Which partion is RX on and is this normal?

[FurtiveMonkey]

I have only C protected and next to C I have a small 15GB drive E. Drive E started to fill up when it only had about 4 GB on it (4GB of visible files), so I tried to format it and it wouldn't let me, saying another program was using it. I formatted it using a boot CD and after reboot it was nearly full again. I deleted some snapshots and the invisible file got smaller, so it's RX on there (partition E). Is this normal or has something gone wrong?
I have a small partition for keeping downloaded files on and if it turns out that 1 is infected then I format that portion and roll back drive C - I've had this type of roll back software for some years.
Can anyone answer this?

[Froggie]

FM, if you're only protecting a single partition on a hard disk, that's where Rollback should be keeping its snapshot data and its associated databases. What you're describing, if really Rollback related, is definitely wrong. Due to the way Rollback works, it's snapshot data is resident on the partition/drive its protecting. The database associated with control of that data exists on the partition the Rollback software is resident on... usually the SYSTEM partition.

[FurtiveMonkey]

Thanks for the reply and yes it definitely was Rollback RX as when I deleted it the invisible file disappeared. I'm going to reinstall the extra programs one at a time and see if one is causing this.

[carfal]

FM, open up Rollback and Click on "Snapshot Defragmenter" on the left. Have a look at which drives are protected. In your case it should only show Drive C: as protected. If this is in fact true then what you describe is very unusual if Rollback is indeed the culprit (not likely).

Originally Posted by FurtiveMonkey

Drive E started to fill up when it only had about 4 GB on it (4GB of visible files), so I tried to format it and it wouldn't let me, saying another program was using it. I formatted it using a boot CD and after reboot it was nearly full again.

Ahhhhhh! Sorry but frankly i cant believe your system is not screwed. FYI, besides the fact that one should NEVER format while Rollback is installed, one should also NEVER move/delete/resize partitions and the golden rule of all is one should NEVER EVER access a Rollback protected system from a boot CD outside the control of Rollback. You are so lucky that your system is still working.

From what you've described it sounds like both drives are protected by Rollback. When you reinstall, choose the custom option and it will give you the choice of which drives you want to protect.

[FurtiveMonkey]

Originally Posted by carfal

unusual if Rollback is indeed the culprit (not likely)..

When I uninstall RRX the extra disappears so it is RRX that seems to move itself to partition E, plus the fact that when I deleted snapshots in RRX the size of the invisible extra on E got smaller.

Originally Posted by carfal

Ahhhhhh! Sorry but frankly i cant believe your system is not screwed. FYI, besides the fact that one should NEVER format while Rollback is installed, one should also NEVER move/delete/resize partitions and the golden rule of all is one should NEVER EVER access a Rollback protected system from a boot CD outside the control of Rollback. You are so lucky that your system is still working.

As stated in the first post, I have only drive C protected, and was trying to format E with a boot disk but windows wouldn't let me as RRX was using this drive, when it shouldn't have been. I tried to use the boot disk after all other attempts to clear the invisible extra data failed. I can't see how formatting a partition other than the system partition would cause the PC not to work. I have formatted other partitions on my last PC without any problems at all and it also had RRX type software on it but fortunately the program won't work with Windows 7.

Originally Posted by carfal

From what you've described it sounds like both drives are protected by Rollback. When you reinstall, choose the custom option and it will give you the choice of which drives you want to protect.

Partly correct as it was protecting only itself on E as I could delete everything else on E without any problem. I selected 'only' partition C during install and for the first few days it worked well until it decided to move part of itself to E (8-9GB)
I have had to reinstalled Windows because of this which defeats the object of having RRX at all.

[carfal]

Currently, what you describe doesnt make sense in that nobody has ever reported this type of issue. Also because you have told Rollback to only protect C:, then E: should most definitely not be affected. On my system i only protect C: and E: and leave D: unprotected. My D: partition is definitely Rollback free. However something seems to be going on with your system.

FM, perhaps a screen shot of Disk Manager showing your layout may shed some light on what is happening on your system.

Originally Posted by FurtiveMonkey

As stated in the first post, I have only drive C protected, and was trying to format E with a boot disk but windows wouldn't let me as RRX was using this drive, when it shouldn't have been. I tried to use the boot disk after all other attempts to clear the invisible extra data failed. I can't see how formatting a partition other than the system partition would cause the PC not to work. I have formatted other partitions on my last PC without any problems at all and it also had RRX type software on it but fortunately the program won't work with Windows 7.

If by RRX type software you mean CTM then enough said about that.

If not then nothing else compares to how Rollback works. Rollback is unique in its approach and formatting while Rollback is installed is asking for trouble sooner or later. Accessing your HD from a boot disk outside the control of Rollback is also a disaster waiting to happen. All I can do is warn you. It's up to you to listen.

I understand that your E: partition is not protected by Rollback but as much as i know alot about how Rollback works, i dont pretend to know all the intricate workings of Rollback. The above actions are definitely not recommended.

As i said, a screen shot of Disk Manager showing your layout may shed some light.

[FurtiveMonkey]

Originally Posted by carfal

Currently, what you describe doesnt make sense in that nobody has ever reported this type of issue. Also because you have told Rollback to only protect C:, then E: should most definitely not be affected.

Well, it doesn't make sense that because it hasn't happened or been reported before that it didn't happen, unless I'm making it all up for some unknown reason..........
E shouldn't be affected...CORRECT! But it was!

Originally Posted by carfal

FM, perhaps a screen shot of Disk Manager showing your layout may shed some light on what is happening on your system.

I refer you to: "I have had to reinstalled Windows because of this which defeats the object of having RRX at all." What layout do you need to see, I had C protected and only C.

Originally Posted by carfal

If by RRX type software you mean CTM then enough said about that.

Nope. It was rollback software but with only 1 rollback point.

Originally Posted by carfal

If not then nothing else compares to how Rollback works. Rollback is unique in its approach and formatting while Rollback is installed is asking for trouble sooner or later. Accessing your HD from a boot disk outside the control of Rollback is also a disaster waiting to happen. All I can do is warn you. It's up to you to listen.

Listen! I wish you would read my posts and then you wouldn't post sentences like that, the only way I could have listened is if you posted before and not after I did it. I get the distinct impression your trying to discredit me.
How many times do I have to say: the trouble started before I tried to format and that's why I tried to format and formatting an unprotected partition will stop Windows working? Can you explain how, please, as I've done this before with no ill effects whatsoever. If RRX is not protecting a drive how would formatting it affect it?

Originally Posted by carfal

As i said, a screen shot of Disk Manager showing your layout may shed some light.

As above.

Also, I'm not a novice with a PC and have been using one for years and before I installed a roollback type program I used to enter the Reg and edit it myself to cleanup after uninstalls.
Something went drastically wrong with RRX, I suspect it maybe a conflict with another program and as I'm not a beta tester I'm not going to install it yet again until it happens, for the third time, as I'm P'd off with installing everything and don't wish to do it for a third time.
I have no confidence in this program and have asked for a refund. I would have liked it to have worked but on my PC it doesn't want to. I did everything as per instructions i.e. used the built in defrag, and it still went wrong. It may work fine on your PC but I can guarantee that our PCs don't have the same hardware/software combination and with mine it doesn't seem to work well.
MB Gigabyte Z68AP D3
CPU i5 2500
G Card ASUS GTX560TI TOP OC
HD WD Black 750 GB sata3
Memory ADATA 8GB 1600 DDR3
Windows 7 64 Home Premium
Nothing exotic in that list, but then there's the software so it would be hard to exactly reproduce on another PC even if by luck you had exactly the same components, drivers,etc.

[carfal]

FM, i really hate communicating via written form for the pure reason that the feelings of the writer can be misinterpreted. In your case i am puzzled by your problem and am genuinely trying to help. To do this i need to ask questions as best i can but i seem to be failing to do it without sounding condenscending. For this i apologize. If your still willing i'd still like to help.

Originally Posted by FurtiveMonkey

Well, it doesn't make sense that because it hasn't happened or been reported before that it didn't happen, unless I'm making it all up for some unknown reason..........
E shouldn't be affected...CORRECT! But it was!

I was not trying to accuse you of lying. I was just trying to state that this issue has never been reported before and i've been using this forum for many years. I do believe you have an issue. I would like to help.

Originally Posted by FurtiveMonkey

I refer you to: "I have had to reinstalled Windows because of this which defeats the object of having RRX at all." What layout do you need to see, I had C protected and only C.

If you open up Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Disk Management, take a screen shot of the disk layout you see.

Nope. It was rollback software but with only 1 rollback point.

It sounds like your were using FirstDefence-ISR Rescue. This in fact was based on FDISR Pro (from Leapfrog). It uses file based technology whereas Rollback uses Sector based technology. These are miles apart. The sector based techonolgy has been explained many times in this forum and you can also read about it in the Rollback support pages.

Originally Posted by FurtiveMonkey

As stated in the first post, I have only drive C protected, and was trying to format E with a boot disk but windows wouldn't let me as RRX was using this drive, when it shouldn't have been. I tried to use the boot disk after all other attempts to clear the invisible extra data failed. I can't see how formatting a partition other than the system partition would cause the PC not to work. I have formatted other partitions on my last PC without any problems at all and it also had RRX type software on it but fortunately the program won't work with Windows 7.

Originally Posted by carfal

If by RRX type software you mean CTM then enough said about that.

If not then nothing else compares to how Rollback works. Rollback is unique in its approach and formatting while Rollback is installed is asking for trouble sooner or later. Accessing your HD from a boot disk outside the control of Rollback is also a disaster waiting to happen. All I can do is warn you. It's up to you to listen.

Originally Posted by FurtiveMonkey

Listen! I wish you would read my posts and then you wouldn't post sentences like that, the only way I could have listened is if you posted before and not after I did it. I get the distinct impression your trying to discredit me.
How many times do I have to say: the trouble started before I tried to format and that's why I tried to format and formatting an unprotected partition will stop Windows working? Can you explain how, please, as I've done this before with no ill effects whatsoever. If RRX is not protecting a drive how would formatting it affect it?

Sorry for not being clear with my reply above.

I think i can assume that you were previously using FirstDefence-ISR Rescue. I'm going forward with that assumption.

Because FD Rescue is file based then formatting "other" partitions would indeed have been possible without consequence. Ok, this is not the issue here. I'll move on.

Now you have Rollback installed. I hear you loud and clear that your issue with the E: partition started BEFORE you tried formatting with Rollback installed. Getting the screen shot i requested above may or may not shed some light on this but i need to see it first.

Getting back to my reply above, now that i've established that you had FD Rescue installed previously, then my advice and warning above definitely stands. I dont mean it to sound condescending. Please read it for what it is.... a warning. Here is a quote from the HDS support website

Q: I just formatted my drive in error. I re-formated my hard disk. Can Rollback Rx help?



A: Yes, if this formating was done within Windows, while Rollback was enabled.

However, if the formating of the hard drive was initiated by inserting a CD or external media (bypassing RollBack Rx protection and Windows) then there is no method of recovery.

In regards to my warning against formatting, you may say that it's over stated and in fact it is safe to do so providing it's done from within Windows while Rollback is running. Well, its easier to tell people to not format at all while Rollback is installed. I'll be the first to admit that Rollback can be unpredictable on some systems but to perform a format and expect that Rollback will save me is too much for me to risk. I cant expect anyone else to take that risk either.One could say that as long as you have a backup image then no problems, but generally people are not so well prepared. Sooner or later someone will boot from a CD and format C: drive and will come complaining on this forum when they've lost everthing. I'm not suggesting you'll do this FM. I'm just talking generally.

I have no confidence in this program and have asked for a refund. I would have liked it to have worked but on my PC it doesn't want to. I did everything as per instructions i.e. used the built in defrag, and it still went wrong. It may work fine on your PC but I can guarantee that our PCs don't have the same hardware/software combination and with mine it doesn't seem to work well.

If your still feel this way then good luck.

[nexstar]

Hi FM and sorry about your problems. Out of interest, why did you have to re-install Windows? Were there other problems you experienced other than the filling up of the small partition?

Was there anything else which coincided with sudden appearance of the 8-9GB of lost disk space on the small partition or is it possible that it had been gradually been filling up since installing RB and had only just become noticeable?

As others have said, it certainly isn't normal RB behaviour but maybe you've fallen across something due to the small size of the partition (just guessing here) which wouldn't normally occur.

Did the disk activity on E: warrant the lost space as if it had been a protected drive? It might have been interesting to try a RB restore to test out if E: was actually protected even if it said it wasn't. But I appreciate that you don't have RB installed now.

Graham

[FurtiveMonkey]

I reinstalled to try again from a clean sheet, as it were. Drive C had 150GB so as to allow lots of room for saving whereas E had only 15GB.

"Did the disk activity on E: warrant the lost space as if it had been a protected drive?" interesting theory but as you said it's too late to find out. It appeared on E after I had installed 2 game demos, a firewall, Steam and TF2 (the full game) on C (I think it was showing 80GB of free space(?) ). It wasn't on E after I first installed because I was looking to see what was happening to disc space and then a while later I checked and it was there and couldn't be removed and it got smaller when I deleted some saves from RRX.
They have offered a refund and I have accepted. I hope it keeps working fine on your PCs, but unfortunately something on mine upset it. Goodbye .