It is a small, powerful free software utility that provides a simple protection tool for your computer. Like the sandbox software tool, it creates a secure environment for the operating system by maintaining its current settings and allowing users to revert changed settings to their default state.
This kind of program has several functions. Such a program, for example, can prevent unauthorized users from making changes to applications and system files, so that this does not cause unintended problems with the stability of the PC. On the other hand, it can act as a support system for the computer administrator, providing a virtual space for the launch of unknown or suspicious programs that may contain malicious software.
Time Freeze keeps track of the current state of the operating system, and any changes made to Windows will revert to this original state every time you restart your computer. Several parameters can be configured so that the application can suit the user.
Installation and interface
Before continuing with the short installation procedure, you can choose the size of the disk cache that will be used by the Time Freeze mechanism, and also allow the application to use the main disk every time, even when Windows is in safe mode. The application can also be password protected to prevent unauthorized users from changing its settings. To complete everything, you need to reboot the system.
Exclusion of any folders and files from the zone of control
Once Time Freeze is launched, it will display an icon in the system notification area, thus giving users the ability to quickly start and stop the program, as well as open its settings panel. However, the appearance was not emphasized too much. The utility has a single classic-style window and an easily organized structure that allows users to directly access the operations they want, regardless of aesthetics.
Ease of customization
Time Freeze can automatically start at Windows startup, thus providing comprehensive protection against file changes. One aspect worth noting is that program users have the ability to create a list of files and folders that will be excluded from the program's supervision area and which they can still modify, even if the supervision function is enabled.
Moreover, the Time Freeze toolbar can be shown over the desktop. As previously mentioned, the program can be password protected to prevent unauthorized users from enabling, disabling, or modifying its configuration. As an added protection, the application icon in the system notification area can be hidden.
Yet Time Freeze cannot be closed right away. This will require a system reboot.
Toolwiz Time Freeze Review:
Dignity
During testing on Windows 8.1 Pro, the application worked well without causing the operating system to freeze, crash, or display error messages. With a system reboot, it successfully dumped changes to files and application installations.
Since Time Freeze works like a service in the background, it does not interfere, so it does not interfere with the normal user's experience on the computer.
The program can be password protected to prevent unauthorized users from enabling or disabling it or intruding on its settings. Any files and folders can be excluded from the surveillance area, so any changes made to them are actually transferred to disk.
The consumption of CPU and RAM resources is minimal.
The program is extremely easy to use, even by novice users.
Flaws
Even if no password has been set, Time Freeze asks for it when trying to open its settings panel, so users may be confused (you need to leave the field blank and continue).
While simple and straightforward, the program does not include advanced settings for advanced users, such as the ability to find specific changes that were canceled after a system reboot, or restrict user access based on user PC profiles.
Overall score
Taking into account all the pros and cons, we can say that Toolwiz Time Freeze is a must-have application for any computer user, regardless of whether he often experiments with new programs on a PC or not. Because Time Freeze is easy to install, run and use, it can be run before any action to ensure that your computer stays safe no matter what happens.
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Freezing the system with Rollback Rx, that is, creating a snapshot, is an excellent opportunity, if any problems arise, to quickly restore it while preserving all user data. How to take a picture, how to recover from it, how to use Rollback Rx? We will try to answer these and many other questions in this article.
First, why Rollback Rx and not the standard Windows restore points? Personally, from my experience, and the experience of many other Windows users, the standard system restore tool (restore points) does not always work. You can even say the odds are fifty-fifty, and who needs such a lottery.
Second, why not a system backup image? After all, there are recognized leaders, the same Acronis, or AOMEI Backupper, about which, perhaps, I will write in some of the following articles?
The need for a system image backup is undeniable. But this process is laborious and not fast at all, and the image takes up quite a lot of storage space. And creating a new image before each installation of a new, unknown software is at least tedious. Taking a system snapshot in Rollback Rx takes only a few seconds and restoring from it in minutes. In my opinion, the advantages here are obvious.
What this program may be needed for. First, checking the new software. Man is made in such a way that the available software is always scarce and you want to install something new. And this new thing does not always meet our expectations. Secondly, this eternal urge to climb somewhere and "fix". I think everyone has already understood that it is mainly ourselves who are dropping the system, why we need viruses, we can do it ourselves. And to restore the system after our "skillful hands" it will be needed. That is, before giving free rein to our playful hands, it is not stupid to take a snapshot of the system.
Now let's move on to the program itself and for this from the official site.
What is nice, the program supports all versions of Windows, from XP to Windows 10, and both 32 and 64 bits.
After booting and standard installation, you will be prompted to restart your computer, which is required to create a base system snapshot.
Reboot and start Rollback Rx by double clicking on its icon. The main window of the program will open in front of you.
On the right side of the program window, there is a graphical display of your hard drive. Here you can see its free and used space, the number of available snapshots, the time of the last snapshot and the time of the last recovery, the scheduled task and the letter of the protected disk.
On the right side of the main window are sections of the program, which we will review as needed.
Taking a system snapshot
First, let's take a snapshot of the current state of the system. This shot will be our starting point. To do this, in the main window of the Rollback program, click on the "new snapshot" link, which will naturally create it. The same action can be invoked by the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N.
Here you need to write the name of the picture and its description (description, so that you do not get lost in your pictures). If you wish, you can block this snapshot from deletion, for which, check the box below the description field.
Attention... Since you can only take seven pictures in the free version of the product, consider whether it is worth blocking the current one.
The snapshot has been created, but you can see it only by going to the system snapshots tab.
As you can see in the screenshot, I have three snapshots in the snapshot manager, the first was created during installation, the second was scheduled, and the third we just created.
By right-clicking on each, except for the base, snapshot, we can lock it, unlock it, delete it, rollback, investigate and find out its properties. The items to block, unblock, delete and roll back are clear, let's look at the item "investigate". The same action using the Ctrl + B keys. We click on it with the left button and wait for the end of the creation of the virtual disk. The disk is created, and we are invited to open or close it, open it.
The disk opens in Explorer as an additional volume, with which you can work as with a regular partition. That is, as usual, delete, copy and move the files you need.
A snapshot of the system has been created and now you can safely start installing the "left" software or make "useful" changes in the system.
Well, that's it, the "useful" software has been tested, the "necessary" changes have been made to the system, it's time to return everything to its original, working state.
Attention... System snapshots can also be used when working with trial software, of course, where it is limited only by the time of use, and not by functionality. After the system is rolled back, there will be no traces of it.
System rollback
This can be done in several ways - main page, system rollback; a quick recovery partition, again, a rollback of the system; in the system snapshots section, select the required one and right-click, select the "rollback" item in the context menu, or in the panel, at the top of the program window in the general tasks section, select the same item, the Ctrl + B key combination.
As a result, within a few minutes, no more than five, the system will recover to the state of our taken snapshot.
Rollback Rx setup
We examined the main parameters, now let's move on to the additional ones.
In the quick recovery section, in addition to the system rollback and snapshot research items, there is another interesting item - file recovery. By clicking on it, you can restore only certain files or folders from snapshots.
Here you can choose the best recovery option based on file name or exact location. The choice of extension in the free version, at least for me, is not available. A similar operation is launched from the top panel: common tasks - recover files or by pressing Ctrl + F. In the system snapshots section, in addition to all of the above, you can defragment snapshots.
And in the task scheduler section, configure them.
Click on the properties button and configure the task scheduler as you like. By default, the Task Type is set to the new snapshot parameter. Here you can set the schedule type as: once, every hour, daily, weekly, monthly and on reboot. Set the days and times you want to create a new snapshot. In the snapshot settings, check the box to lock the snapshot to prevent it from automatic deletion and unlock and delete the snapshots after, the default is seven days ...
In the task scheduler for rolling back the system, the settings are different.
In the Rollback settings, you can choose from two options: rollback system to the most current snapshot or rollback system to snapshot, which can be selected manually in the installation drop-down menu.
In the other snapshots box below you can choose between keeping all the other snapshots after rollback and remove all the other unlocked snapshots after rollback.
In the Rollback parameter settings, you can schedule unlocked snapshots to be deleted automatically.
Set the parameters for defragmentation of snapshots and the action of the program when rolling back with another snapshot.
The event log section displays information about previous actions that you can save, clear or delete if necessary.
Well, that seems to be all there is to say about the free version of the program for creating system snapshots, Rollback Rx. Now I think you know how to freeze the system.
Toolwiz time freeze Is a unique, unusual and very useful free computer program that will allow you to "freeze" the operating system and return it to its original state after an unsuccessful experiment. For example, after the curve of cleaning or optimizing the registry.
Such programs are also called "sandboxes". For example, you set up something in this "sandbox", and then you rebooted the system and all the changes crumbled, as if they hadn't built anything.
We figured out the purpose of the Toolwiz Time Freeze program, now we turn to a detailed review of it.
There are two versions of Toolwiz Time Freeze - new and old. Both are completely free and completely official. But! They have a very important difference - in the old version, you can save changes without rebooting the system, and in the new version, you cannot.
As you review versions, you will see and understand the difference. So, here is the link to the newest version of the program ...
Have you downloaded it? Installation…
... but do not rush, but read the entire review to the end to decide which version of the program will be more convenient for you.
Unfortunately, the language of the program is only English, but I will tell you everything, translate and show you - there is nothing complicated ...
During its operation, the program writes all changes to the virtual cache, which is automatically cleared when the protection function is turned off and then the system is rebooted. Here is the size of this cache you can set in the frame, where the default is 5120 MB.
Everything is clear with the first and last lines, but in the middle, where a check mark is already set, you prevent the program from starting in safe mode of the system. If something goes wrong, you could debug the system in this mode and so that these changes are saved.
After installing Toolwiz Time Freeze, be sure to restart your system ...
Here is the main window of the freezer program ...
Let's deal with him ...
Check the box here - enable the startup of the program along with the system.
If you check the "Enable Folder ..." checkbox, you will be able to specify a folder (Add Folder) or a separate file (Add File), which will be excluded from the "freeze". Any changes to the specified folders or files will persist even after a system restart.
The “Remove Selected One” button will remove the selected items from the list (and not completely remove them from the system) and they will be “frozen” along with the system.
Everything is clear with the first point - enable password protection so that someone "accidentally" does not freeze something for you.
The second one will enable the display of the program status on the desktop. Freezing disabled (OFF) ...
... or enabled ...
That's all the nuances. Now, before you start experimenting with optimization or catching viruses in the network, just click in the Start tray or in the main program window ...
After that, you can safely do whatever you want - pick the registry, install any dubious programs, infect the system with hundreds of viruses ..., but after clicking on the "Stop" button, the system will restart and any changes WILL NOT BE SAVED. The system will return to the state it was before clicking on the "Start" button.
This is the beauty of the program and ... the disadvantage of this version. We turned on the freeze mode, installed some program, configured it, tested it and it turned out that it was a good and harmless program ... Now we need to restart the system and reinstall it in normal mode - a loss of time, energy and nerves.
This is the program settings window. The first line is the display of the program status on the desktop. Freeze disabled ...
... and the system is "frozen" ...
The second line is to always display the state of the program in the foreground of the desktop.
The third line is to hide the program to the tray.
The fourth line is to enable password protection from nosy friends.
The fifth line is to warn about the program cache overflow.
The sixth (last) line is the autostart of the program with the system.
"Cache Size" - manual setting of the cache size.
Viruses, spyware, utilities that make unwanted changes to the operating system - every fan of computer technology must have faced such problems, who cannot imagine his life without researching various kinds of software and games. But naive newbies who believe in instant and overwhelming earnings on the Internet, and, of course, those who like to play pranks on porn sites, are at a much greater risk. What kind of programs have not been invented to protect your computer - antiviruses, anti-spyware, services for blocking dangerous sites, sandboxes (special programs for testing software in a safe environment), programs for installing virtual operating systems, etc. One of these programs will be discussed below.
1. Toolwiz Time Freeze: the essence of the program
Meet Toolwiz Time Freeze - an absolutely free program that temporarily "freezes" the state of your operating system while you test various software or games, visit dangerous sites or even investigate viruses on your computer. As part of such a "freeze", you can do any dangerous things without fear of harming the operating system. Since this very "freeze" is nothing more than the creation of a point for rolling back the system to the state in which the system was before the start of the Toolwiz Time Freeze program. Thus, if you run into problems with the operating system when testing software, surfing the web on dangerous sites or during other dubious operations, you can roll it back to the moment when everything was in order.
How does Toolwiz Time Freeze work? The program creates a snapshot of your operating system when it starts. From this moment on, all your further actions take place in a virtual environment.
At the end of your research, the program will allow you to choose whether to apply the changes made during the freeze (for example, deleted or installed programs, created or deleted files and folders, system settings and other actions) or not, i.e. roll back the system until the start of Toolwiz Time Freeze.
2. Interface and organization of different versions of the program
Unfortunately Toolwiz Time Freeze does not support Russian. However, given its minimalism, it is unlikely that this can become a serious obstacle to the application of the program, even by novice users.
The previous version of Toolwiz Time Freeze - v2.2 - had a number of interface difficulties. So, the user could not immediately understand how the program could be minimized, because instead of the usual window minimization button, the developers came up with a simple text link for this. However, this version had a more understandable organization of work - when the program was turned off, the user saw the service menu, where he could choose to save the system changes or roll it back until it was “frozen”. In the updated version of Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014, this moment for those who are just getting acquainted with the program may be somewhat unclear. By the way, we will return to this issue below.
The latest, updated version of Toolwiz Time Freeze, the full name of which does not include its version, but the figure 2014 (a kind of program for the next year, as we can see) is the result of quite drastic changes in the interface and some program options. Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 acquired a more interesting color scheme in dark blue tones (the predecessor versions were presented with a white ascetic design), and the organization of the interface program became more "civilized". From now on, you can minimize the program with the classic button in the upper right corner of its window. The mechanism for launching the program remained unchanged - it is the same “Start” button.
The program settings section has disappeared: so, an already small arsenal of options is now located in the program window itself:
- in the upper part there is an option to autorun the program along with Windows;
- at the bottom are the option to set a password to block access to Toolwiz Time Freeze itself and the option to configure the display of the toolbar (a small panel on the desktop showing the status of the program).
But a much bigger surprise for old fans of the program will be the lack of the usual option to apply changes to the operating system during the "freeze" with Toolwiz Time Freeze. Now, when stopped, the program will no longer offer the option to save changes. System changes are saved automatically when you exit Toolwiz Time Freez.
3. Instructions for using the program
Let's consider a specific algorithm for Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014.
Before, for example, to install the program you are interested in, downloaded from an unknown Internet resource, run Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014. It will appear in the system tray. Call the context menu on its icon in the system tray and expand the program - this is the Show Program option. For convenience, you can activate the toolbar of the program on the desktop, which will show the status of the program and duplicate the options of the program icon in the system tray.
Start the "freezing" process - press " Start". Next, install any programs from unverified sources, carry out any of their settings without worrying about your operating system.
At the end of your research, click the " Stop" programs. Next, Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 will provide you with two options - restart your computer and return to the "freeze" point (click "OK") or exit without rebooting (click "Cancel"). Which option should you choose?
Rollback of the system to the "freeze" point
If the program you are testing does not suit you, does not work correctly, has made unwanted settings in the system, you need to click "OK" and wait until the computer restarts. After rebooting, your operating system will appear in front of you exactly in the same form in which it was before "freezing" - that is, before the launch of Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014.
Applying changes to the system
If you like the program you are testing and would like to apply the changes to the system, click Cancel and exit without rebooting. In this case, Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 will not stop working and you must exit. Call the context menu on the toolbar or on the program icon in the system tray and click "Exit" - the exit option.
4. Protection of folders and individual files
Another feature of Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 is to protect folders on your system drive and individual files on your computer. You can "freeze" - that is, block from deletion - important system folders, as well as individual files, so that they are not accidentally deleted by children or careless employees at work. To do this, place the selected folders or files in the Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 list using the Add File and Add Folder buttons. Then enable the option to autorun Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 along with Windows and set a password for entering the program itself. To install it, enable the "Enable Password Protection for the control" option and set the password you have created in the "Modify Password" setting. That's it - now no one will enter it without a password to the program and will not delete the "frozen" folders and files.
5. Summing up
What can you say about the program as a whole? Of course, this is an ideal solution for those who like testing various software, whose computer capacities do not allow full-fledged work in programs for creating virtual operating systems such as VirtualBox or VMware Workstation. Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 is extremely simple, it performs a couple of strictly defined functions, without frightening beginners with an excess of settings and unnecessary functions.
As for the cons, there are some ambiguities in the organization of Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014, which can, unfortunately, confuse newcomers. In particular, anyone who uses the program for the first time will rightly face the question of applying system changes after stopping the "freeze". And he can only get an answer "by typing". It is much easier to operate with clear and understandable options - "Return to the" freeze "or" Stop the program and apply the changes made. " Perhaps this is the only disadvantage of the program, which the developers, perhaps, will eliminate in the near future, bringing more clarity to the organization of the Toolwiz Time Freeze 2014 program.
Did this article help you?
Toolwiz Time Freeze is a free program for freezing the system and the state of Windows. With Time Freeze, you can keep Windows in its original state and protect your computer from unwanted changes, malware, unwanted adware, etc.
After finishing work on the computer, upon restarting, the Windows operating system will return to its original state, which was at the time the Toolwiz Time Freeze program was launched on your computer.
In Toolwiz Time Freeze, you can freeze the system with one click of the mouse. All further changes on your computer will take place in a virtual environment (Virtual System), in the so-called "sandbox". While working on your computer, you can conduct various experiments, visit dangerous sites, install unfamiliar programs, etc. In this case, the system disk of your computer will be protected from any changes.
After turning off your computer, or after restarting it, all changes on your computer will be canceled. Your operating system will revert to the state it was when you started Toolwiz Time Freeze. All settings made at this time will be canceled, all files downloaded from the Internet will be deleted from your computer, in a word, all unwanted changes, for example, made during this time by malicious programs on your computer, will be canceled.
Your computer will return to the state it was before Windows was frozen using Toolwiz Time Freeze. Only those changes will be saved on your computer that were previously made in the list of exclusions. Essentially, you will have an "unkillable" Windows operating system.
The Toolwiz Time Freeze program can be downloaded from the manufacturer's official website: ToolWiz, a Singapore company. The free application runs on the Windows operating system.
ToolWiz Time Freeze download
Installing Toolwiz Time Freeze
Installing Toolwiz Time Freeze on your computer should be straightforward. First, in the application installation wizard, click on the "Next" button, and then agree to the license agreement by clicking on the "Accept" button. Then click on the "Next" button in sequence.
The Optional Setting window prompts you to select the Toolwiz Time Freeze settings.
First of all, here you can select the size of the cache that the program will use for its work.
By default, the program reserves itself 5120 MB. This size will be sufficient in the vast majority of cases. You can increase the size of the cache that this program will use here.
In this window, by default, the item "Disable Time Freeze while in Windows Safe-mode" is activated so that Toolwiz Time Freeze does not work when starting Safe Mode in Windows. This is logical, otherwise the user will not be able to fix the problems of his computer or make the necessary settings after starting the system in safe mode.
The rest of the settings (enable permanent "freezing" of the system partition, or enable password protection) can be done in the main window of the Toolwiz Time Freeze program.
After completing the installation process, you will need to restart your computer.
After starting the Windows operating system, the program icon will appear in the notification area. Using this icon, you can immediately launch the Toolwiz Time Freeze program, or first open the utility's main window.
This is how the main window of the Toolwiz Time Freeze application looks in English.
Russification Toolwiz Time Freeze
Toolwiz Time Freeze works in English. Everything is simple there, but if it will be easier for you to use this program in Russian, you can download the unofficial Toolwiz Time Freeze crack from my website.
ToolWiz Time Freeze crack
After that, you can start the Toolwiz Time Freeze program. The interface of this application will now be in Russian.
For those users who will not Russify this program, I will duplicate the text of the settings in English in brackets.
If the program is disabled (only the service is running), the application icon in the notification area will be dark brown, while the program is running, the application icon will turn dark blue.
From the context menu, you can immediately start the program by selecting the Start Time Freeze item. To open the main window of the program, you will need to click on the item "Show the main window" (Show Program).
This is how the main window of the Toolwiz Time Freeze program looks in Russian.
Toolwiz Time Freeze Settings and Usage
If you activate the option "Turn on Time Freeze automatically when Windows starts." (Enable Time Freeze automatically when Windows start), in this case, the Toolwiz Time Freeze program will start immediately after the operating system starts. When working in this mode, after turning off the computer, all saved or modified data will be deleted from your computer.
In Toolwiz Time Freeze, you can add specific folders and files to exclusions. To do this, you will need to enable the "Enable Folder Exclusion when Time Freeze is ON" item.
Using the "Add File ..." button, you can add any files to the exclusions. Using the “Add Folder…” button, you can add the required folder to the exclusions.
Excluded files and folders will not be frozen in Toolwiz Time Freeze. All changes made to this data will be saved on your computer.
If you need to remove something from an exclusion, you will need to select the corresponding item in the exclusions, and then click on the Remove Selected One button.
You can set a password to enter the program settings if your computer is used by several users at the same time. Without knowing the password, other users will not be able to change the settings of this application.
To set a password, you will need to activate the "Enable Password Protection for the control" item. After activating this item, you will need to click on the "Modify Password" button to enter the password for the program.
After restarting Windows, when you try to open the main window of the program, a window for entering a password may open. If you have not set a password in the program, then simply click on the "OK" button in this window, after which the main program window will open.
You can install the toolbar on the desktop of your computer. To do this, you will need to enable Show toolbar on your Desktop.
You can start the Toolwiz Time Freeze program to freeze the system from the notification area or from the main application window using the Start Time Freeze button.
You can turn off the program from the main program window, using the Stop Time Freeze button, or from the context menu from the notification area. After shutting down the Toolwiz Time Freeze program, you will need to restart your computer.
After a new boot of Windows, all previous changes on your computer will not be saved, the Windows operating system will return to the state it had before the start of the Toolwiz Time Freeze program.
Conclusions of the article
Toolwiz Time Freeze is a freeware program designed to preserve the original state of the system. After starting this application, Windows will "freeze", thus, the system partition will be protected from changes. After finishing work on the computer, all changes made during this time on the system disk of your computer will be canceled, the Windows operating system will return to its previous state.
