Techguy
February 23, 2001, 11:16 pm
Product review: PowerQuest SecondChance 2.0
Feb 23, 2001
Ed Engelking II, A+
We've all been there before: An end-user's computer has bitten the dust because of a program that she installed earlier that day. The computer crashes no matter what you do. You can't even get into safe mode without the machine giving you the Blue Screen of Death. Your only option is to use a boot disk, format the drive so that it's clean, and reinstall the OS...or is it? With PowerQuest's SecondChance software, your end-user corruption issues may be over for good.
What's SecondChance?
Ever wish that you could go back in time to when a user's Windows 9x computer was clean, to when it didn't have any unnecessary software, and to when it worked properly? With PowerQuest's SecondChance, you can do just that. This software, which is made by the same company that offers PartitionMagic and ServerMagic, enables you to have another chance with a computer—even after it's died for the tenth time.
How does it work?
When you first install SecondChance, it scans your hard drive and creates something called a "checkpoint." This initial checkpoint is used to compare changes that have been made to the machine since the program was first installed. But that's not the only available option for restoring your system.
Users also have the option of creating a checkpoint whenever they wish, or they can schedule a checkpoint to be created on certain days of the week. For example, a checkpoint can be activated every day of the week at 3:00 P.M. (see Figure A).
Figure A
http://a1800.g.akamai.net/7/1800/259/3b9291c2e1ca41/www.techrepublic.com/images/contentPics/r00320010223eng01_01.gif
How can I restore my system?
Imagine that a user has deleted Microsoft Office 2000 from his Windows 9x computer, and you need to restore it to the condition it was in before the office suite was erased. With SecondChance 2.0, recovery of this application, along with other programs and documents, is as simple as 1-2-3:
Select the checkpoint you wish to recover.
On the main screen of the SecondChance software, you have the option to restore your computer to an original state. The default option is the last saved state, but you can choose additional checkpoints at the bottom of the window (see Figure B).
Figure B
http://a1800.g.akamai.net/7/1800/259/5d595eca382e93/www.techrepublic.com/images/contentPics/r00320010223eng01_02.gif
By selecting the Restore button (circled in red), you can change the settings of your computer to reflect a previous checkpoint. You can select the checkpoints at the bottom of the window (circled in blue).
Accept the changes.
The computer will check itself for errors, and afterwards, it will inform the user that it must be restarted in order to revert back to the original checkpoint that the user has chosen. Once the computer reboots, a DOS application will run, making the necessary changes to the machine via information obtained in a specific checkpoint.
Restart the machine.
Once SecondChance has completed these changes, the computer will reboot a second time. Then, the operating system will boot up, and the computer will once again be restored to the state it was in before Microsoft Office 2000 was deleted.
My thoughts on SecondChance 2.0
A few years ago, this program may have been an excellent choice for data recovery in a Windows 9x environment. However, times have changed, and Microsoft has caught up with PowerQuest. In Windows Me, Microsoft's replacement for Windows 98, users will find that there is a very similar—and free—utility already included, as seen in Figure C.
Figure C
http://a1800.g.akamai.net/7/1800/259/73b3cf1aa08b13/www.techrepublic.com/images/contentPics/r00320010223eng01_03.gif
Microsoft has included a free System Restore utility in its Windows Me operating system. This utility restores the operating system to a previous point, much like SecondChance 2.0.
Secondly, SecondChance is not available for Windows 2000 operating systems, and a search on the PowerQuest Web site revealed no planned release dates for a Windows 2000 version—or any future versions of Microsoft operating systems. I believe that the fact that this program isn't designed for a workstation machine hurts SecondChance.
Finally, the last problem that I have with SecondChance is that it saves the data directly onto your hard drive, without any other means of saving the data to a CD-RW, tape, or Jaz drive. While the software is a good idea, I don't like the idea of having to give up a large portion of my hard drive space for it to work properly.
Review synopsis
SecondChance is a decent piece of software, but there are cheaper alternatives available to consumers. Perhaps if PowerQuest made a Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server version, this kind of software might take off with Network and Support administrators.
I'd suggest looking for other vendors that have similar programs that have a broader range of support for various operating systems and additional applications.
TECHREPUBLIC
------------------
Remember to refer a friend to our site
Feb 23, 2001
Ed Engelking II, A+
We've all been there before: An end-user's computer has bitten the dust because of a program that she installed earlier that day. The computer crashes no matter what you do. You can't even get into safe mode without the machine giving you the Blue Screen of Death. Your only option is to use a boot disk, format the drive so that it's clean, and reinstall the OS...or is it? With PowerQuest's SecondChance software, your end-user corruption issues may be over for good.
What's SecondChance?
Ever wish that you could go back in time to when a user's Windows 9x computer was clean, to when it didn't have any unnecessary software, and to when it worked properly? With PowerQuest's SecondChance, you can do just that. This software, which is made by the same company that offers PartitionMagic and ServerMagic, enables you to have another chance with a computer—even after it's died for the tenth time.
How does it work?
When you first install SecondChance, it scans your hard drive and creates something called a "checkpoint." This initial checkpoint is used to compare changes that have been made to the machine since the program was first installed. But that's not the only available option for restoring your system.
Users also have the option of creating a checkpoint whenever they wish, or they can schedule a checkpoint to be created on certain days of the week. For example, a checkpoint can be activated every day of the week at 3:00 P.M. (see Figure A).
Figure A
http://a1800.g.akamai.net/7/1800/259/3b9291c2e1ca41/www.techrepublic.com/images/contentPics/r00320010223eng01_01.gif
How can I restore my system?
Imagine that a user has deleted Microsoft Office 2000 from his Windows 9x computer, and you need to restore it to the condition it was in before the office suite was erased. With SecondChance 2.0, recovery of this application, along with other programs and documents, is as simple as 1-2-3:
Select the checkpoint you wish to recover.
On the main screen of the SecondChance software, you have the option to restore your computer to an original state. The default option is the last saved state, but you can choose additional checkpoints at the bottom of the window (see Figure B).
Figure B
http://a1800.g.akamai.net/7/1800/259/5d595eca382e93/www.techrepublic.com/images/contentPics/r00320010223eng01_02.gif
By selecting the Restore button (circled in red), you can change the settings of your computer to reflect a previous checkpoint. You can select the checkpoints at the bottom of the window (circled in blue).
Accept the changes.
The computer will check itself for errors, and afterwards, it will inform the user that it must be restarted in order to revert back to the original checkpoint that the user has chosen. Once the computer reboots, a DOS application will run, making the necessary changes to the machine via information obtained in a specific checkpoint.
Restart the machine.
Once SecondChance has completed these changes, the computer will reboot a second time. Then, the operating system will boot up, and the computer will once again be restored to the state it was in before Microsoft Office 2000 was deleted.
My thoughts on SecondChance 2.0
A few years ago, this program may have been an excellent choice for data recovery in a Windows 9x environment. However, times have changed, and Microsoft has caught up with PowerQuest. In Windows Me, Microsoft's replacement for Windows 98, users will find that there is a very similar—and free—utility already included, as seen in Figure C.
Figure C
http://a1800.g.akamai.net/7/1800/259/73b3cf1aa08b13/www.techrepublic.com/images/contentPics/r00320010223eng01_03.gif
Microsoft has included a free System Restore utility in its Windows Me operating system. This utility restores the operating system to a previous point, much like SecondChance 2.0.
Secondly, SecondChance is not available for Windows 2000 operating systems, and a search on the PowerQuest Web site revealed no planned release dates for a Windows 2000 version—or any future versions of Microsoft operating systems. I believe that the fact that this program isn't designed for a workstation machine hurts SecondChance.
Finally, the last problem that I have with SecondChance is that it saves the data directly onto your hard drive, without any other means of saving the data to a CD-RW, tape, or Jaz drive. While the software is a good idea, I don't like the idea of having to give up a large portion of my hard drive space for it to work properly.
Review synopsis
SecondChance is a decent piece of software, but there are cheaper alternatives available to consumers. Perhaps if PowerQuest made a Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server version, this kind of software might take off with Network and Support administrators.
I'd suggest looking for other vendors that have similar programs that have a broader range of support for various operating systems and additional applications.
TECHREPUBLIC
------------------
Remember to refer a friend to our site