Super Duper is indeed a super backup utility of which I’m a proud owner, I guess I thought of Time Machine for the Mac as its on every Mac machine ready to go right out of the box, far better having a Time Machine backup on your Mac than having no backup at all. I do remember the conflicts that Rollback RX has or perhaps had with Diskeeper. I’m a user of Diskeeper and I made a deliberate decision not long ago to stop using Rollback RX in favour of Diskeeper and the valuable job it does however given my desktop machine has a SSD for the Windows installation then perhaps the job of Diskeeper isn’t as important as it once was when running Windows from a hard drive.
> On 23 Aug 2018, at 6:42 pm, Gordon Smith <gor...@mac-access.net> wrote: > > My problem with RollBack RX Professional is the way that it interacts, or > doesn’t, as the case may be, with disk optimisation technologies. > > For example,I believe Dane and I both use DisKeeper 18 Professional for > Windows. That app is excellent for eliminating millions of unnecessary I/O > operations per session. And again, the nice bit is that it requires no > configuration whatsoever from the user. So you install it and forget it. Just > let it get on with its job. > > Regarding RollBack, I am honestly not sure how it would behave. I may try it, > after making a backup, of course! > > Regarding Time machine on the Mac, I do’t rate it at all as a backup > solution. There’s certainly justification for the software, but not, in my > opinion, as a complete backup solution. Yes, you can install the operating > system itself from scratch. Sure, Disc Utility when invoked as the recovery > partition is used, or else as part of an operating system reinstall, but it > isn’t what I would call an efficient means of backup for your MacOS boot disk. > > For me, the mantle of top backup solutions on the Apple platform are Super > Duper! And Carbon Copy Cloner. > > The latter has more power than does Super Duper!. It’s perfectly accessible, > and not too difficult to use. > > There is, however, another way of making backups of your hard drive on the > Mac. I shall write about that on the sister group to Techno-Chat shortly as > it’s a very valuable piece of information. > > > On 22 Aug 2018, at 20:29, Dane Trethowan <grtd...@internode.on.net > <mailto:grtd...@internode.on.net>> wrote: > > I wouldn’t have computer systems without backups here. > The Mac OS has had automatic Time Machine backup capabilities for quite some > time now. > With Windows it’s a slightly different story. > Windows 10 has a built-in backup client though I don’t think its accessible > thus users who are blind and wanted to make backups of their data still have > to rely on third party backup and restoration software similar to the > software we’ve been discussing. > Thankfully making a backup on the whole has become a lot easier, a lot les > time consuming and a lot cheaper, you can buy an external portable hard drive > with a very high capacity for your backups for less than a hundred dollars > now or you can take out a Cloud subscription very cheaply. > People are still under the impression that creating a backup is a day long or > longer process and they say that they just don’t have the time. > Backups can be created automatically at scheduled times without the user > having to do anything. > I use backups here when trying to troubleshoot problems, for example I may > backup a Windows machine and then install software piece by piece to see if I > can track down a particular issue in the full knowledge that all data > pertaining to the computer I’m working on is safe and secure so once I find > the problem I can restore what’s needed to be restored and have that machine > up and working within minutes or no more than a couple of hours. > As Gordon says, Roolback is a most helpful tool when doing this sort of thing > as well. > > > From: Gordon Smith <gor...@mac-access.net <mailto:gor...@mac-access.net>> > Sent: Thursday, 23 August 2018 5:09 AM > To: techno-chat@techno-chat.net <mailto:techno-chat@techno-chat.net> > Subject: Re: [Techno-Chat]: Terabyte Drive Backup & Restore Suite > > Hello Roger > > That’s what this group is all about, helping one another. It would appear to > be prudent, I think, to maintain a working backup of any computer system. In > actual fact, backups are a very large percentage of my working week. As I’m > responsible for some mission-critical projects, and also for the > smooth-running of my own servers, I simply couldn’t sleep at night were it > not for the ability to perform centralised backups and, if need be, recover > from a disaster situation using them. > > Primarily, my mission-critical systems are not Windows-based. Much though > Microsoft has improved windows 10 in terms of resource-management and also > stability, I don’t take system integrity for granted. Therefore, all of my > own servers are MacOS-based. Each one has a working and licensed copy of > Carbon Copy Cloner installed on it. I am, of course, aware of the very > excellent Super Duper! For MacOS, However, Carbon Copy Cloner or, as it’s > often referred to, “CCC”, has some additional functionality. For instance, > there is the “Safety Net” which captures your essential files as they change. > Therefore, if the worst were to happen, you simply restore the contents of > the “Safety Net” as well as the system files etc.. That way, your backups are > current right up to the second wen problems occur. > > Sort of like “RollBack" on the PC, I guess. > > > On 20 Aug 2018, at 14:13, Roger Firman <ro...@golden-chord.com > <mailto:ro...@golden-chord.com>> wrote: > > Dear Gordon, > > Very many thanks for your really helpful response. > > I’ll certainly take a look around. > > Best wishes, > > Roger. > > From: Gordon Smith [mailto:gor...@mac-access.net > <mailto:gor...@mac-access.net>] > Sent: 20 August 2018 14:09 > To: techno-chat@techno-chat.net <mailto:techno-chat@techno-chat.net> > Subject: Re: [Techno-Chat]: Terabyte Drive Backup & Restore Suite > > Hello Roger > > Yes, there are ways to migrate Windows from one PC to another. There are > quite a few applications out there whose function is to “Clone” either the > contents of a hard drive, or else clone the drive’s layout on a > sector-by-sector basis. The only proviso being that the “Target” drive must > be at least the same capacity of the “Source” drive. > > There are a variety of ways you can accomplish the task. Obviously, the > easiest would be to use an application such as the Terabyte suite. All you’d > then do is use an external USB drive for your “Backup” of the original > system. Then, use the same external drive to “Restore” on the destination > system. Obviously this would involve booting from an external third drive, > but TeraByte and other utilities can help you create the boot media. > > Actually, it occurs to me as I write that the Paragon software suite may be > more appropriate for this purpose. It would probably make the job simpler to > accomplish. > > But in essence, Roger, the answer to your question is, quite definitely, > “Yes!”. You can indeed do this with Windows 10. Older versions of Windows > were much more fussy about this kind of thing, due to the activation > processes which Microsoft used on those versions. Much has changed, however. > And the tight compliance requirements have been substantially relaxed. > > But anyway, you should be able to find the information you need on one of the > search engines. I urge you to research this issue if you’re planning such a > move. What’s best for my circumstances may not be best for yours, and visa > versa. > > Before I close, may I just remind the group that there is a dedicated Windows > list, running alongside the Techno-Chat group. It’s name is, predictably: > windows-acc...@windows-access.net <mailto:windows-acc...@windows-access.net>. > > You may join this group in the same way that you joined the current one. Send > a blank message to: > windows-access-j...@windows-access.net > <mailto:windows-access-j...@windows-access.net> > And then follow the instructions in the auto-cookie message the server sends > back. Please be assured that there is no data collection or other function in > the Cookie, other than that of fulfilling your Join request to the server. > > > On 20 Aug 2018, at 05:20, Roger Firman <ro...@golden-chord.com > <mailto:ro...@golden-chord.com>> wrote: > > Dear Gordon, > > Many thanks for your postings and related responses. > > While my posting doesn't answer your point, it does, however, prompt a > question I've had in my mind for ages but never understood what is going on > behind the scenes as it were. > > If I want to upgrade my PC and decide to buy a totally new computer with a > different version of Windows, is there a way to avoid having to go back and > reinstall software from scratch, or is there a way with a utility such as the > onew you are describing, or another product, which would avoid this? > > I can totally understand why avoiding the process of starting again, in the > circumstances mentioned in your post, is best avoided. > > Regards, > > Roger Firman. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gordon Smith [mailto:gor...@mac-access.net > <mailto:gor...@mac-access.net>] > Sent: 20 August 2018 01:05 > To: techno-chat@techno-chat.net <mailto:techno-chat@techno-chat.net> > Subject: [Techno-Chat]: Terabyte Drive Backup & Restore Suite > > Good morning everybody, or whatever it happens to be in your timeline as you > read this post. > > I just wanted to open a brief discussion about a product which, in all > honesty, I haven’t used for quite a few years, but really must get back too. > > It’s called: “TeraByte Drive Backup And Restore Suite”, these days. When I > first used it, it was simply called: “Image For Windows”. For the convenience > of anybody who would like to check this out, it can be found at the below > secure website: > <https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-windows.htm > <https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-windows.htm>> > > Now, it would appear, that product has changed out of sight since I last > looked at it! There is now an integrated suite of applications, of which > Image For Windows is an integral part. > > You have the ability to backup to network devices, even whilst Windows is in > everyday use. You can burn images of your backup to CD/DVD/Blu-Ray, as well > as to USB devices such as external storage media. > > Naturally, as with any other professional disaster recovery suite, you can > create DOS, Linux and Efi recovery disks, and I think those can be tailored > to your requirements. > > The one thing I’m unsure about just at this moment is how, exactly, one is > supposed to boot into an environment whereby one can perform a complete > restore, given the need, (at least here), for accessibility during the > restore process. If there is anybody on list who uses this product who can > advise me on this point, I’d be grateful in the extreme. > > But that aside for a moment, it certainly looks as though this product has a > lot to recommend it if you’re serious about full-system disaster recovery > backups. Something which I think everybody who values their personal data and > their working operating system environment would concur with. I for one know > from experience just how troublesome those occasions where something gos > disastrously wrong and your computer is left US as a consequence. If I can > avoid it, despite the fact that Windows now has an accessible restore > process, I have every intention of preserving my working system now, whilst > it’s good to go. I have invested significantly in terms of both the operating > system and associated software, plus the man-hours it has taken to build the > system up to its current working status. I can assure you, I have absolutely > no intention of repeating the laborious and intensely frustrating task of > building this thing up again from scratch! > > If only, if only, it were possible to do things as simply as it is in MacOS. > Although I do not wish to create a debate about which system is superior. > That is entirely down to the individual or entity responsible for the device. > But, I digress. > > Having had only the opportunity to play briefly with the software since I > installed it on Sunday, it would appear that much has changed since I > originally bought a license for the product. Since that time, there has been > an upgrade charge for access to the current version. However, I don’t > begrudge that in the slightest, given how much more powerful this product now > is. The cost of the upgrade was minimal, so I opted to pay it without > question, and I regard it as an investment. Believe me, if it saves me the > countless hours of work, and all the frustrations of a total reinstall, then > I consider the upgrade fee to be a most worthwhile investment. > > Getting back to the product itself. The options presented even in the Windows > shell context menus appear to put lots of control at your fingertips. > Although it is true to say that, if you’re prepared to spend the time > required to learn the interface, the command-line version is, as the > developer states on their website, more powerful than the GUI interface. > However, one thing at a time. Possibly though, the command-line, (text-only) > version is the way to go for a full system restore. > > I do like the fact that, if you configure it as such, your every change to > the hard drive is shadowed in a contiguous backup. It sort of puts me in mind > of Data Horizon Systems RollBack RX Professional, but this seems to be a much > more flexible system. > > Another product which I intend to reevaluate shortly is NTI Corporation’s NTI > Drive Shadow. That, too, has undoubtedly evolved since I last tried it. > > Thoughts, anybody? > > ======================================== > > My compliments and kindest regards > Gordon Smith: > <gor...@mac-access.net <mailto:gor...@mac-access.net>> > Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. > > This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid > printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! > > Contact: > > Twitter: @maciosaccess > > • UK Free Phone: > 0800 8620538 <tel:0800%208620538> > • UK Geographic / Global: > +44(0) 1642 688095 <tel:+44%201642%20688095> > • UK Mobile/SMS: > +44 (0) 7804 983849 <tel:+44%207804%20983849> > • Vic. 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Think of the environment, save a tree! > > Contact: > > Twitter: @maciosaccess > > • UK Free Phone: > 0800 8620538 <tel:0800%C2%A08620538> > • UK Geographic / Global: > +44(0) 1642 688095 <tel:+44%201642%20688095> > • UK Mobile/SMS: > +44 (0) 7804 983849 <tel:+44%207804%20983849> > • Vic. Australia: > +61 38 82059300 <tel:+61%C2%A038%2082059300> > • US/Canada: > +1 646 9151493 <tel:+1%20646%C2%A09151493> > > ---------------------------------------- > > ======================================== > > My compliments and kindest regards > Gordon Smith: > <gor...@mac-access.net <mailto:gor...@mac-access.net>> > Accessibility & Information Technology Support Specialist.. > > This Message Was Created Using 100% Recycled Electrons. If you can avoid > printing it, please do so. Think of the environment, save a tree! > > Contact: > > Twitter: @maciosaccess > > • UK Free Phone: > 0800 8620538 > • UK Geographic / Global: > +44(0) 1642 688095 > • UK Mobile/SMS: > +44 (0) 7804 983849 > • Vic. 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