Copyright: © Copyright 2001 Roxio, Inc.


Overview

What is GoBack?

GoBack is an easy-to-use software that allows PC users to quickly solve a wide range of computer problems. Not only will GoBack retrieve missing or overwritten files, it can restore your hard disk exactly as it was at a time before any system problem occurred—even if Windows won’t boot. Once enabled, GoBack makes lost files, user errors, virus disruption, troublesome system crashes and pesky software installation problems a thing of the past. In fact, GoBack is your best defense against troubles that may occur from downloading all types of files off the Internet. GoBack has been hailed as an essential tool for corporate, educational, IT and other professional environments, as well as being highly recommended for home PC users. Best of all, GoBack uses very little disk space to transparently and continuously protect your data and your system without you having to do a thing.

GoBack Support and Upgrades

To upgrade, update or find additional technical support for your GoBack edition, simply go to the GoBack main menu. On the right side you’ll see buttons titled ”Upgrade” and “Update” which will link you directly to the GoBack web site.

About Personal and Deluxe Editions

With the Personal Edition you’ll be able to enjoy the basic features of GoBack’s award-winning system protection and recovery software. The Personal Edition typically comes pre-installed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and can be easily upgraded to the Deluxe Edition at any time. In addition to the system protection and recovery features found in the Personal Edition, the Deluxe Edition provides exciting advanced features including Password Protection, File Recovery and Rescue, and Auto-Revert. Both the GoBack Personal and Deluxe Editions support Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me and Windows 2000.

See also:

Learn about GoBack Personal Edition

Learn about GoBack Deluxe Edition


Personal Edition

Personal Edition Overview

As you will see, using GoBack Personal Edition is easy and will save you a tremendous amount of time and energy solving system problems. The following demonstrations will show you how to do this and much more.

Reverting Your Hard Drive

System corruption can be caused by many different problems, including buggy software, power failure or brownouts, incompatible software and viruses. With GoBack you can recover from most types of system corruption and restore your hard disk to the way it was before the corruption. The main objective is to find a time in the GoBack history when you know your system was running smoothly.

Performing a Boot Level Drive Revert

The Boot Level Drive Revert is ideal for times when Windows won’t load. Every time the computer starts, GoBack presents a screen from which you can launch GoBack. Because this screen appears before Windows loads, you can always access GoBack—even if Windows won't start.

1.	Restart your computer, when the GoBack countdown screen appears, press the spacebar to access the GoBack Boot Menu.

2.	Select the first option on the GoBack Boot Menu, “Revert Drive”. GoBack then quickly analyzes its logged data and presents times that you can revert to.

3.	Select a time that corresponds to a time at which your computer was working (usually the first option is good), then click Revert. To view other possible revert times, click “More Times.”

4.	Revert. GoBack will now restore everything on the hard disk to the way it was at the selected time. If you find that you did not select a time back far enough, simply restart the computer, access the GoBack Boot Menu again, and select a different time to revert to.

Performing a Drive Revert in Windows

The Drive Revert window is your best option if you are experiencing system problems but Windows still boots. Unlike the Boot Level Drive Revert you will run GoBack from the desktop (or system tray).

1.	Once your computer is up and running Windows, double click on the “GoBack” icon.

2.	Select the “revert you hard drive” option.

3.	Select a time.

4.	Press “Revert Now.” Your system will now automatically restart and restore the hard drive exactly as it was at the time you selected. If you find that you did not select a time back far enough, simply restart the computer, access the GoBack icon on your desktop again, and select a different time to revert to.

Modifying Boot Menu Options

The GoBack Boot Screen appears briefly during your computer’s start up.

You are given several seconds to press the spacebar. Doing this lets you access the emergency recovery functions of the GoBack Boot Menu. If you do not press the spacebar, the computer starts normally.

From this menu you can:

•	Revert your hard drive.

•	Disable GoBack.

•	Disable/enable auto-revert. (Deluxe Edition only)

•	Boot from a Floppy Disk.

•	Continue to proceed with the normal boot process.

Disabling GoBack

Occasionally, such as when you are going to use disk-partitioning software you will want to disable GoBack. Whenever you disable GoBack all the history that GoBack has been tracking will be lost. If you have disabled GoBack, either through Windows or from the Boot Screen, each time you try to access GoBack in Windows (via the Start menu or the GoBack icon on the taskbar), you will be reminded that GoBack is disabled. You will then have the option to enable GoBack. GoBack can only be enabled from Windows.

To disable GoBack from the GoBack Boot Menu:

1.	When the GoBack Boot Screen appears, press the spacebar (you are given a few seconds). If you miss pressing the spacebar, restart your computer and try again.

2.	Select the “Disable GoBack” button from the GoBack Boot Menu. GoBack can also be disabled from the “Options” button in the GoBack Main Menu.

Booting from a Floppy Disk

When installed and enabled, GoBack monitors all access to your hard disk automatically. For those programs that require you to start your computer with a special boot disk, the GoBack Boot Menu lets you boot from a floppy disk and still have the protection of GoBack. If you do not use the following procedure, you can only boot from the floppy if the floppy’s program does not need to access the hard disk.

To boot from a floppy disk:

1.	Start the computer without the floppy disk in the drive.

2.	When the GoBack Boot Screen appears, press the spacebar. The GoBack Boot Menu appears.

3.	Insert your program’s floppy disk in the floppy drive. Do not put the floppy disk in the floppy disk drive until after the GoBack Boot Menu displays.

4.	From the GoBack Boot Menu, select “Boot from Floppy.” Your computer will now boot from the floppy.

Clearing History

If you work with confidential data or do not want others to be able to look at your hard disk as it was in the past, you can delete the data that GoBack has been collecting. It’s important to remember that after the GoBack History has been cleared, you can no longer view or retrieve data before this time. You can also set GoBack Administrator and User passwords to prevent unauthorized users from recovering files from your GoBack history (Deluxe Edition only).

To clear the GoBack History:

1.	Open the GoBack Main Menu.

2.	Click the “Options” button.

3.	Select the drive(s) you’d like to clear.

4.	Click the “Clear GoBack History” button.

See also:

Get an Overview of GoBack

Learn about GoBack Deluxe Edition


Deluxe Edition

Deluxe Edition Overview

In addition to everything outlined in the Personal Edition, GoBack Deluxe Edition also allows you to:

•	View your hard disk as it was at an earlier time for the purposes of retrieving an entire directory or looking at a set of interdependent files.

•	Retrieve specific files from the past.

•	Rescue selected files after doing a revert.

When you view or revert your hard disk to an earlier time, you essentially specify a date and time. On the other hand, when retrieving an old version of a specific file, GoBack Deluxe Edition scans its history and generates a list of available versions, each corresponding to a time in the past. As GoBack monitors and records all information being written to your hard disk(s), it provides you with a number of ways to view, copy, or access the information it has recorded.

Accessing the Advanced Features Menu

Within the GoBack main menu, on the left side you’ll see a series of buttons. The third button down is “Advanced Features”.

Click this button to display the GoBack Drive Window. This window allows you to see your drive as it was in the past and choose an optimal revert time. It also allows you to control the preferences for viewing your History Log.

The GoBack Drive Window

GoBack lets you retrieve data or system information from the past and bring it forward to the present.

With the GoBack Drive Window you can select an exact date and time that you want to go back to. Once this is done, GoBack can reconstruct your hard disk to how it was at the time you selected. As you are looking at the GoBack Drive Window, you can view your hard disk’s activities over the past several days. The GoBack Drive Window will initially show the first physical hard disk on your computer. To view a different disk, select it from the File menu.

Note: only events in non-gray, active color can be used for reverting.

Preferences For Viewing Revert Times

1.	Calendar: This is the only way to navigate days. Bold numbers indicate the days that you can view. Use the calendar to view different days in the Event List. Clicking on a date will cause the Event List to update with the activity for that date. You can click the left and right arrows to scroll to the previous and next month in which there are events available to view.

2.	Event List: Shows you various events that occurred on your computer for the currently selected day. You can also filter the Event List so that you only see the types of activities that are of interest to you. You may select events directly from this list by clicking the desired item.

3.	Clock: Automatically remains synchronized with the highlighted selection in the Event List. Can be used to position the Event List to a specific point in time. Type a specific time in the area beneath the clock, indicate AM or PM, and press the “Enter” key. The Event List will be updated to show the events closest to the time you selected.

Understanding GoBack Icons

Icon	Description
	The GoBack logo marks GoBack activity, such as system boots and disk reverts.
	A Safe Point icon indicates a point in time when there was not any system activity.
	This icon identifies events relating to system activity such as Windows startup and shutdown points.
	This icon identifies activities related to files (such as documents, spreadsheets, etc.). There are numerous types of file activity, such as create, rename, and delete. If the name of a file is changed, both the old and the new names will be shown.
	This icon identifies user events, such as user added notes.
	This icon designates shell execute events such as files opened or printed from Windows Explorer, or programs or files run from the Start/Run dialog.
Adding Notes

You can add a note of your own to the Event List. For example, if you are going to install a major application or work on important documents, marking the list prior to these activities can make earlier events easier to find. The note is added to the bottom of the list. Then, “Find File or Note” may be used to perform a text search in the Event List.

About GoBack Drives

A GoBack Drive is a virtual copy of your hard disk as it appeared at a selected point in the past. The contents of a GoBack Drive correspond to your real hard disk as it was at that selected time in the past. For example, if C: is your hard disk, then you might ask GoBack to create a GoBack Drive corresponding to C: as it was an hour ago. The GoBack Drive you create will automatically be assigned a drive letter (for example, D:). This drive D: is very much like a backup of your entire hard disk drive that was made an hour ago. You access drive D: in the same way you would your floppy disk A:. GoBack automatically discards GoBack Drives when the historical data on which a drive is based becomes unavailable, and every time you restart. The “GoBack Drive” menu allows you to:

•	Copy entire directories from GoBack Drive to your hard disk

•	Check contents of a file without doing a rescue procedure

•	Check to see if a file exists before reverting.

To create a GoBack Drive:

1.	Open GoBack.

2.	At the Main Menu, click the “advanced features” button. The GoBack Drive window will appear.

3.	From the File menu, select the physical disk (one of your hard disks) from which you want to create the GoBack Drive(s). Select the Windows Boot Point or System Safe Point on which to base the creation of the GoBack Drive. If the date that you wish to revert to does not show in the Event List, click on the appropriate date in the calendar. Also, if you know the approximate time you wish to go back to, you can type the time under the clock, which will move the Event List to the safe point nearest to the time you typed.

4.	Click the “Create GoBack Drive” button. A message box will appear indicating the drive has been created. A red box will appear around the date and the event from which you created the GoBack Drive. The GoBack Drive(s) will appear as an additional drive(s) in Windows Explorer.

5.	Use Windows Explorer to access files on the GoBack Drive(s). In Windows Explorer, the letter that follows the word “GoBack” indicates the original drive (based on the selected event) that was used to create the GoBack Drive. The drive in parentheses is the designation for the GoBack Drive.

Note: After you have finished looking at or retrieving data from the virtual GoBack Drive you created, you should delete the GoBack Drive to save system resources.

To delete a GoBack Drive

After you have finished looking at or retrieving data from the GoBack Drive you created, you should discard the GoBack Drive to save system resources.

1.	Open GoBack.

2.	Click the “Advanced Features” button. The GoBack Drive Window then appears. If your system includes multiple physical disks, the GoBack Drive(s) that will be discarded is for the currently selected disk as viewed in the Event List. If you wish to discard a different disk, select it in the File menu.

3.	Click the “Discard GoBack Drive” button. A message box will indicate the drive(s) has been discarded.

File Rescue

File Rescue is easy to use and can rescue multiple files at a time. After completing the revert hard drive option and logging back into Windows, Deluxe Edition users are automatically presented with the File Rescue Window. This allows you to open, review, and rescue any files that were changed after the time to which the drive was reverted. The file rescue window uses standard Windows sorting behavior to find files by name or type. To rescue files:

1.	Revert your hard disk, and restart Windows. When Windows restarts, the File Rescue Window is automatically displayed if a revert has occurred in the last hour. The File Rescue Window displays all files that can be rescued from any reverts that were done over the last 24 hours.

2.	Choose one or more files to rescue.

3.	Click the Check Box in front of the file.

4.	Once you have selected all of the files you wish to rescue, simply press the “Rescue Files” button to rescue all of them.

File Recovery

There are several ways to recover deleted or overwritten files using GoBack; two of them are covered here. With the GoBack File Recovery Window available in the GoBack Deluxe Edition, you can recover earlier versions of files, including files that have been overwritten or deleted.

To recover files using the GoBack Main Menu:

1.	Open GoBack.

2.	At the GoBack Main Menu, click the “recover files” button. The GoBack File Recovery Window will appear.

3.	From the File menu, select the hard disk your file is located on.

4.	Select a file version from the list.

To recover the file:

1.	Click “Recover To”, and select a title and location for this recovered version.

To view the file before recovering it:

1.	Click Open. The file is brought back from the past and stored in a temporary folder in ...\GoBack\Temp (these files are automatically discarded on system shutdown). The appropriate application is then automatically launched to view the file.

To Recover files using Windows Explorer:

1.	Open any Explorer window.

2.	Open the folders (and subfolders if needed) until you see the file you wish to view. Right-click on your selected file.

3.	On the shortcut menu, click “Show Revisions”.

4.	Sort the resulting dialog box, if necessary, by clicking on the column heading by which you wish to sort.

To recover the file:

1.	Click “Recover To,” and select a title and location for this recovered version.

To view the file before recovering it:

1.	Click Open. The file is brought back from the past and stored in a temporary folder in ...\GoBack\Temp (these files are automatically discarded on system shutdown). The appropriate application is then automatically launched to view the file.

Working with the File Version List

The file version list will include all copies (within the time period GoBack is able to record) of a particular file. The list will display the original file name (as it may have been renamed) along with its size and the time at which it was originally saved.

Initially the list is sorted in reverse order by Original Time, with most recent versions at the top. You can click on each of the column headers to sort the list according to that column. By clicking on the column heading a second time, you can switch between ascending and descending order. It is possible that some dates are initially out of order in the list. This occurs when an application modifies a file and then sets the modified date back.

Using Password Protection

The Passwords tab, available only in GoBack Deluxe Edition, is where you can set two levels of password protection (Administrator and User) to secure access to GoBack services. Be sure to enable password protection by entering an Administrator password. This will prevent users from disabling any of your scheduled Auto-Reverts or setting a password themselves and locking you out.

To enable password protection:

1.	Click on GoBack from your desktop (or system tray).

2.	Select “Options” button.

3.	Click “Change Administrator Password” or “Change User Password” tab.

4.	Enter password. From now on users will be prompted to enter a password when they use certain GoBack services. (To discontinue password protection, set both passwords to blank again.)

Forgot Your Password?

How to reset administrator password:

1.	Uninstall and reinstall GoBack, This will automatically reset all GoBack passwords to blank.

How to Reset User Password:

1.	Enter the GoBack Administrator password in the Change GoBack User Password dialog box.

2.	Set a new password.

GoBack Services and Options that can be Password Protected

GoBack Service / Option	Administrator	User
Revert Drive	X
Create/Discard GoBack Drive	X	X
File Open/File Recovery	X	X
Clear GoBack History	X
Disable GoBack	X
Upgrade GoBack	X
Disable/Enable Auto-Revert	X
Change Auto-Revert Settings	X
Using Auto-Revert

Available with the GoBack Deluxe Edition, Auto-Revert reverts your hard disk at a pre-determined time automatically. Based on a schedule you determine and/or at logoff or system shutdown, Auto-Revert automatically reverts a computer’s hard disk to a pre-defined “clean” state without user intervention. It is an ideal solution for computer labs, libraries, and other public-access computer environments. We recommend that you secure your Auto-Revert settings by enabling GoBack password protection as described in the previous section. This will prevent anyone except the GoBack administrator from disabling. Note: When an Auto-Revert occurs, the GoBack History is cleared. This means that you will not be able to revert to any time before or since the Auto-Revert point.

To set or change Auto-Revert options:

1.	Click on GoBack “Options.”

2.	Click on the “Auto-Revert” tab. (capture)

3.	Click the “Enable Auto-Revert” check box.

4.	Set the Auto-Revert schedule.

There are three ways you can schedule an Auto-Revert:

•	On logoff or system shutdown.

•	At a specific time every day.

•	Set GoBack to read the schedule from a file (useful in setting multiple Auto-Revert times and/or using a shared schedule file on a network). You can use any combination of scheduling options. Note: schedule file must have a valid work path if on a network.

5.	Click “Apply” or “OK.”

6.	Upon enabling Auto-Revert you will be prompted to reboot the computer.

Note: While Auto-Revert is enabled, you cannot uninstall, reinstall, or upgrade GoBack.

To activate the “Read Auto-Revert schedule from file” option:

1.	Create a text file containing the time and day information when you want the Auto-Revert to happen.

2.	Schedule the Auto-Revert to take place at a time that corresponds to when no one will be using the computer. If the computers are turned off at night you may want to choose an Auto-Revert time that corresponds to a time right after the computers are turned on, or before the computers are turned off each day. Do not schedule an Auto-Revert for a time when the computer is powered off. When the computer is off, GoBack cannot detect and perform an Auto-Revert.

Programming Auto-Revert from Schedule File

GoBack requires that your schedule text file have one line per Auto-Revert time and that each entry on a line is separated by a space. Each line should have a time of day followed by days of the week (acceptable English-only syntax and abbreviations are shown below). Your schedule file can be saved using any file name. Here are some examples:

10:30 Monday Wednesday Friday
15:00 Sunday Tuesday Thursday Saturday
3:00am Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
8:00pm SU M TU W TH F SA

Note: If you do not specify a.m. or p.m., the time will be interpreted in a 24-hour format (e.g., 3:00 = 3:00 a.m.; 15:00 = 3:00 p.m.).

To cancel a scheduled Auto-Revert:

If a scheduled Auto-Revert time is reached, a sixty-second countdown appears on the screen.

However, at any GoBack Auto-Revert warning dialog you can click “Disable Auto-Revert” to completely disable it. If an Administrator password is set, you are required to enter the Administrator password before continuing. To cancel a scheduled Auto-Revert time, click Cancel (this does not require a password).

What if I don’t schedule an Auto-Revert?

If a scheduling option is not selected, the Auto-Revert happens only when the GoBack history becomes 100% full or you click the “Auto-Revert Now” button in the Auto-Revert options tab. To protect your “clean” state, GoBack monitors its history and warns you when is at 50%, 75%, 85%, 90%, 95%, and 97% full.

When the history becomes 100% full, the computer reboots and reverts to the Auto-Revert point. Note: You cannot cancel an Auto-Revert when the history becomes full.

To set a new “clean” state for Auto-Revert:

Occasionally it will be necessary to change the “clean” state—to add a new application, for example. With GoBack Deluxe Edition, this is easy.

1.	Make sure the computer is at the “ clean” state by initiating a manual Auto-Revert.

2.	Open the GoBack Main Menu.

3.	Click the “Options” button.

4.	In the GoBack Options dialog box, click the Auto-Revert tab then click “Auto-Revert Now”.

5.	Now that the computer is “clean,” disable Auto-Revert by un-checking the “Enable Auto-Revert” checkbox. When disabling Auto-Revert, a reboot of the computer is not necessary.

6.	You can now install the new application or make any modifications to the computer to create a new “clean” state.

7.	Re-enable Auto-Revert. This will set your “clean” state.

To retain your Auto-Revert point:

1.	Click “Auto-Revert Now” to revert the PC

2.	Disable Auto-Revert

3.	Proceed with the uninstall, reinstall, or upgrade.

To manually revert to the Auto-Revert point:

1.	Click “Auto-Revert” options tab or “Scheduling Auto-Revert” on the GoBack Boot Menu.

2.	Click the “Auto-Revert Now” button.

To extend the amount of GoBack History available:

If you would like more history captured, or are finding that your history is filling before your scheduled Auto-Revert, you can extend the amount of hard disk space allocated to GoBack.

1.	Uninstall then reinstall GoBack.

2.	Select “Custom Install.”

3.	Increase the disk space allocated to GoBack.

Note: Your current history is discarded during uninstallation.

See also:

Get an Overview of GoBack

Learn about GoBack Personal Edition