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Screenshot Tour: free Comodo Time Machine lets you roll back your whole system
Comodo Time Machine isn't a "Time Machine" in the Apple sense of the word. Rather, it's a way to take a snapshot of your whole system in a certain state and then smoothly roll back to that state once you need it again.
The main difference between Comodo and Windows' own snapshot system (restore points) is that Comodo rolls everything back. That means that, by default, all your data is included. If you do not explicitly exclude it, you will lose data on the rollback. However, before the system rolls back Comodo takes another snapshot. That means you can undo even the rollback itself. I hope you're following so far; this whole rolling back and forth through time can get tricky.
Despite the "free" price tag, Time Machine is a serious piece of software. It goes so far as to install a bootloader, which lets you get into a "restore console" and roll Windows back even if it's so messed up that it won't boot. Since the software impacts the system on such a deep level, I wanted to test it out using a VM first. Unfortunately, that really didn't work out very well. VMware and Comodo got along badly, and the whole system froze up and became quite wonky.
My intrepid girlfriend volunteered her own system for the test, and we gave it a spin (thank you, Yaara!). On a "real" system, Comodo worked quite well. She was able to make snapshots, install software, and roll the system back without a hitch. After the fold, you can see a comprehensive tour of the interface.
The "Quick Operation" window, seen when you first load the program, presents a friendly, simple face. However, once you dig in, you find out that the program has quite a few options and impacts the system on a pretty deep level. This is not a toy.
This is what it looks like right before you take a snapshot of the system. According to the manual, locking a snapshot protects it from accidental deletion. The other parameters are pretty self-explanatory; each one gives a name and a comment.
This is the tree view of all existing snapshots. Obviously, when you have just one snapshot the tree appears quite simple. Note the "Delete all unlocked" button, which can be handy for quickly freeing up disk space if you routinely use the program.
This is the warning you get when you try to delete a snapshot. As I said, it's not so simple.
One important option is that you can restore a specific file from any snapshot. There doesn't seem to be a way to restore a whole folder (that would have been even handier), but you can search by filename and pull that one specific file out of any old snapshot.
This is the options dialog. There are three more tabs, which are not shown here, but this is the main one. The "Synchronize these files or folders ..." option lets you exclude certain files from snapshots so that they won't be affected by a rollback. There are also options for automatically purging old snapshots, defragging snapshots, etc. If you do use the software, be sure to dig around here.
You can take timed snapshots, too. Although, I imagine that taking a snapshot every hour would take its toll on the system in terms of disk space and even CPU use (taking the snapshot isn't a cheap operation).
This is a screenshot of the boot console that I took on my VM. You see this console before you see the Windows boot screen. Unfortunately, it did not actually work on my VM, so I have no idea what it looks like on the inside.
Even the uninstall routine seems well thought-out. Prior to removing the software, it gives you an option to restore your system to a previous snapshot, so you don't end up removing it and then going "doh!"
Bottom line: Comodo Time Machine seems like a solid option for protecting your system against accidental change. It's made by a reputable company, and you really can't beat the price tag.
Comments
16
Subscribe to comments216May 10th 2010 10:20AM
I always dig free. Altho Im wondering how many gigs will it take to create these system images/snapshots? And if its what I think it is (pre much your current HDD), then you would need an external hard drive to make this work right?
5518443720May 10th 2010 7:12PM
Actually, not that many, Ive been using for a couple of months now, and what it does, as someone explained to me, is incremental copies, so it only adds newer files or versions to each copy, it works really good, but I didtn know I could exclude my own files, thats good, fortunately enough I have an external HDD, but Im gonna enable it ASAP.
100% recomended, downside is bootup console is available to everybody, but its up to you to educate them.
Gardiner WestboundMay 10th 2010 10:34AM
Sounds like Comodo Time Machine images the hard drive.
I have been using the highly satisfactory freeware application Easeus ToDo Backup 1.1 for that purpose. Can't see that the Comodo program offers any advantages.
Acronis True Image does a similar job and offers more features if you're into payware. After v.9 it became bloatware - buggy and unreliable.
Gardiner WestboundMay 10th 2010 10:35AM
Sounds like Comodo Time Machine images the hard drive.
I have been using the highly satisfactory freeware application Easeus ToDo Backup 1.1 for that purpose. Can't see that the Comodo program offers any advantages.
Acronis True Image does a similar job and offers more features if you're into payware. After v.9 it became bloatware - buggy and unreliable.
tneria01May 10th 2010 11:22AM
I had some problems with Comodo Time Machine. Installed it on my Dell netbook about a month ago and eventually had to reinstall the operation system after it brought up the chkdsk screen while booting up. I'm not sure what happened, but I'm glad I had my operation system disk handy. May have been a fluke but I'm not willing to chance it again.
blasztaMay 10th 2010 11:29AM
As of all Comodo products, I advice you to be careful. IMHO their products are crucial (firewall, antivirus, backup, etc.) but I think they don't test it long enough. And before you use one of their product, make sure you check their discussion forum first.
idodialogMay 10th 2010 12:02PM
Your "Comodo Time Machine" link is borked.
I think it is worth saying that this doesn't do a clone or ghost operation - so it is not for a hard drive crash restore - so Paragon HDM or Acronis TrueImage would still be required do do that. Microsoft used to have something similar which did an automatic restore wiping everything changed before a reboot - great for IT Classes and the like - but they stopped development - this is similar and more flexible.
I've not had great success with System Restore so this is worth a try, console at boot is great.
idodialogMay 10th 2010 12:13PM
Oh and thanx to blaszta - it should be noted CTM does NOT work with dual boot Windows/Linux setups. Also some people are reporting problems with their partition table and MBR, all fixable - but if this all sounds like double dutch I'd stay away.
5518443720May 10th 2010 7:12PM
Correct, it disappeared when I installed Ubuntu, and some weird things happened to my win 7 x64 setup, ie. Avast! re-appeared, even when it was a long time that I took rid of it, in the favor of comodo IS.
Sort of an automatic roll back to base line upon deinstallation of CTM, which also happened without my authorization when I installed Ubuntu.
So yes, if youre a dualbooter, pass over this.
blueperMay 10th 2010 1:10PM
All is fine and dandy UNTIL you need to restore a drive image -- paragon, ghost, acronis, or (even) Comodo Backup, for instance -- then watch the fun if you haven't first uninstalled Time Machine.
And no, it isn't fun at all as your machine becomes unbootable. You can fix it IF you have the right tools and knowledge but many/most don't. That plus it conflicts with other virutalized solutions (like Shadow Defender, for instance).
So, why would you want to restore an image? Virus attack, bad driver, a whole lotta things.
Comodo Time Machine (IMHO) is evil personified.
AemonyMay 10th 2010 1:51PM
What's the space requirements for this little thingy? I might buy myself a TB disk (I need the space anyway) and I can't think of a better use than storing a fresh Windows installation on it. Reverting to that would probably be faster than cleanly reinstall the operating system from the scratch.
TyMay 10th 2010 5:47PM
It won't let me install it with TrueCrypt installed so should I use encryption or backup....hmmmm
QuangPhamMay 10th 2010 8:55PM
When using Comodo Time Machine, if you see the error "Write Delay Failed", just uninstall Comodo Time Machine, this will fix it
BenjieMay 11th 2010 12:32AM
Could someone here comment on what are the best alternatives to system restore that are free of course. My system restore is not working right now. Whenever is tried it, it says the system restore did not make the restore properly or somebody is missing, something like that. Anyway, thanks in advance who will be giving alternatives.
PulseMay 11th 2010 7:25AM
I'd be extremely careful using this software. In principle it's a good idea, however, one glance at the Comodo forum clearly shows all is not well in CTM land.
Comodo, as another poster observed, has a nasty habit of releasing half finished software and expecting their community to do the testing, all under the guise of a complete product.
B.SkiLLsMay 16th 2010 10:28PM
DO NOT USE THIS SOFTWARE. It will screwed you whole system. Really when you try and go back plus also if you try and uninstall it. Blog poster maybe you should read on the forums like i had to do after it was to late to find out 100'sss of people this is happening to.
I reap... DO NOT use this software
read a bunch of the posts in there own forum that they are not even doing nothing about to help them or this program
http://forums.comodo.com/comodo-time-machine-ctm-b177.0/