RollBack Rx is a Windows utility from Horizon DataSys that returns a computer’s disk to an earlier saved state. It works at the disk sector level, below Windows, and keeps a set of snapshots the user can move between, backward or forward in time. It replaces Windows System Restore when a failed update, faulty driver, malware or software test leaves the system in a bad state. RollBack Rx Professional covers desktop and laptop PCs, and a separate Server Edition covers Windows Server. Both are commercial products with a fully functional trial.
Sector-level snapshots
On installation, RollBack Rx records a baseline: the first snapshot of the disk as it stands. From then on it tracks which disk sectors change, relocates some of them and keeps its own map of where each version of a sector lives. A snapshot is a record of that map at one moment, so taking one finishes in seconds and needs no restart. There is no fixed limit on the number of snapshots.
The user can create snapshots from the main console, tray icon, pre-boot console or command-line switches. They can also schedule them. Each gets a short name and description and can be locked, which stops manual or automatic deletion until it is unlocked.
Rolling the system back
From inside Windows, the user picks a snapshot through Instant Restore or the tray icon, and a restart completes the change. Before restoring, RollBack Rx can take a snapshot of the current state, so the newer state remains available to return to later.
To keep recent documents through a rollback, the restore dialog lets the user select files, folders or registry entries to carry forward unchanged. The user can also make these exclusions permanent.
Recovery before Windows starts
The Subsystem Console is a small operating environment that loads before Windows. Pressing the HOME key during the startup screen opens it. The user can change the key in settings. From this console the user can roll back to a snapshot, take a new snapshot or uninstall the program. These options make recovery possible when Windows no longer boots, for example after a blue-screen crash.
Retrieving individual files
RollBack Rx can mount any snapshot as a virtual drive that appears in File Explorer. The user can open files there or drag them into the current system. A search function finds files across snapshots by name and other criteria and copies them to their original location or a new one. A right-click option restores an earlier version of a single file directly from a snapshot.
Schedules and maintenance
Snapshot tasks can run at restart, once, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or when a chosen event occurs. For example, a task can run when a specified program, such as a setup file, launches. Restore tasks use similar timings, plus at logoff, and return the PC to the latest snapshot or a specific one. This lets a shared computer return to a fixed state at every restart.
A built-in defragmenter reorganizes the snapshot index and recovers free space. It runs on demand or automatically after a set number of snapshots are taken or deleted. RollBack Rx blocks third-party disk defragmenters while it is installed. A Snapshot Validator checks snapshot integrity, and the console color-codes each snapshot as normal, inconsistent or damaged.
Access control and encryption
RollBack Rx Professional can restrict who may create snapshots, roll back or view snapshots taken after the baseline. The built-in administrator has full rights, and further user accounts receive selected privileges. With access control on, a system security option adds a password prompt before Windows starts. RollBack Rx protects snapshots with 256-bit AES encryption. A drive connected to another computer shows only baseline contents or appears unreadable. A stealth mode hides the tray icon and the startup splash screen.
Managing many PCs
For organizations, RollBack Rx clients connect to a remote management console that works over a local network, a wide-area network or the internet. Administrators can deploy preconfigured installations silently and manage the clients from one place. The console’s monitoring tools include live screen viewing, remote control and logs of the programs launched on each PC.
Server Edition
RollBack Rx Server Edition applies the same snapshot approach to Windows Server, including RAID arrays and servers running active databases such as Microsoft SQL Server. The user can schedule snapshots as often as every minute, and they run in the background. Recovery ranges from single files and folders to partitions, whole drives or the entire array. A pre-Windows console can restore a snapshot after a serious operating system failure. The user can test and reverse updates and service patches the same way.
Disk and system limits
RollBack Rx protects up to four drives and twelve partitions. It does not support SCSI or hybrid drives, or RAID in the desktop edition. The user cannot repartition the protected disk while the program is installed. Installation on compressed NTFS drives is not possible. It may conflict with disk-level encryption such as BitLocker. Changes made by another operating system bypass its protection. When the program is uninstalled, the user chooses which snapshot becomes the final state of the disk: the current system or an earlier one.
