ShadowProtect Desktop Edition for Windows

User Reviews

• works great until it doesn't

  hammahammaNovember 17, 2012

  Pros

  Very good at building a nice archive that can be easily browsed from the machine that wrote it.

  Cons

  I've needed this software twice and both times it failed. The images wouldn't mount or the software wouldn't recognize the external drive. The online help did not cover either problem to the point that it could be solved. Storage craft only supports the program for 1 year. So by the time you need it there is no support unless you pay $50 per incident. Currently I have 4 years of archives that can only be read from the machine they were written from. If I download the current software to a new machine it will not mount those images. I'm somewhat confident that it can be made to work is the support fee is paid.

  Summary

  The program seems very sensitive to the machine, version, and operating system and restoring from scratch is less than smooth. Plan on paying for the $50 per incident support or choose another product.

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• Easy to use software that actually works!

  Mike CogswellApril 5, 2012

  Pros

  o Easy to use. o Reliable. o Stable. o Works flawlessly with TrueCrypt. o Excellent Recovery Environment. o Focused core feature set. o Can convert backups into vmdk (for use in VMWare). o Very FAST! o Most seamless restore I have ever encountered.

  Cons

  o Won't allow you to browse for a TrueCrypt mounted volume as a back-up destination (but I figured out you can just type the path (e.g., D:\Backups\) and it will work. o Was unable to Boot from (or repair the boot up) from the image that I converted into VMDK, however, I was able to mount it in VMware and still see all the data. This, however, is made moot by the fact the direct recovery (including to a VM) works flawlessly. It makes converting to VMDK redundant. o The retention strategies seem a little hard to wrap my head around, but I am sure once I get into it, it will make sense. o Wasn't obvious that for the Recovery Environment additional drivers they needed to be 32-bit (at least in the trial recovery disk).

  Summary

  FYI - I tested version 4.2.1 (not the 4.1 version here). The pros for this software are endless. I was looking for an image tool that would work with TrueCrypt. That means TrueCrypt system disk encrypted machines, TrueCrypt encrypted back-up drives; the works. Despite what a few posts in the ShadowProtect forums say this software (at least 4.2.1) works flawlessly with TrueCrypt. I tested the following things. 1. Installation (on to Win7 x64). The installation was excellent; it even pointed out some bad stuff left from previous Acronis trial install and linked to a KB to show the exact steps to fix it. 2. Image of dual cipher TrueCrypt encrypted Win7x64 laptop. The image creation was fast. I was able to back-up to a TrueCrypt encrypted back-up drive (see cons for only issue). 3. Conversion to VMDK, took a little longer than I expected, but it worked and I was able to mount the VMDK in VMware. I was not able to boot it (due to TrueCrypt MBR/boot loader issues) but it turns out that this feature is moot for that purpose anyway. 4. I tested restoring the encrypted backup image to my laptop (it was a sacrifice testing machine) and it worked flawlessly. I didn't even have to jump through any TrueCrypt boot-loader hoops; it just worked. (I did check the restore option that restores the "original Windows MBR"). (Note: That an additional step I am not factoring in here is that the machine would need to be re-encrypted after the restore, but when you lost all your data that is the last of your concerns, especially when encryption can occur as you work). 5. I have never gotten this to work with any other imaging software with a TrueCrypt encrypted system image, but tested a direct restore to VMWare Workstation VM. This also worked flawlessly. The easy network support in the recovery environment meant I didn't even have to decrypt my backup drive or copy the backup to a non encrypted drive (which would mean scrubbing later). I just connected the encrypted disk to another computer, mounted it and shared it. Then I restored from that network share. I was amazed that even though I tried this with Acronis on the weekend with a very similar situation (restoring to VM, which ultimately failed) it was so much faster, even through the network! The Acronis restore took about 8 hours with backup drive directly plugged in. The ShadowProtect one was done in 11 minutes! (The image size was about 50% smaller for the ShadowProtect test, but even 22 minutes beats 8 hours, PLUS, the ShadowProtect restore actually worked*. When I started the VM it just fired up; no hoops to jump through). * I was unable to get the Acronis TIH v11 image to boot. 6. Since the tests I did were on a basic laptop I thought I had better test the recovery environment on a new machine (which is why I am looking at this software to begin with). With my new machine the recovery image did not recognize all the hardware, but the UI is intuitive enough that it was obvious where and how to load drivers. I was able to find 32-bit drivers (since the recovery environment is 32-bit) for my RAID controller and also my network card and after a couple of tries (mainly due to not initially realizing the drivers needed to be 32-bit) I got it going so the recovery environment recognizes my new network card and also my C600 series RAID10 array (and RAID 1 array). I have been testing this software for about 16 hours now (still awake) and its looking to be mustard. It is definitely more expensive than other packages and also has less bells and whistles, but compared to other recent trials I have performed this is a diamond in the rough. I noticed on other comment here saying that the restore disk had to be exactly the right size. I can't speak for earlier versions of the software, but in 4.2.1 when I restored the laptop image to VM the laptop drive is 465GB. I just chose a VM hard drive size of 500GB. The restore worked OK for me in that case. Since there is a 30 day trial I recommend giving this one a try. It's worth spending the time because it is very stable and features seem to be well QA'd. Finally, I cannot speak for activation issues and the like, but it seems that you need a license for every machine you use it on. It does seem like a high price, but what value is your time and peace of mind of a sound recovery system? After writing all this I'll probably go and find a killer problem, but I really did put time into testing this before writing, so hopefully this helps someone out. Cheers.

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• Fabulous software that is fastest in class

  alkolkinAugust 14, 2011

  Pros

  Easy to set and forget Very fast in creating full image Backups Logically GUI Very reliably restores of files and images Good scheduling alternatives Clever recovery of individual files Automatic deletion of files old archives based upon quotas

  Cons

  Cannot schedule Verification (though it is probably not needed) Not as a granular a scheduler of backups as Acronis Mount virtual disks to restore individual files is great, but may not be understandable to novices.

  Summary

  I have been using this product and Acronis for many, many years. This product is fast, reliable and reasonably priced. It is much faster than Acronis, but its scheduling capabilities are less granular

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• An excellent program for backing up your OS.

  LVCharlieJuly 29, 2011

  Pros

  Easy to use, strait forward.

  Cons

  none that I know of.

  Summary

  Out of all the backup programs I have used this is the best by far. It is simple and strait forward to use and I have never had a problem restoring any backups I made.

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• Limited usefulness

  robosoloMarch 18, 2011

  Pros

  Very fast image backups. Great for restoring a drive image to the same drive it came from. Easy to mount and dismount drive images to access files.

  Cons

  Does a poor job of restoring an image to a different drive unless it's the exact same size as original drive. Couldn't get it to restore image to a larger partition on a different drive. Poor help: 4-day wait for e-mail response. Finally junked it.

  Summary

  This program is not good for bare-metal restores to a different sized drive. I've used it for a few years and have 3 licenses but I junked it after I couldn't do an image restore from a 1-TB drive onto a target partition on another drive that was 1.25 TB in size. The company claims it can do this as long as the target is the same size or larger, but I was unsuccessful. Company response to e-mail help requests took 4-days, and then was useless. Paragon hard Disk Manager 11 suite is far superior. It did what I wanted and is able to handle any and all backup image restoring and resizing issues with aplomb. Steady as a rock and can also accomplish just about anything involving partitions.

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• I purchased, and was disappointed

  stuckindosJanuary 1, 2011

  Pros

  Irrelevant considering all of the cons. I have used shadowprotect since version three and it always work.

  Cons

  It will not work if the hardware ID does not match the original. Duh! Hardware ID's will not match if you have equipment failure and need to restore from a backup after equipment replacement. Don't even think about tech support or join forum.

  Summary

  Now with version 4 there is so much security factors implemented into the software that it makes it useless, and that is extraordinary with bare metal backup software. Don't waste 85 dollars like I did. The security built into the software forces any little change to your computer to reset activation, and guess what another 85 dollars for activation. You can't even get into the forum to discuss issues with other users if you can't activate it. It's funny that only sales will talk to you about purchases but no other issues. And don't expect a refund either. I guess this is why other companies succeed and the ones like this one fail.

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• Completely reliable, worry-free backup.

  rchurch3453April 6, 2010

  Pros

  Works in the background during whatever time period I select, so there's no impact on system performance. Absolutely reliable. Never need to worry about data loss - EVER!

  Cons

  Can be just a little confusing when setting up the backups for novice users. Selecting the source and destination data requires a little extra focus.

  Summary

  This is the one product I rely on to save my system in the event of a disaster. I have multiple complete copies of my entire hard drive, which can be restored to a brand new hard drive and work just like the old system. Interim backups fill in the gaps between full backups, to minimize any possible data loss to less than 1 day's work.

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• First backup I've used that really works in disaster!

  flyboyronFebruary 26, 2010

  Pros

  Has options for incremental, full, or disaster recovery backup/restore. It really does the job if you have a total drive failure. No need to install OS first, like most. You're up and running where you were in about :30. All settings intact.

  Cons

  None! Works very well!

  Summary

  The only real "disaster recovery" program I've had that works like it's supposed to. I've used it to recover from 2 total disk failures, and depending on your disk and computer, you're right back up and running in no time. It can also restore to a different size disk, or even a totally new computer, with drivers customizable for the new machine. Good stuff!

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• The last backup product you'll ever need to buy.

  rchurch3453January 25, 2010

  Pros

  Provides as much or as little backup as you desire - from a folder or two to your complete hard drive. Internal, external - it handles it all. The only product I know that can perform bare metal restores to a new machine without errors.

  Cons

  It uses a lot of resources when running but as long as it is set to run during periods of no other activity, it isn't really an issue.

  Summary

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• Does a good job and meets its specs

  Bill BuckleyDecember 30, 2009

  Pros

  Provides sufficient options to give the user control over what and when to backup

  Cons

  Interfacing with networked storage could be accompished easier; however, you can get there.

  Summary

  Bottom line the product does what it is advertised to do and does it well. I'd like to see a better approach to activation when upgrading to a new O/S or rebuilding on the same machine vs. deactivating (if you remeber) and then reactivating.

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