GoBack 2.2 README.TXT May 2000 ________________________________________________________________ I M P O R T A N T U P D A T E S A N D N O T I C E S ________________________________________________________________ All users of GoBack should read the following. This document is also available in GoBack Help. It is important to realize that, although GoBack adds an underlying safety net to the use of your computer, it is not a replacement for backups. In many situations, GoBack will be able to restore your entire computer or a specific file that would otherwise be lost. However, this ability should not be assumed. GoBack's restorative ability is a function, among other things, of the intensity of disk usage and the amount of disk space allocated for tracking. A tutorial about the unique features and abilities of GoBack can be launched from the GoBack Main Menu. Should you wish to do so, GoBack can only be correctly uninstalled using Add/Remove Programs (click Start, Settings, then Control Panel). The following are important issues relating to the use of GoBack. - MS-DOS Compatibility mode MS-DOS Compatibility mode is a mode in Windows 95/98/Me in which your hard disk(s) are not operating optimally using Windows 32-bit drivers, but are instead using MS-DOS real-mode drivers. If GoBack detects this condition, GoBack will not install or run. You must correct the problem before running GoBack. There can be many reasons that a hard disk is running in MS-DOS Compatibility mode. These reasons include, but are not limited to: - An "unsafe" device driver, program, or virus loaded in Windows memory. - A hard disk controller not detected in Windows. - A conflict between the hard disk controller and another device. - An incompatible hardware device or configuration in Windows. - A damaged Windows driver. Because GoBack does not cause the MS-DOS Compatibility mode condition, you must consult your hardware manufacturer for information about correcting the problem. You can also find many detailed articles about troubleshooting MS-DOS Compatibility mode problems in the support area on the Microsoft web site. - Drive support / device drivers GoBack can protect all drives that are recognized by the BIOS. If your drive is not recognized during the initial BIOS hardware identification phase of the boot or requires special device drivers you will not be able to use GoBack with that drive. GoBack does not protect removable media, like diskettes, Zip, etc. - Using disk partitioning utilities With GoBack installed you can still use partitioning utilities to manipulate your hard disk's partitions. However, before you use any of these utilities you must disable GoBack (from the GoBack Main Menu, click Options, then Disable GoBack). After you have finished modifying your hard disk's partitions, re-enable GoBack. The following programs are known to modify disk partitioning: Partition Magic, Partition-It, Ontrack Disk Manager, and EZ-drive. - Installing or moving hard disks Before installing or moving a hard disk, disable GoBack (from the GoBack Main Menu, click Options, then Disable GoBack), install the drive, then re-enable GoBack. If you want GoBack to track the new hard drive's events you will need to uninstall GoBack (using Add/Remove Programs in Windows Control Panel) then re-install GoBack. - Operating system compatibility and upgrading GoBack is compatible with all versions of Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me (Millennium Edition). This version of GoBack does not support Linux, OS/2, Windows NT, or Windows 2000 (note: a Windows NT / Windows 2000 version of GoBack is forthcoming). When upgrading to a new or different operating system, GoBack should first be uninstalled. An appropriate version of GoBack that supports the new operating system should then be obtained and installed. - Using disk compression utilities GoBack is not supported on drives compressed with a disk-level compression utility (such as DriveSpace, DoubleSpace, etc.). However, GoBack is fully compatible with file-level compression, such as that provided by PKZIP, WINZIP, and ARJ. - Booting from floppy disks With GoBack installed you can still boot from floppy disks. However, you must ensure that GoBack drivers are loaded. These will allow you to access your hard disks. To boot from a floppy, start by booting your system from the hard disk. In other words, without yet inserting the floppy, restart your PC. When the initial GoBack screen appears, press the spacebar, then insert your floppy disk and then click the Boot from floppy option. - More about "Safe Points" and file recovery GoBack automatically creates "safe points" surrounding various events like saving a file. You can select a safe point either before or after an event in order to see your disk at these respective times. The file recovery systems in GoBack utilize safe points in order to retrieve otherwise lost files. GoBack requires about ten seconds of hard disk inactivity between operations (like saving a file) in order to distinguish the two events. Thus, if you save a file, quickly make a change and then save it again within about ten seconds there is a chance that GoBack will not be able to recover the interim revision. However, revisions at earlier or later safe points are still recoverable. GoBack is not a replacement for traditional backup program. However, if you have a non-hardware failure, GoBack will generally be able to save the day. - Disk activity, performance, and restorative ability In most situations involving disk activity, such as saving a file, GoBack will not noticeably impact the computer's performance. However, it will add some background disk activity that is involved with re-optimizing and ensuring your changes transition safely to the disk (part of its unique protection against data loss). If you have made many changes to your disk in a short amount of time, you may notice the added background disk activity. However, it will complete in time but, because it is done in the background, you can continue to use and/or shutdown your computer. - How GoBack works and the theory behind it GoBack works by adding a protective level between the operating system and your hard disk. GoBack tracks all the changes that are made to the disk. It contains special logic to avoid data loss in the event of a sudden crash or power loss. Because it is keeping track of all your changes made in the recent past, it can reconstruct your disk at virtually any point - a "safe point" - in the recent past. Safe points are moments in time where your disk is idle for about ten seconds. GoBack allows you to return your disk to an earlier state (reverting) or view and/or recover specific files from the past (by referencing back to moments when your disk was idle). Using a portion of the disk to track recent changes, it is very likely that GoBack can restore your computer to working order or retrieve an otherwise lost file. This ability is provided without generally impacting your computer's performance. Other recommended reading is found by selecting Help from within any of the GoBack applications or in the User's Guide.