you out of trouble. You aren't supposed to do a defrag with it installed, so I uninstall it when my system gets to about 6% fragmented, do the defrag, make an image, and re-install it. It's really easy to install again. Don't get flustered with the prospect of uninstalling and re-installing. If you think about defragging with it installed you can visualize how that would not be a good idea. When it's installed it makes a new snapshot every day when you want it to, and you can make a new snapshot in a few seconds if you are installing a new app etc. Or you can revert to a prior snapshot just as easy if something gets screwed up.

 

You're welcome.

Shadow Defender can commit all changes on exit. Toolwiz Time Freeze can save all changes on exit as well.

I haven't used RollBack Rx, but I believe it's better than Macrium due to the sheer speed and up-to-dateness of its backup process. Macrium might be better at storing images in the long term, and has more flexibility like cloning to another drive of different size.

 

also,

a Windows 7 image can be restored in 3-4 minutes on a 5-6 years old machine (7200 RPM HD) if there is not too much data or large programs installed.
your images should be on an internal secondary HD and not a USB hard drive for speed.

 

Hi AMD,

I agree with JL's advice. I did use Rollback Rx 9.1 for 3-months until it crashed Win7 to the extent that nothing other than an image-backup restore could recover my system! Light Virtualization systems are safer and if you go with Shadow Defender you are very well protected against malware when in Shadow Mode.

I realize there are some Rollback users who have never experienced any problems, but imho it's a disaster waiting to happen!

Cruise

 

Well, I think I will use Shadow Defender again and sort an imaging program and store it to my external drive. I can always change it later. I will continue to use SandboxIE to have certain programs remain permanently in the Sandbox as I don't think I can do this with SD

Thanks


Andy